My wife and I live i California and recently moved (Oct 08) to an older home that we now find out has a mold problem. Upon moving in my wife spoke with the rental/property mgmt company about a musty odor and was told the home needed to be aired out. A couple days after we signed the lease (1 year) we get a letter from the prop mgmt co to direct all rent and repair issues w/the landlord.
Well, it seems that the mold issue is falling on deaf ears. A few weeks after we moved in seeing that the odors were still prevalent in the home we notified the LL and did not hear back for a week. He came by to have a repairman install a new verticle blind in the kitchen and I asked if there was a mold issue with the home. He stated no, never. I'll get it fixed if there's a problem. he said he would have someone come out and inspect the property for the possible mold issue in a few days.
A week went by and I recently found out he left for a vacation out of the country and won't be back until late January.
So I paid out of pocket $475 to have a environmental service do a mold inspection, they took 4 air samples and 2 of the first floor air quality samples came back as elevated for pennicilicum and aspergillus (lab certified). My wife tends to be allergic to various things and recently had been to a doctor about a recent upswing in her asthma. Dr. stated it could be molds but without a specific test who knows.
The environmental inspectors stated that because of their findings the LL will have to do whatever is needed to rectify the mold conditions in the home. If not contact my local Dept of Health.
What are my options? Can I get out of the lease and move to a more hospitable home because of health issues? Should I just ask nicely to get out of the lease? What are the LL's responsibilities because of the lab report?
Well, it seems that the mold issue is falling on deaf ears. A few weeks after we moved in seeing that the odors were still prevalent in the home we notified the LL and did not hear back for a week. He came by to have a repairman install a new verticle blind in the kitchen and I asked if there was a mold issue with the home. He stated no, never. I'll get it fixed if there's a problem. he said he would have someone come out and inspect the property for the possible mold issue in a few days.
A week went by and I recently found out he left for a vacation out of the country and won't be back until late January.
So I paid out of pocket $475 to have a environmental service do a mold inspection, they took 4 air samples and 2 of the first floor air quality samples came back as elevated for pennicilicum and aspergillus (lab certified). My wife tends to be allergic to various things and recently had been to a doctor about a recent upswing in her asthma. Dr. stated it could be molds but without a specific test who knows.
The environmental inspectors stated that because of their findings the LL will have to do whatever is needed to rectify the mold conditions in the home. If not contact my local Dept of Health.
What are my options? Can I get out of the lease and move to a more hospitable home because of health issues? Should I just ask nicely to get out of the lease? What are the LL's responsibilities because of the lab report?
