Hello ladies,
I wanted to thank everyone for their advice on the mold situation. I also wanted to update everyone on the newest information. Last Tuesday my family and I went to stay in Philadelphia with my mom until the issue could be resolved. In the process we're looking for another place closer to our son school district. His teachers we're nice enough to give us a weeks worth of work( Philly is to far to travel everyday to take him to school). However, the landlord did hire an inspector he showed up Thursday morning. The inspector found a leak in our bedroom wall that was covered by paint, and a water leak in the living room wall that was covered by paint. He also found mold in every single window in the apartment, mold on the bathroom floors, mold behind the washer and dryer, is said there is mold behind the bath tub in the bathroom, and he also found a very significant amount of mold in the crawl space. The inspector also performed an air quality test(the results won't be in until Tuesday). Our landlord was told to fix this job it will cost any where between 2,000-3,000 dollars. I spoke with my landlord yesterday(which I have documented all of our emails/conversations) he said eventhough there is mold present he will not perform work unless the air quality test comes back positive. As a landlord is he obligated to fix this issue? CONTINUED IN THE WHAT HAPPENED SECTION.
Monday morning I called our local Health Department and spoke to someone named Nancy. She was very rude to me she basically told me if I didn't see mold then it wasn't present. I asked to file a complaint about my landlord and the issue(she said I will give him a a call). My husband and I went to visit Nancy Tuesday morning to get a copy of the report, not to our surprise she wasn't there and hasn't been all this week. I left a message with her supervisor Thursday morning no call back yet. We also spoke to a lawyer on base(JAG) and they basically told us they are just consultants. We spoke to another lawyer he told us we have a case, but it can also be very hard proving that it's the mold for sure. However, he said if we have her medical records then it shouldn't be hard to see that she was a normal todler until we moved to this apartment. My landlord has sent me numerous emails about the rent, saying he's going to sue us because we have not paid March rent(which is actually due no later then the 5th of each month). Are we obligated to pay rent if mold is present? Thank you for the wonderful advice and help. I'm sorry if there's grammar issues.
Yes you are still obligated to pay rent, they have a certain amount of time to solve issues, if anything you can require the money to be paid back but I don't think this is worth getting sent to collections for. I think there is like a three month window on fixing things once the issues has been proven.
Absolutely pay the rent. Don't give the landlord ANY reason to make you out to be a bad tenant. Not paying the rent is ammunition against you. Your situation is horrifying. I really hope you get it resolved for the sake of your little girl!
Mold or no mold - you are obligated to pay the rent.
However, your landlord is obligated to fix the problem.
The JAG office can help you - they can consult with you and give you direction on where to go, what to say - since this isn't a military issue - they don't have much "control"...
Since the landlord hired the inspector, he should have the results. This isn't a Department of Health Issue...here's a website for NJ for landlord information..
http://www.rentlaw.com/newjersey.htm
Read through that and find out what specifically applies to you. It should also tell you WHO to contact to complain about your mold situation and what your landlord does or does not do about it.
Read your lease to see if you can break your lease without penalty. You SHOULD be able to. JAG can help you with that as well, at least they SHOULD!!!
Good luck!
Yes-keep paying your rent. The landlord is obligated to fix the mold.
Yes you are still obligated to pay your rent. Glad to hear you guys took action. Dont stop the least you can get is some sort of settlement from all this
Hi, My:
When the air quality control report comes back, have documentation about the leak and mold around the house, go to the local court house and file a complaint against your landlord.
Good job to pursue this issue. I know it is difficult but you are doing the right thing.
D.
I would say the air quality will come back positive. If you wind up moving out of there then I would definantly report him to the housing authority if he does not want to fix it. He does not seem to concerned about the health of your family. When you are a property owner there are expenses that will come up. If he does not understand that then he does not need to rent properties.
I agree, like others have said you need to pay your rent. If he gets the air quality back and agrees to fix it all, you don't want him throwing you out for not paying. If he does not fix it, you have a case but it won't look good if you are at fault with something too. so pay the rent as usual, and demand it get fixed, continue to get the help you are and file complaints, etc. But don't put yourselves in a bad position by being the ones to break the lease. If he refuses to fix it,then he is the one breaking contract and you have something to fight.
