In this small claims action, plaintiff seeks to recover the sum of $5,000 from defendant, her landlord, for expenses plaintiff incurred in repairing her apartment. At a nonjury trial, plaintiff testified that after she had noticed a strong mildew odor in her apartment, she hired a mold inspection company to test her apartment before notifying defendant of the condition. The parties then exchanged a series of letters regarding the alleged mold issue. Plaintiff sent defendant the mold inspection company's results and told defendant that she did not want the licensed contracting company that defendant's principal owned to conduct the necessary work in the apartment. Defendant's letters stated that the contracting company had researched mold removal and was prepared to conduct the repairs and take the proper precautions, and that, if necessary, defendant would pay for mold testing by a certified company. Defendant, in its letters, also sought access to the apartment to conduct repairs for the mold, among other repairs. After plaintiff commenced HP and DHCR proceedings, defendant was given several days of court-ordered access, and conducted repairs. The record reflects that thereafter, without notifying defendant, plaintiff hired a mold removal company to remediate mold and conduct an inspection, [*2]and incurred other expenses allegedly relating to the mold issue. Following the trial, the Civil Court dismissed the action, finding that plaintiff had failed to notify defendant of the issue before incurring expenses, and that plaintiff was not "reasonable and cooperative in giving [defendant] access to the apartment in order to correct the alleged mold problem."