# Please help!!! Black toxic mold.



## dustinglodney (Apr 3, 2013)

We're renting a house in California and my wife and three kids haven't been feeling well. We decided to test for mold and the results came back positive for black toxic mold. They test the air outside the house to get a baseline and it was 60 ppm and the inside air test showed 5,190 ppm. Seems high. The recommendation was to go see a doctor and then get everything professionally cleaned. We're going to break our lease and move. This is such a pain. Does anyone have any recommendations. Thanks. 

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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

dustinglodney said:


> We're renting a house in California and my wife and three kids haven't been feeling well. We decided to test for mold and the results came back positive for black toxic mold. They test the air outside the house to get a baseline and it was 60 ppm and the inside air test showed 5,190 ppm. Seems high. The recommendation was to go see a doctor and then get everything professionally cleaned. We're going to break our lease and move. This is such a pain. Does anyone have any recommendations. Thanks.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N900V using Survival Forum mobile app


Do not break your lease. Present your findings to the property management company/landlord. By law they have to repair/clean/etc everything at their expense AND move you. If they refuse to repair/clean then call the local county health department and stop paying rent. They will come inspect the property and cite the landlords/owners.

I had to do this for the same reason.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Grimm is correct; it is the property owner's responsibility to make it all good.


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## RevWC (Mar 28, 2011)

If the mold is that bad it may also be in the walls and just cleaning won't help. Personally I would move.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

Get out quickly and make the property owner pay for the move. In the meantime go to a hotel. A friend of mine had this problem and his little girl developed a pretty bad reaction. Had to stay in the hospital for a month he said.


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## Jim1590 (Jul 11, 2012)

Read your lease carefully. See what language is in there about landlord being responsible for any temp housing costs.

Get the kids OUT. Keep receipts for everything. Give the original (keep a copy) test results to the landlord and request (at first) that it be professionally cleaned ASAP. Follow up with a sit down with a housing lawyer if the landlord is less than amicable. Is there anything to show the mold was present prior move in?

By breaking your lease, you may void any claim against the landlords insurance to cover medical costs. Do not stop paying rent or break lease without speaking to a housing lawyer first. Heck, head over to justanswer.com, I love my monthly membership there. I have sloved many problems using them.

As far as I know, nobody that has answered thus far is a California lawyer or stayed at a holiday inn express last night, so get the expert help.

The best advice you will get from us here is to GET OUT.

Good luck!


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

dustinglodney said:


> We're renting a house in California and my wife and three kids haven't been feeling well. We decided to test for mold and the results came back positive for black toxic mold. They test the air outside the house to get a baseline and it was 60 ppm and the inside air test showed 5,190 ppm. Seems high. The recommendation was to go see a doctor and then get everything professionally cleaned. We're going to break our lease and move. This is such a pain. Does anyone have any recommendations. Thanks.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N900V using Survival Forum mobile app


I have only one thought right now ....


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

As a fellow Californian who rents the CA Tenants LAW says that if the unit is deemed uninhabitable (violates the implied warranty of habitability) the LANDLORD PAYS MOVING COSTS.

BUT you must report the issue to them and give them time to repair. In this case 24-72 hours seems fair.

Do not allow them to just bleach and paint over the mold. The laws protect renters from landlords who cheap out on repairs.

http://www.caltenantlaw.com/Habitability.htm

http://www.caltenantlaw.com/HabChecklist.htm

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/legal_guides/lt-8.shtml

Please listen to me on this issue. I have dealt with slumlords and crappy landlords for the past 7 years. Ever wonder why K and I were moving every year at the end of our lease?!

I think I have mentioned the landlord that started cheaping on repairs or not doing them right and I called the health department. He ended up with 28+ health code violations he had 30 days to repair.(over $30K in repairs) Not to mention he had to tear down his guest house, garage and was forced to reroof the house by the city. When everything was said and done he had to do the following...

install new windows,
repaint the peeling doors inside and out,
remodel the bathroom (mold issues),
tear down and rebuild the front porch,
reroof the whole house,
tear down the illegal garage apartment,
tear down the condemned guest house (he had a tenant in there too!),
move out of the illegal garage apartment,
prune ALL trees and plants,
spray for cockroaches,
set traps for mice,
relock the whole house,
replace the floors(sub-floors),
replace the heater,
replace the light fixtures,
rewire half the outlets in the house,
remove his aggressive pitbull from the yard(forcing us to live with it),

The list goes on and I have a copy of the violations in the filing cabinet. But I know what I am talking about.

*A side fact you need to know. Landlords have 21 days to return your deposit or they forfeit the entire thing even if there are repairs or cleaning that can be deducted even if you break the lease! I have never lost a deposit either.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

I'd get out now & get my stuff out. Your furniture, etc may already be contaminated & have to be disposed of.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

tsrwivey said:


> I'd get out now & get my stuff out. Your furniture, etc may already be contaminated & have to be disposed of.


He needs to notify the landlord asap. This way he can be reimbursed for his damaged belongings and moving costs under California Tenant Law.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Here is the step by step the OP needs to do so he isn't held responsible for the rent if he breaks his lease.

#1 Send your landlord a copy of the mold findings via certified mail (signature required). Include a letter stating this issue NEEDS to be repaired under the "implied warranty of habitability". Use those words, please or I will write up a letter for you if you PM me.

#2 Keep copies of all receipts for the hotel you and the family move to and for any health bills etc. You will need these when this goes to court.

#3 STOP PAYING RENT if the landlord has not attempted to make any repairs within 7 days of receiving your certified letter.

#4 Keep all due rent in a separate bank account or in money order form. You need to show that you intended to pay the rent and were not spending the money. Some courts will make you pay back rent if the landlord does make the repairs.

#5 If the repairs have not been made send your landlord another certified letter that you will be breaking lease if they are not made with in 7 days of your letter. 

#6 If the repairs are still not made move out and keep all receipts for the move and any cleaning/repairs to your belongings.

#7 File a small claims case in the amount of your expenses 21 days after you have moved. This gives the landlord time to give you back your deposit. If he has not add 3X the deposit amount to the claim.

This is how you cover your ass in this situation. You can not break the lease without first giving the landlord the chance to fix the issue. It is called "good faith" and is expected of you as the tenant.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

JimMadsen said:


> Is there anything to show the mold was present prior move in?


In California it doesn't matter. It is a health violation and the landlord is responsible to fix it.


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## Jim1590 (Jul 11, 2012)

Grimm said:


> In California it doesn't matter. It is a health violation and the landlord is responsible to fix it.


Fully agree with you on that. I was thinking more along the lines of civil suit in the case that the landlord knowingly and malisciously blah blah blah allowed habitation in violation of blah blah blah.

Something like an empty can of killz in the basement showed that he painted over previous incidents of mold.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

JimMadsen said:


> Fully agree with you on that. I was thinking more along the lines of civil suit in the case that the landlord knowingly and malisciously blah blah blah allowed habitation in violation of blah blah blah.
> 
> Something like an empty can of killz in the basement showed that he painted over previous incidents of mold.


One can argue that the landlord would say the can was left by the previous tenant. Plus if you have a basement in California they leak. I have a basement and the block walls are always wet. But as a whole basements are rare here.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

Good advice Grim. Not just a pretty face are ya


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

CrackbottomLouis said:


> Good advice Grim. Not just a pretty face are ya


Like I said, I have dealt with this type of issue for the last 7 years.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

To:
[Larry Landlord
123 Landlord Lane
Lincoln, CA 68508]

Date: [5/30/2013]

RE: Request for Repairs at [123 Tenant Trail]

Dear [Mr. Landlord],

This is a request for repairs to the property at [123 Tenant Trail, Lincoln, NE 68508]. Specifically, the following repairs need to be made: (describe damage) This damage voids the implied warranty of habitability in that it causes the following health issues: (describe health issues experienced)

Please complete these repairs by [DATE expect repairs to be done]. Please ensure that you give at least 24 hours written notice before you, your contractor, or your employee enter the rental property.

We (the tenant) can be reached at the following: (phone numbers and address where you are staying)

[Terry Tenant] [Theresa Tenant]
Signature Signature
Date Date


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

Nice work Grimm 

my landlord owns a whole slew of houses on my street, I was talking to one of my neighbors and he told me he was looking in the crawlspace under the house and found black mold, and that he couldnt figure out why his carpet was damp, and it turned out water was running under the kitchen floor out to the living room.

I dont know what if anything he's done about approaching the landlord though.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Dakine said:


> Nice work Grimm
> 
> my landlord owns a whole slew of houses on my street, I was talking to one of my neighbors and he told me he was looking in the crawlspace under the house and found black mold, and that he couldnt figure out why his carpet was damp, and it turned out water was running under the kitchen floor out to the living room.
> 
> I dont know what if anything he's done about approaching the landlord though.


Thanks. I have a very through working knowledge of California Tenant Law. I have had to write my fair share of 'demanding' letters to landlords to get repairs done as well as threats to go to court to get deposits back. Never lost a dime on any of my deposits.


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## dustinglodney (Apr 3, 2013)

Thank you for all the feedback. We did let the landlord know and he was happy to break our lease. When we gave him a written list of moving expenses and request for our deposit back he emailed me and said he wants to make sure we our completely out in three days. This guy is nuts. How am I going to be able to get all my stuff cleaned and moved and stored. Grimm thank you for all the advice. I'm going to let the lawyer take it from here. 

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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

dustinglodney said:


> Thank you for all the feedback. We did let the landlord know and he was happy to break our lease. When we gave him a written list of moving expenses and request for our deposit back he emailed me and said he wants to make sure we our completely out in three days. This guy is nuts. How am I going to be able to get all my stuff cleaned and moved and stored. Grimm thank you for all the advice. I'm going to let the lawyer take it from here.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N900V using Survival Forum mobile app


By law he can only give you the 3-days-to-quit if you refuse to pay rent or violate the lease such as have a pet that he did not authorize. Otherwise he has to give you 30-days notice IN WRITING.

Regardless of what you end up doing, REPORT HIS SORRY ASS TO THE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT. Give them a copy of your mold findings. He wants you out before the beginning of the month so he can re-rent it without skipping a beat.


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## dustinglodney (Apr 3, 2013)

We're only paid up till the end of the month and he has one month security deposit that we want back. So we're not planning on staying another month because we don't want to pay for another month. Just trying to figure out how to get out so fast. We're going to start to load the containers today and hopefully we can get the hell out. We're all staying in a nice new apt building and we're already feeling better. It's amazing what people will do when you request money back from them. I didn't want to make a problem for them and get my lawyer on them and tried to do the nice thing and now I'm thinking about just having our lawyer handle it because I see were going to get no where. 

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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

dustinglodney said:


> We're only paid up till the end of the month and he has one month security deposit that we want back. So we're not planning on staying another month because we don't want to pay for another month. Just trying to figure out how to get out so fast. We're going to start to load the containers today and hopefully we can get the hell out. We're all staying in a nice new apt building and we're already feeling better. It's amazing what people will do when you request money back from them. I didn't want to make a problem for them and get my lawyer on them and tried to do the nice thing and now I'm thinking about just having our lawyer handle it because I see were going to get no where.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N900V using Survival Forum mobile app


Remember 21 days is all he has before he HAS to give you back your deposit. And to CYOA about the mold you still need to send him copies of the findings BEFORE you turn over the keys. Or have him sign a notice that he has received the documentation prior to the release of keys. Otherwise he may come back and say you caused the mold and charge you for the clean up AND the rent for the remainder of the lease.

Not sure how you had it tested but the DIY mold test kits from Home Depot are a cheap option next time you have to test. Plus the results hold up in court.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Automobile heat and air are two of the main places for this and other kinds of pollution. We just did a complete cleanup of our home and auto heat and air.

Amonia, hydrogen peroxide got rid of the smell and no more sneezing and red eyes. We took it all apart and did the vents, lines and coils all got blasted. 

Also check the AC drain hose that comes out near cowl panel .It gets clogged and can be very dangerous. Same thing in house drain and ac and heat cores.


Legionaires desase came from nasty pluming. Water can be deadly.


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## dustinglodney (Apr 3, 2013)

Grimm we had a professional company do the resting in the house and then they tested the mold in a lab. That's good advice about the keys and the bills. Thank you for all the great help. 

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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

dustinglodney said:


> Grimm we had a professional company do the resting in the house and then they tested the mold in a lab. That's good advice about the keys and the bills. Thank you for all the great help.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N900V using Survival Forum mobile app


The diy kits are about $10-20 from Home Depot and to have the sample lab tested is about $30 with free shipping to their lab.

They are really neat! We had to take about 4 samples from different parts of the house we were renting. I divided the petri dish into quarters and labeled them. $50 for the whole kit kaboodle was worth it to get our former landlord to take us seriously.

After we moved I had to threaten to take him to court for 3x the deposit amount for him to return the whole deposit. He had his dad do the repairs and cleaning after we left then charged us the amount he got an estimate for from a professional company. The law says he has to have the work done by that company within 7 days of the estimate or 30 days from move out to use the estimate for deductions. Since he never had them do the work he forfeited the whole deposit. Lots of angry calls from him for about a week before the check arrived for the full amount. And I saved every message til the check cleared his bank.


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