Mold in 's Villas units puts residents on edge Owners say problems being ad

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Mold in 's Villas units puts residents on edge

Owners say problems being addressed

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer - Columbus,GA*

BY JERRY F. RUTLEDGE - jrutledge@...

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/story/355203.html

SMITHS STATION, Ala. --The air in Arena Adkins' unit at the 's

Villas apartment complex had begun to leave her breathless.

That was not a good thing, since the breathlessness was the result

of a Level 3 black mold contamination in the heating, ventilating

and air conditioning unit. Mold spores from the HVAC unit had been

dispersed throughout the apartment, which had a constant musty odor.

After Adkins began suffering allergy symptoms, breathing problems

and headaches which were serious enough to send her to the hospital,

she was forced to miss work and move into her father's home. She's

been seeking help for the last seven weeks.

She complained to the owners, Apartment Services & Management Inc.

of Auburn, and a remediation process was begun. She also complained

to Lee County health officials, state health officials, and local

and state governments.

" The air and the smell in here takes my breath away, " she said last

week. " Smell in my closets -- its all in my clothes and I'm going to

have to throw them all away. " Comforters, bed linen and draperies

have also been tossed out.

Adkins' search for help revealed a hole in Alabama law -- there is

little legal recourse for a tenant facing a health-related

disagreement with a landlord. 's Villas is located off Lee Road

379, just behind the popular flea market at the intersection with

U.S. 431/280 in s Station, but outside the incorporated section

of the community.

The facility is federally subsidized with residents generally of low

and fixed incomes.

Regulations

Cities and towns typically have their own regulations regarding

healthy living environments in rental properties. In Alabama, the

rural areas are less protected.

The Alabama Legislature in 2006 passed the Uniform Residential

Landlord and Tenant Act, which regulates landlord-tenant

relationships but does not establish a mechanism for enforcement or

punishment for violations.

Adkins, 40, believes the 16-unit apartment complex has a serious

mold problem that endangers the health of its residents, many of

whom are elderly and living on Social Security and pensions. She's

lived in the apartment complex for roughly 1 1/2 years with a

teenage son. In talking to state and local officials, she found most

doors closed in terms of help. No one has the authority to force

changes.

" I'm doing this not for me but for other residents who are older and

already have health problems, " Adkins said. " There needs to be a law

to address this type of situation. They think because we're low

income and elderly they can treat us any kind of way. "

State Rep. Lesley Vance, D-Phenix City, represents the area of Lee

County where 's Villas is located. He said there is little the

legislature can do to address this or similar situations.

" I don't really know. I've talked to the lady on several occasions, "

Vance said. " The state health department says they can't come in

there, they don't have that jurisdiction or authority. " He suggested

that the issue may be a civil matter that can only be taken care of

in court.

Sal Gray of the Alabama Department of Public Health in Montgomery

said there is no health standard for mold and mildew in the state --

or in the nation, for that matter.

" There is no enforcement mechanism, especially for mold and mildew, "

Gray said. " It varies according to different people and how they

react. "

He cites the Landlord and Tenant Act as a useful tool in some

situations, since it points out what must be done by both landlords

and tenants to maintain the relationship.

" It cuts both ways, " he said. " The tenant can by written

notification terminate the lease so they cannot be held hostage or

they can petition to the landlord. But the problem with that

legislation is that there is no enforcing agency assigned. "

Maintenance

Sue Outlaw, 77, lives in the building across the parking lot from

Adkins' building. She said the apartments are poorly maintained and

have never had a regular maintenance man or maintenance schedule.

Her HVAC cabinet shows some of the same signs as the Adkins' unit --

thick dust and stains on the walls, on the air handling unit of the

HVAC and dirty walls.

" They're just trying to cover their butts, " Outlaw said.

Andy of Apartment Services said there is nothing dangerous or

unusual about the problems and that they responded immediately to

Adkins' complaints with efforts toward remediation.

" It was reported to us on the 16th of May and at that point we

called Suncrest Laboratories that does that type of testing work, "

said. " They gave us a report back; we immediately filed that

report with ServPro. They came out, we took the air handler out,

cleaned the duct work and found no mold there. They found nothing

else in the unit and it was strictly confined to the intake section

of the air handler. The exhaust section of the air handler that goes

up to the vents had no mold at all.

" There was one spot on a window that they remediated. They cleaned

the carpet, they wiped down everything per the recommendations on

the report that came back per the report from Suncrest Laboratories.

Since then we've done testing on other units and we've found three

with a less extensive problem in the same area. Suncrest has been

back out and we don't have the results back on those yet. "

Will Blevins of Suncrest said the only place active mold growth was

found other than the HVAC unit was on the sill of the front bedroom

window. He said it was probably caused by condensation. He noted

that the doors were not adequately sealed.

The report said the indoor environment largely reflected the outdoor

fungal types -- cladosporium, penicillium/aspergillus spores -- but

not the more dangerous forms of mold that can in some cases be fatal.

Dr. Carpenter of the Allergy Center of tone in Columbus

said the fungal types listed in the report were common in this area

and could cause allergic reactions, but not the toxic black mold

type that could be fatal.

Adkins plans to keep on fighting. She says she's heard from the

Alabama attorney general's office and even Gov. Bob Riley's consumer

affairs office in the last week.

Of her fellow tenants she says, " I think many of them are afraid.

They've lived here for a long time. But they need a safer place

environment to live regardless of whether this is subsidized housing

or not. "