Video - Mold Forces Tenant To Leave

November 2, 2007

Mold Forces Tenant To Leave

CBS4 Miami

Carey Codd Reporting

AVENTURA (CBS4) ¯ Less than three weeks after moving into her rented

unit at the Aventura Marina in north Miami last October, Glode-

Ingram started seeing mold growing on the walls.

" It was gross. That's the best word to describe it, " she said.

She documented the mold and mildew and presented it to her attorney,

Brad Kelsky, who then terminated her lease.

" H aving handled dozens and dozens of these cases, " said

Kelsky, " this is some of the worst and highest quantities of mold I

have ever seen. "

The mold started in the shower apparently from a leaky faucet.

claimed it spread from the bathroom to her closet. It was even

hiding behind the baseboards.

She is asthmatic. Her son is two years old. The negative effects

mold has on people's health was sufficient reason for to want

to leave.

" My son's safety and my own are obviously my top priority, " she

said.

But now may face a bigger problem than just mold. Her landlord

still wants her to honor her lease.

When CBS4 contacted the landlord by phone, he mentioned the tenant

never spoke up about a mold problem right away, which may have

delayed workers from fixing it, which contends was not the

case.

For now, the dispute is between the tenant and the landlord, and all

the while feels she lost a beautiful place to raise her child.

She said, " It's very family oriented. There's a lot of children that

live in that building. I was really hoping this was my new home to

begin my new life, be with my son for a very long time. "

Work is being done on the unit to get rid of the mold. At the

moment, said she doesn't feel comfortable moving back in.

In cases like these, attorneys always suggest documenting with

pictures whenever discovering mold in a residence and then advising

a landlord or homeowner's association.

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