Complexes will accept tenants evicted by mold

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http://www.sacbee.com/ib/news/ib_news03_20001202.html

Complexes will accept tenants evicted by mold

By LePage

Bee Staff Writer

(Published Dec. 2, 2000)

After initially refusing to accept tenants forced out of a neighboring

complex plagued by mold problems, a half-dozen Antelope apartment

communities have decided to open their doors to those renters after all.

" It's such a relief to see something turning out right for a change, " says

Betty Gwiazdon, director of program services for Sacramento's Human

Rights/Fair Housing Commission.

Managers at several of the surrounding Antelope apartment complexes declined

to comment or did not return phone calls. However, Gwiazdon and a

spokeswoman for Deer Park Apartments, the complex with the mold problems,

said all of the nearby apartment communities have agreed to accept Deer Park

tenants if certain conditions are met.

Deer Park's owners are vacating the complex because all of the 190 units are

being tested and cleared for mold.

The owners have tried to allay fellow landlords' fears of mold contamination

by taking measures that are viewed as extraordinary by some in the industry.

Deer Park's owners have taken several steps to reduce the chance of mold

contamination of tenants' belongings. These include:

Hiring a firm to set up an on-site mold decontamination center to clean

tenants' hard goods, such as tables, desks and chairs. Electronics equipment

is being cleaned off-site.

Hiring an insurance adjuster to pay tenants " fair market value " for

soft-good possessions such as beds, couches and fabric chairs that can't be

totally cleared of mold and will either be thrown away or incinerated.

Tenants with sales receipts for such soft goods were to have been paid

replacement value.

Combined with other financial incentives for tenants to move out, those

measures could cost the owners close to $1 million, said Buller, a

spokeswoman for Deer Park's owners.

In addition, Deer Park tenants must provide nearby complexes with several

letters documenting that their belongings were either decontaminated or

purchased by the adjuster, Buller said.

Also to put fellow landlords at ease, Deer Park sent neighboring complexes

copies of a recent letter from an official with the state Department of

Health Services.

" I commend the Deer Park Apartment owners and their agents in taking these

measures to ensure that tenants leaving their apartments do not bring

contaminated material to their new residences, " wrote Jed M. Waldman, chief

of DHS' indoor air quality section.

Also, the Rental Housing Association of Sacramento Valley says it is

" satisfied " with Deer Park's mold decontamination program, said the

association's director, Jim Lofgren.

" Once DHS and RHA agreed with our plan, we didn't have any more animosity

from the surrounding projects, " Buller said. " It opened up the gates for

people (Deer Park residents) to move out. "

Buller said she expects the Deer Park complex to be vacated by Sunday.

Some of the roughly 270 Deer Park renters have struggled to find housing

after receiving an abrupt order from the complex's owner a month ago to move

out by Nov. 30.

Though Deer Park is only eight years old, Buller said water intrusion

problems around windows and siding have been documented, and testing of

about 50 units showed " abnormal " levels of mold in all but 10 of them.

State health officials say any substantial mold growth -- and not just

so-called toxic molds that release mycotoxins -- in homes or workplaces is

unhealthy.

Still, Deer Park's owners say their mold problem is not so severe as to pose

a health risk today.