Mould cultures: Or, the unequal distribution of remediation and eviction

Why does mould persist in low‐income housing despite decades of public health research, building science advances and advocacy efforts? This article applies a policy ecology approach to examine the dispersed regulatory landscape governing household mould in New Orleans, Louisiana. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2017 and 2020, the analysis traces how building codes, remediation industries and tenancy law interact to reproduce unhealthy housing conditions. In hot, humid, flood‐prone southeast Louisiana, mould thrives where housing quality regulation remains weak and tenant protections limited. The article demonstrates that addressing household mould requires more than technical fixes: effective intervention depends on strengthening renters’ rights, since requests for repairs frequently trigger retaliatory eviction. Recent healthy homes legislation offers promise, but without robust tenant protections, mould cultures remain eviction cultures.