Curious... (lease, tenant, rental, security deposit)

[Mizui]

The house we live in is and has been infested with mold since before we had moved in. The landlord knowingly allowed us to move in with this situation. The mold has gotten to a point to where it is actually growing through walls upstairs where we dwell. Along with... mushrooms.
When we first moved in, we realized that they had not cleaned the house at all. They left things such as papers everywhere, FOOD (No one has lived in the house since 2004), and lets not get started with the bathroom. It seemed as though one day they decided that they were going to move, and leave everything. However that is not what concerns me.
When the mold starting getting out of control, my parents had tried to ask them if they would soon work on getting it out. They agreed.
They came in by the next week claiming to inspect it, and to see what they had to deal with. 30 minutes later we find that they had put mold killer in the basement, so toxic as to require them to completely seal off any access to the basement. Including our laundry room, which was full of clothes at the time as well. No clothes for 3 weeks, or so we thought. All of the clothes down there had to be thrown out.
Not only that, but they brought in large industrial fans, and opened our windows downstairs to let it air out. It was the beginning of February. That cold air did indeed rise into our living area, as well as the fumes. We should not have been exposed to this. After all is said and done, it seems that now everything was done in vain. For the mold has come back even worse.
Now to present. Out of the blue, for apparently no reason we receive a notice to be out of the house by July 31st. We tried and call the LL and find out why, but they tell us not to. "Call our lawyer" They say. We call the lawyer, and he tells us nothing but what's on the letter anyway! (Fyi- We pay $1800 a month and the LL splits it 3 ways with his siblings apparently.)
So we've found a better house now. Better landlord as well, very professional. And we are set to move in on the 31st.

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My parents haven't payed rent in claims that they are using the 2 months rent deposit. And I do know that that isn't legal.
They received a letter in the mail today for a court summons on Monday. Tell me what is the worst that can happen? After everything that we've had to deal with, can any of it be used to my parents defense? I'm so stressed .___. Thank You

[STT Resident]

Why you even moved into the place is rather mind boggling but that's neither here nor there. Do you have a lease? If you do, read it. Do you have any written correspondence between you and the LL (letters, texts, emails, anything) concerning the mold? Do you have photographs of the mold, photographs of anything related to the mold problem, doctor's bills, anything at all? Do you have rent receipts, canceled cheques, security deposit receipt?

Have you taken photographs of the mold as it is today? If not, do it right now and make sure the photographs are dated. Call your local Health Department TODAY and let them know of the mold problem. They will come out and inspect and cite your LL. Start being proactive. Good luck.

[Mizui]

I can't shift my parents decisions unfortunately... My opinion does not matter. I wouldn't have moved in here for the price in the first place. We do have a lease, however to my knowledge nothing in it even touched on the subject of mold. The lease has been up since March. We were paying rent up to the point to where we received the letter. (Two months prior to July 31st) Yes I photographed everything for them. As well as videos. And I saved all of the messages from the LL for them, in case that they did try to pull something like this. Rental receipts and security deposit receipt I know my parents kept. Yet, I'm not sure about the canceled cheques.
I'll try and ease the idea onto my parents about the Health Department. Not sure how well that that'll go however, as no one really listens to me. I will try. Thank you for replying. It's appreciated.

[bouncethelight]

I am NOT an expert - but it seems to me that your parents are making a big mistake - they can't just stop paying rent because the landlord asked them to move out. That will just get them into trouble.

It *is* possible to stop paying rent if the house is uninhabitable - but if that's the case then they need to do everything within their power to get that fixed. Call the local Health Department today. At the very least, visit your own lawyer, and give him all your photos of the mold, and get the lawyer to write a letter to your landlord. I had to do it once, with a landlord that wouldn't fix something, and the letter cost $250 - it's not expensive and at the very least it's proof that you were actively trying to get the problem fixed.

But to just stop paying rent? With no reason given? Just because the landlord asked you to move? That's just asking for trouble.

[lawmom]

So it sounds like you were a month-to-month tenant after the lease term expired, and the LLs gave you 2 months notice to leave. While laws very from state to state, 60 days notice should be legally sufficient and they are not required to tell you why they want you out.

Your parents are making a mistake by not paying after you received notice, and can be sued in court for that money plus attorney fees (again, laws vary though). You never should have accepted the place in the condition it was in when you got there. The mold issue should have been dealt with long ago by calling code enforcement/health dept/whomever it is you call about that stuff. Your parents might (if you have detailed documentation of the mold -- dated pictures or video, health inspection report, etc) try to settle with the LL's lawyer by showing all of that documentation and perhaps something can be worked out.