For the first problem and pictures, follow this link, otherways keep reading.

http://brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=421283



So, new developments with my apt. Hopefully I can get some helpful advice here. Ever since our apt complex came and fixed the problem with the water/etc from the original post above, My girlfriend and I have continually been sick on a weekly basis, to the point where both of us have missed numerous days of work. My roommate and his girlfriend have also been getting sick lately, so we figured we were all just "passing it around", never even though there might be any existing problems from the water though. Well tonight, my girlfriend noticed that my walk in closet was FREEZING cold, which was definately strange, but we couldnt see to the back of the closet as it was completely full of boxes/etc as she has been moving in. I went ahead and moved everything out of the closet, and in the back corner, this is what I found....:







the really washed out corner is the back right corner, the one with the pipe like thing is the back left corner if you couldnt tell. The back right corner is where the breeze is coming from, and it definately smells like mold. I have NO idea what that black crap is, but it definately looks like... well. crap..., you can see the carpet has water stains, part of it is REALLY washed out.

What should I do?

I am pretty sure Im in the right to ask to be moved to a different apartment at no cost. Can anyone give me any advice. Thank you

Sean

2/6/2007 8:30:51 PM

go to maintenance, tell them about the problem.. they should bring someone out.. if they dont threaten to sue for them renting an inhabitable residence..... they will send someone out to check it and do test to see if its uninhabitable.... if they dont, you hire someone to see if its uninhabitable, if they do find that its uninhabitable

take results to maintenance yourself and records you kept, email's ..etc... and threaten that you have gotten a lawyer and are going to take legal action if they dont do anything about it.

they will fix it and give you a new apt... until your orginal apt is fixed


this happened to my friend last year

2/6/2007 8:54:30 PM

Pretty sure mold is covered by NC General Statute 42-42(a)

Quote :

"§ 42-42. Landlord to provide fit premises. (a) The landlord shall: (1) Comply with the current applicable building and housing codes, whether enacted before or after October 1, 1977, to the extent required by the operation of such codes; no new requirement is imposed by this subdivision (a)(1) if a structure is exempt from a current building code. (2) Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition. (3) Keep all common areas of the premises in safe condition. (4) Maintain in good and safe working order and promptly repair all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and other facilities and appliances supplied or required to be supplied by the landlord provided that notification of needed repairs is made to the landlord in writing by the tenant, except in emergency situations. (5) Provide operable smoke detectors, either battery-operated or electrical, having an Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc., listing or other equivalent national testing laboratory approval, and install the smoke detectors in accordance with either the standards of the National Fire Protection Association or the minimum protection designated in the manufacturer's instructions, which the landlord shall retain or provide as proof of compliance. The landlord shall replace or repair the smoke detectors within 15 days of receipt of notification if the landlord is notified of needed replacement or repairs in writing by the tenant. The landlord shall ensure that a smoke detector is operable and in good repair at the beginning of each tenancy. Unless the landlord and the tenant have a written agreement to the contrary, the landlord shall place new batteries in a battery-operated smoke detector at the beginning of a tenancy and the tenant shall replace the batteries as needed during the tenancy. Failure of the tenant to replace the batteries as needed shall not be considered as negligence on the part of the tenant or the landlord. (6) If the landlord is charging for the cost of providing water or sewer service pursuant to G.S. 42-42.1 and has actual knowledge from either the supplying water system or other reliable source that water being supplied to tenants within the landlord's property exceeds a maximum contaminant level established pursuant to Article 10 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes, provide notice that water being supplied exceeds a maximum contaminant level. (b) The landlord is not released of his obligations under any part of this section by the tenant's explicit or implicit acceptance of the landlord's failure to provide premises complying with this section, whether done before the lease was made, when it was made, or after it was made, unless a governmental subdivision imposes an impediment to repair for a specific period of time not to exceed six months. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, the landlord and tenant are not prohibited from making a subsequent written contract wherein the tenant agrees to perform specified work on the premises, provided that said contract is supported by adequate consideration other than the letting of the premises and is not made with the purpose or effect of evading the landlord's obligations under this Article. (1977, c. 770, s. 1; 1995, c. 111, s. 2; 1998-212, s. 17.16(i); 2004-143, s. 3.) "

I'd accept nothing less than a new apartment or an end to my lease. Mold can permanently damage your health. It isn't worth it.

The wood can be cleaned, the carpet and padding needs to go, but the cleanup is going to release much more mold spores than would be found in the air today. You don't want to be living there while they do that. They still have to find out why the mold is being formed or it will be right back.

The links here might help you out: http://www.hud.gov/local/nc/renting/tenantrights.cfm

[Edited on February 6, 2007 at 8:59 PM. Reason : l]

2/6/2007 8:57:18 PM

^that is very helpful...

my boyfriend and I have had a mold problem in our spare bedroom since late December. The ceiling showed signs of a leak after we returned from home after Christmas...

and today is day 2 of a new roof being put on, BUT no one has been in to repair the ceiling, and we have not heard them replacing anything above the area of the leak-- we've cleaned the area up four to five times since we reported it, and can still see black mold trying to come through. When we went to our mgt's office, they made it seem like the leak was our fault, and now we aren't sure if we are going to have to repair the ceiling.

This is even after we sent them time/date stamped photos of the leak, and it's progression in 1 day's time...

I'm not sure what to do with it now...
But we have both been sick since the first week in January, and haven't thought about the mold until last week, and certainly more now...
and oddly I have felt 10X worse since they have started with the new roof...

[Edited on February 6, 2007 at 9:23 PM. Reason : ..]

2/6/2007 9:17:25 PM

call a lawyer

2/6/2007 9:19:45 PM

^^ You can clean mold off of metal, concrete, and most wood, but usually sheetrock just needs to be replaced. Anything like carpet, padding, sheetrock, etc can have mold contamination throughout. You can kill the mold to keep it from reproducing, but the dead mold spores are still as dangerous as they were when they were living. Scrubbing it will probably just stir it up into the air.


Google mold health and do some reading. It can be some really bad stuff and it is the source of a lot of lawsuits.


I would highly recommend that all of your communications from this point on be in writing. You will probably be taken more seriously and it will definately help if you do actually have to file a lawsuit.

[Edited on February 6, 2007 at 9:52 PM. Reason : .]

2/6/2007 9:49:05 PM

Definately ask to be moved to a different apartment, especially if you think mold may be making you sick. Threatening to get a lawyer and sue for uninhabitable conditions might get them to move a little faster, but actually following through with it would be a pain in the ass. Let someone else deal with the moldy apartment.

2/6/2007 9:52:54 PM

Thanks.

2/6/2007 9:54:22 PM

If you know anyone that is in a bio lab or works at one on campus I would ask for them to steal you a petri dish with some medium and pick some of the mold up with a plastic knife or something and preserve it so if you continue to get sick you can show the doctors what you have been exposed to and they can figure out the best course of treatment!

2/6/2007 11:58:28 PM

You can get a mold test kit from Home Depot for $10, but you'd want to send the mold in for analysis ($30) to see if it is dangerous.

2/7/2007 1:25:48 AM

^Yes do that...$40 isn't that much for your own health! I would still keep some though in case ya need it down the road if ya do end up needing to go to court or whatnot and I would take some more pictures and try to show it better

2/7/2007 1:42:51 AM

Thanks for all of the information guys.

Im headed to our rental office shortly here to see what they have to say about everything, and hopefully get them to move me to a new building. All of the links/info is greatly helping!

Sean

2/7/2007 10:01:19 AM

shit
i just watched that episode on extreme homemakeover where the father dies from being exposed to black mold. he felt ill and died the same night in bed.

good luck
document everything! every phone call (date, time, who you spoke too), letter and any other correspondence made. just keep it in a notebook with pictures. If you're a student - student legal services (not the best but free)

oh yea - and wear particle masks when cleaning and being around the mold. just to be safe.

[Edited on February 7, 2007 at 10:52 AM. Reason : f]

2/7/2007 10:52:03 AM

Ok so what did they say/do???

2/7/2007 2:10:57 PM

they are going to have to replace the carpet/ padding.

since youre going to have to move all your gear anyway for them to do it, you might as well just ask for a different unit.

if they refuse, tell them youre going to post the name of the complex/ how they handled it on every local website there is.


you will get your way

2/7/2007 2:17:53 PM