Mold gets thicker as tenant awaits help

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Mold gets thicker as tenant awaits help

Payne • tellmel@... • November 18, 2008

Lehigh Acres News Star - Lehigh Acres,FL,USA

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Mold growing in Iona Lakes apartment

I've been in moldy places before, and Sylvan's apartment is

not the worst I've seen.

There's mold in closets and in the corners and along the edge of the

ceilings. There's also a musty odor in Sylvan's Iona Lakes Apartment

Homes in south Fort Myers.

What escalates this infestation to a critical stage is not the

amount of mold, but how even a little bit of mold is harmful to

someone whose lungs are as fragile as Sylvan's.

The 58-year-old former waitress suffers from emphysema, chronic

obstructive pulmonary disease and Parkinson's disease. She walks

around the spacious one-bedroom apartment attached to an oxygen tank

by a trail of plastic tubing.

" They're nice in the office, but they don't fix the problem, " Sylvan

said. Four times since April, maintenance men have sprayed bleach,

but the black and pink moldy spots quickly return.

Sylvan said she wants out of her lease and wants to move. Over the

weekend, she went to stay with a friend.

The people who live above Sylvan have also moved out.

said that they lived in the apartment for seven years

and the mold was awful.

" After a while, you never notice the smell. You get used to it, "

said.

But now that he's moved into a new apartment, going back to clear

out his old one, he's recognized how bad it was.

" It stinks, " said. He said that apartment managers wanted two

months of rent to terminate the lease.

" We don't want to pay one more dime, " said. " Just let us out.

This place is horrible. They can keep the security deposit. "

Iona Lakes management hung up on me when I tried to ask about this.

But they did pass my number along to Hensel, the chief

communications officer at Burlington Capital Group, in Omaha, Neb.

Burlington Capital is the parent company of America First Properties

Management Company, which manages Iona Lakes apartments.

Hensel said that the management would address the problems in

Sylvan's apartment, saying he would personally assist in working

things out.

" We're more than willing to find a fair, legal and amicable

resolution to the situation, " Hensel said.

Hensel sounded sincere, and hopefully, he'll get the problem fixed.

But what is a tenant to do when managers don't seem to take

seriously their duty to keep up the maintenance on a rental unit?

Call Code Enforcement and report the problem. The county

investigates reports of substandard housing and unsafe buildings.

You can reach them at 533-5895.

Also, don't just walk away from the apartment and stop paying the

rent.

" That's the worst thing you can do, " said Charlie Green, the Lee

County Clerk of Court. Instead, Green advises that residents in such

a situation go to the county clerk's office, file a court case

against the landlord and make rent payments to the court, to be held

until the matter is settled.

It may seem daunting, but it can be done. Green said the clerks will

help people with the forms that they need to file.

The way to get out of a lease is to file suit, Green said. It's not

cheap, but it's less expensive than having your landlord take you to

court for breaking the contract.

- To comment on this column or to read Mel's blog, go to news-

press.com/tellmel. Write to Tell Mel at 2442 Luther King Jr.

Blvd., Fort Myers, 33901