I had a pretty major water leak in my apartment and I now have mold?

Question

As of 10/08, I noticed a water leak. Maintenance came out 10/09. The dining area was COMPLETELY soaked. They left large holes in the wall, connecting my apt to my neighbor's for a few days without covering up (my neighbor brought my cat back to me on the first day since she went into his apartment via the hole). The bottom of my kitchen cabinets were removed. I could not use the dishwasher or sink in my kitchen (along with the 3 other nieghbors on my side of the building) for about 3 days. As I looked into the cabinets, a LARGE amount of mold was growing! They did not do anything to physically remove this, just replaced the bottom board. The carpet was not pulled up, now if feels tacky. I now have mold growing along the baseboard. I have taken about 25+ pictures with dates (during work and after). Since they have no motivation to fix this, what should be the next step? Should I call the BBB? I have had a few issues before, none this severe. Any advice would be appreciated.

The leak was a fault in the building, not one of my own. It was a break in the main line to the building (we all share the water so the bill is covered by the complex). This leak was within the wall to both apartments on the ground level.

Answer 1

I don't think there's a convenient way to deal with this. First, I'd ask the landlord for a new apartment. Explain the mold and the fact that you don't want to live with it. In California, you'd have a lot of legal rights in this matter; elsewhere, not so much. I wouldn't give the landlord long to respond, maybe 3 days. You shouldn't have to pay them anything, or have an increase in your rent.

If they don't cooperate, I'd write a letter explaining your problem and request, sending a copy to the owner of the property, not just the management company. I'd contact the health department, and any tenancy organizations that might be in your area.

You're right that they don't want to do anything--it will be a major overhaul to tear out flooring, wallboard, carpet and padding, and to replace it. Be as polite and sweet as you can. But reality is that they will probably stop being nice when you complain. If you can afford to, I'd move somewhere else if they give you a hard time.

Answer 2

First document all of this in writing to the Landlord along with copies of the photos you took, either hand deliver the letter and ask for a receipt or send certified mail return receipt requested. Explain that you have mold growing and you would like them to eradicate it as it will cause severe health problems. Give them a time frame to have the mold eradicated (30 days) from your apartment and explain that you cannot live with this. Was the leak your responsibility or was this just faulty pipes? If this was a problem with the building then the LL is responsible for returning your apartment to it's original condition prior to the leak.

If the landlord fails to do anything, then you need to contact a building inspector and the health department to have them inspect your apartment to determine if you are living in a place that is inhabitable. Black mold is toxic and can cause a multitude of health issues including death, mold will cause respiratory conditions like asthma and sinus infections. The building inspector will send a citation to the Landlord and give them a time frame to repair, if they fail to repair timely (30 days) then they will fine the landlord daily until fixed. This will be your best route to go, just call the Housing Department of your city and explain the living conditions and arrange to have the Housing Inspector come over and investigate.

The law prevents the Landlord from terminating your lease or evicting you from making a complaint to the building inspector or any other code enforcement agency and or making living there difficult because you complained.

If all else fails, take the Landlord to court or send a letter terminating your lease early due to poor living conditions, make sure that you document everything in writing and you take photographs of the mold and you do a final walk thru with the LL to prevent losing your security deposit.

You have a right to live in a clean and habitable apartment and the LL has a legal obligation to provide that.

Answer 3

This is a messy situation and I don't envy your position. If you call the health department and they in fact do condemn your apartment, you might be out on the street my friend. This of course will depend on your landlord and your lease. If they are moral, they will put you in a new apartment or at least provide you with temporary housing while the problem is fixed. Renters insurance can go a long way here. If you have it, file a claim. They will most likely restore your apartment and abate the mold. Then they will go after your landlord and/or their insurance to reimburse their costs ( subrogate is the term I believe they use ). If you don't have it, I would recommend you get rid of the mold yourself for health reasons. It sounds like you are doing a good job of documenting the incident and you have what sounds like a sound case but remember, this was not negligence, it was an accident. If they knew this was going to happen and did nothing to prevent it, this would be a different answer. In this case, both you and the landlord/owner are victims ( no fault ) and this can cause serious problems with insurance claims. The landlord should have insurance for this very purpose but alas, not every landlord is a good one. A good landlord builds a budget for these types of things and should make good on your mold but it is very expensive to hire a professional mold abetment company and they have to perform air tests and so on. All of this can add up to thousands of dollars. It is a sticky situation and like I said before, you can find yourself out on the street in the process. All of this of course depends on the laws in your area but you need to make sure to stay on top of it. Don't wait to long to take action. This is for your own health as well as your legal position. Mitigate your circumstances if you can. It goes a long way toward strengthening your case.

Answer 4

This is a health dept issue. Mold can cause a building to be condemend because it is very dangerous to your health. Get and inspectors for the buidings division and health department out as soon as possible. In the mean time, notify the landlord that you will be pulling up the carpet and scrubbing the mold with bleach. Be sure to keep the room well ventilated and wear rubber gloves and a face mask during the cleaning.

Answer 5

While you are well advised to be concerned about the mold, it will not continue to grow without a moisture source. It SHOULD have been cleaned up during the repair, but it should also die if the moisture source is removed.

If you are concerned, wipe down the mold, as another source has suggested, with a mixture of water and bleach (about a 25% concentration will do the trick).

Should the mold return after this treatment, you still have moisture issues which need to be addressed by management.

Answer 6

Tell the apts you're taking it to the BBB. Then go ahead and call the BBB and make a complaint. Once you've made a complaint with the BBB you can always call them (BBB) later (once the apts have corrected the problem) and let them know that they (apts) fixed the problem. The BBB will send them a letter saying that they have received a complaint with all the details. They'll get on the ball then definitely. When the problem is corrected, the BBB will send another letter that says the complaint has been satisfied. It will only strike against them if they don't make you happy and you keep the complaint.