Mold, Mold, Everywhere! (Portland: apartments, renters, insurance) - Oregon (OR) - City-Data Forum

cachilles · 12-27-2011, 04:46 PM

We recently moved into an older rental condo in an area we love. Upon our lease signing we were assured of no mold, that it had been thoroughly cleaned and repainted. The day we moved in I found out that the cleaning and painting was definitely BS and within a week so was the mold.

We immediately informed the landlords who told us to turn the heat up and to deal with it ourselves. Weekly my boyfriend cleans all the windows and underneath the sinks with bleach (I can't do this because I've had lung cancer). When we moved a book shelf to make room for the Christmas tree we found black mold growing halfway up the wall. At this time I had a cold that I thought had settled in my chest and was having trouble breathing from that. Now I wonder if it was really a cold.

Again the landlords said it was our fault for having furniture against the wall (where else are we supposed to put it?)...And now my "cold" is 3 weeks in and worse. My doctor says mold is the cause and we need to move but the landlords are not budging on the lease and we can't afford to pay all the fees again after only two months. Advice anyone?

JanND · 12-27-2011, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cachilles

We recently moved into an older rental condo in an area we love. Upon our lease signing we were assured of no mold, that it had been thoroughly cleaned and repainted. The day we moved in I found out that the cleaning and painting was definitely BS and within a week so was the mold.

We immediately informed the landlords who told us to turn the heat up and to deal with it ourselves. Weekly my boyfriend cleans all the windows and underneath the sinks with bleach (I can't do this because I've had lung cancer). When we moved a book shelf to make room for the Christmas tree we found black mold growing halfway up the wall. At this time I had a cold that I thought had settled in my chest and was having trouble breathing from that. Now I wonder if it was really a cold.

Again the landlords said it was our fault for having furniture against the wall (where else are we supposed to put it?)...And now my "cold" is 3 weeks in and worse. My doctor says mold is the cause and we need to move but the landlords are not budging on the lease and we can't afford to pay all the fees again after only two months. Advice anyone?

You need to move asap. Take pictures of everything, w/ dates showing. You have your contract that states no mold. You need to document the calls, and what was said to you re: there not being willing to remove mold. Also, call the health dept. immediately and have an inspection. You are at real risk from mold under normal circumstance, but having compromised lungs, you are at greater risk. I am not an attorney, but i was a disaster worker for 3 yrs. Mold was something we did lots of research on, and I suggest that you get online and research FEMA and the issues re: mold. Please see an attorney to make sure you are going to get all your reimbursement monies. Consults are usually free, and if you ask all your questions, they are beneficial, realty attorney would be ideal. Mold is a big issue. We got out of a 20,000 down pymt and house papers in the works in 2001, because I saw lots of mold, and the house seller disclosed the extent of the problem after we has all signed the papers, it only took me one call to her realtor, money returned contract broken. Sometimes just a call will do the trick from an attorney. Do you have a friend that is an attorney? Most will give a free consult. If you have to move w/ friends or family til you get the fees saved do it, it sometimes takes awhile to get monies back. There are several ways to fight the landlords, again I am not an attorney so this is not legal advice, but my opinion is; Call the health dept. file a complaint. Start a lawsuit to re-coop your monies and ask for damages, because it appears that the landlords misrepresented the mold remediation. Have a tape recorder on and call again and complain and ask what they are going to immediately do about the mold. In short make a big stink. Talk to a rental board, if you have one, file complaints where ever they are applicable. Also, is this a rental agent, or the owner? Do they have insurance? Make them want to let you out of your lease. Please check the research on mold, act according to your best interest as you determine it. Best of luck, and please post how things work out, i have seen this issue multiple times, people would benefit from knowing how & why you succeed.

Minervah · 12-27-2011, 05:50 PM

Run, do not walk away from that place. Your landlord will not do anything unless court ordered and with your health issues you cannot afford to wait for the case to be heard.

If after you move to a safe place, you can consider taking them to court but it could be a long battle since landlords have the upper hand in this city. Believe me, I have had enough experience including one very similar to yours, to be able to say this with no hesitation.

Please find yourself a better place to live. Your health is not worth risking staying there another week.

catharsis · 12-28-2011, 04:56 PM

Mold must be a common problem there considering the damp climate. Adding that to the lack of leverage in renting, it would inevitably turn into a real survival of the fittest situation. If one has little money for an attorney, or knowledge enough about the legal system one may very well be screwed. That's the way it is in Texas as well. Renters are treated like 3rd class citizens.

JanND · 12-28-2011, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catharsis

Mold must be a common problem there considering the damp climate. Adding that to the lack of leverage in renting, it would inevitably turn into a real survival of the fittest situation. If one has little money for an attorney, or knowledge enough about the legal system one may very well be screwed. That's the way it is in Texas as well. Renters are treated like 3rd class citizens.

It is a common knowledge that mold is a health hazard, that should be great advantage w/ small claims court. Be sure and ask for punitive damages, since the LL understated the mold issue, or lied whichever you can prove. Hopefully there is legal aid available, or the health dept. can possibly intervene, especially w/ OP's compromised health issues.

Minervah · 12-28-2011, 06:15 PM

The second time I was screwed over by a landlord who raised my rent $100, he had just bought the building and was going to soak the tenants for all they were worth, I reported him to the state building inspector for building violations. I figured if he was going to raise my rent I could at least be living in a safer building. The landlord wound up having to make changes.

Then he raised my rent another $100 a month. I consulted an attorney who simply wrote a letter for me saying the landlord was raising my rent in retaliation to my reporting him which he was not legally allowed to do. The landlord backed down and withdrew the rent increase.

These situations are so common in Portland that most people just move and be done with it. It is time consuming and troublesome to fight these crooks but if the tenants do, they can win.

linicx · 12-28-2011, 11:14 PM

Mold is a health hazzard. GET OUT! Bleach, paint and cleaing will not rid nor disguise the mold. It will not expose hidden mold with I guarantee he plenty. Water + air = Mold

The bookcase made no difference. The slumlord is wholly at fault.

Chances are what the building needs is Remediation. Specially trained workers remove the molded materials and dosposed of them correctly and safely after a MOLD INSPTECTION. Very othen the hidden mold is so bad the only relief is to raze the building to the ground.

Protecting Publc health belongs to the Health Departments on the city and state level and also contacting Centers for Disease Control. If you believe the MOLD cannot damage healthy lungs you are wrong. And it can kill you.

GET OUT, Go to a motel and let your husband pack. Tell him to wear a face mask when he does it.

Sunderpig2 · 12-29-2011, 09:59 AM

First and foremost, you need to protect your health (if you don't have that, what good is living?)

The mold couldn't have just popped up once you moved in. The contract and the law should be on your side. Taking pictures and documenting things (especially daily) will help. Good luck!

JanND · 12-29-2011, 06:08 PM

I have a young male client, 23ish. He has Addisons disease, which his Dr. said was caused by mold in a house he had rented. He didn't know there was mold where he rented until His Father discovered sheet rock, covered w/ paneling that had been left on the basement walls after a flood in 90's. He will have this disease for the rest of his life, his health will be compromised.
Let me add here, i am no expert, but I did work in a field that required our researching mold, and the hazards. Molds can grow many places but one thing most people don't realize, mold grows rampant in the cellulose (sp?) the center fiber of sheet rock. It will grow up thru the house, thru the walls, often unseen. This can happen when water damaged sheet rock, ...even just a couple of inches deep.... is not removed above the water damage. That is why it is always recommended that you remove any water damaged sheetrock, and dry the studs for mths. If you'd like to research please read CDC, or FEMA home pages, or your local health dept. home pages for health & safety re: molds.

Minervah · 12-29-2011, 06:15 PM

When I reported the building code violations in my former apartment, many of my neighbors told me to tell the department about the building code violations in their apartments. I could not do this. The people I talked to at the building inspection bureau told me that the complaints have to come from the tenants who actually are living there.

So if a tenant moves, he or she cannot then retroactively report building code violations. In a situation like the OP's it is important they get out as quickly as they can so there may not be time for this.

But it may not be the case for health inspection departments. The complaints I made about my apartment were structural.