Tenants fight over moldy apartment

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Tenants fight over moldy apartment

phillyBurbs.com - Philadelphia,PA

By SARAH LARSON.\

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-09282007-1415410.html

Two men are battling their landlord over mold in their Warrington

apartment in a fight that one local consumer advocate thinks will

become more common.

Ricky King and Luke say they have been battling illnesses for

the past two years, including skin rashes that worsened the longer

they lived in their apartment in Building L at 1700 Place on Street

Road.

With letters from their doctor and a report from a mold-testing

company in hand, they are pressing for financial compensation from

the landlord, Lindy Property Management.

" I want the last two years' rent back, " said King. " is asking

for some kind of settlement because he has lost two jobs over this.

We have suffered something awful over this. "

Warrington has been notified of the issue and is getting involved.

The township's code enforcement office will review the property

history to see if there are any other complaints about the complex

or that particular apartment, said Rick Lesniak, the township's

director of fire, inspections and emergency services.

Then they will go out and take a look at the apartment, Lesniak said.

" We're going to inspect and see the best way to proceed, " he said.

A landlord has a duty to provide a safe, clean environment, said

Rick Gidlewski, an investigator with the Bucks County Office of

Consumer Protection. But there are no specific county or state

regulations regarding mold, he said.

" Mold is a major problem for people these days, and there's very

little we can do, " Gidlewski said. " This issue needs to be addressed

because it's here. Unless it's addressed with new regulations that

specify the remedy, these kinds of cases are going to end up in

court. "

It looks like that's where this case is headed.

King and Luke say they have hired an attorney to press their case.

He could not be reached for comment.

Willwerth, an attorney for Lindy Property Management, said he

is not clear what the couple wants.

The apartment complex managers have tried in good faith to resolve

the dispute, Willwerth said. They fixed a leak in their bathroom

ceiling from the shower in the apartment above and replaced the

ceiling, bathroom floor, tub and toilet. Even before the managers

were notified that mold had been found in the carpet, they offered

to replace the carpet, Willwerth said.

" My client's doing everything reasonable to appease these

gentlemen, " the attorney said. " They've offered them other units;

they've offered to release them out of their lease with no penalty

and violations. If I was living in an environment that was making me

sick, I think the first thing I would do would be to get out of that

environment. "

After weeks of dealing with the issue, King and Luke say they now

are doing just that. They haven't moved out before this because they

couldn't come up with the money for a security deposit for a new

place.

" It takes money to move out; we're both on disability, and haven't

had the money, " King said. " But we are moving out this weekend. "

The men say their ailments began within about a month of moving into

the apartment two years ago. Within weeks, Luke's skin had begun to

crack and itch and ooze. King's similar skin rash set in later.

Luke said he eventually was unable to work because he was in so much

pain and because he couldn't sleep at night.

The men said they took their concerns about a possible mold problem

to the apartment complex's managers but were brushed off.

The complex managers " found no signs of mold or mildew " when they

inspected the apartment, Willwerth wrote in a letter dated Aug. 22.

Still believing the root cause of the problem was mold, King and

Luke spent $595 to hire NAL East Environmental Services of

Feasterville to test the apartment.

NAL found evidence of a " possible moisture problem " in the bathroom

wall and master bedroom and low levels of mold spores in the air in

the bedroom.

Tests of the carpet revealed medium to heavy levels of 10 types of

mold, including Penicillium, an allergen, and Stachybotrys, a black

mold that can produce toxins. Stachybotrys has been in the news in

recent years for blooming in schools nationwide and forcing either

expensive remediation or closure of the schools.

Luke said he is allergic to penicillin, and a doctor has concluded

that his severe skin rash is a reaction to the mold in the apartment.

" Mr. Luke's skin condition is only worsening. In my medical opinion,

he can no longer reside in the apartment, as long as there is mold

present, " wrote Dr. , a Warrington doctor who has

been treating Luke.

Letting tenants out of their lease without penalty, or offering them

another apartment that does not have a mold problem are good first

steps for a landlord to take, Gidlewski said. But settling the

dispute beyond that is likely to fall to the courts because

Pennsylvania's landlord/tenant laws do not outline compensation for

damages.

" What is the answer to this? The only way the answer is going to be

clear is through litigation, " he said. " Unless there's a mutual

agreement, I see it going to court. "

September 28, 2007