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RE: Mold or Moisture? - 5/22/2015 5:42:46 PM

LookieNoNookie

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quote:

ORIGINAL: kkaliforniaa

Hi. Sorry, I can't post any pictures. The only camera I have is on my phone, and it only does 1.3 megapixels *shrug*. Add that the nearest light source is in the closet, 10ft [or so] away *shrug*.

My situation is: there is bubbling [or rippling] that takes up a good part of an 9ft wide wall. There appears to be some discoloration [light brown] along the moulding/baseboard [and I have smelled something [that could have been mold related] from time to time]. I used to have an air conditioner in the window on this wall, but have taken it out because it began leaking.. Somehow, the bubbling spread to the opposite side of an adjacent wall, but there appears to be some black on the bubbling.. Also, in my bathroom, behind my toilet, I am having the same problem with bubbling [although no black, but the moulding/baseboard isn't flush against the wall where the bubbling is]. There has also been silverfish in my bathroom..

quote:

My question, do you think this [in both areas] is mold or just moisture?

I reported this problem to maintenance/management on May 10th. Maintenance didn't stop by until May 12. They said they would be back the next day, but they never returned.. I finally called today asking when maintenance was going to return, and the person who answered the phone actually asked [when I told her there was bubbling on the wall], "what do you want maintenance to do about it?".. When maintenance was here, they made it seem like all they were going to do was scrape everything off.

The reason I came here is because I want opinions from other people. If there is a decent chance that this is mold, I want it repaired properly the first time! [I moved everything from my bedroom [maybe 9 x 12ft] in to the living room so maintenance would have space to work. It's not very convenient if I want to invite people over]

*This isn't the first problem I have had here where maintenance [here] has said they would fix, but never returned. My faith in them doing the job properly [if at all] is lacking *shrug*

Fuuuuuuck.

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RE: Mold or Moisture? - 5/25/2015 2:22:41 AM

kkaliforniaa

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Okay.. Related question..

If I were to contact the police [the Code Enforcement Unit is a division of the police department that makes sure residential buildings are safe to live in, and all that.. They seem like the only people who may actually make sure repairs are done properly], do you think management would decide not to renew my lease? See, there is the problem with not owning your own place *headdesk*. With the exception of the crappy job at maintaining the place [in regards to possible mold], this is a decent place to live. I chose it over the other places in the area for that very reason.. .. Technically, management doesn't have to renew a lease at all, but if you're a good resident why would they choose to [essentially] kick you out.. .. Sure, tenants have rights, but is this one of them? This issue is different than being evicted [I think]. According to findlaw.com, there are "three different types of eviction notices that you may receive if you have violated some part of your lease agreement or rental contract." 1. "Pay Rent or Quit" [self explanatory] 2. "Cure or Quit" [quit smoking if you're in a smoke free apartment; get rid of pets if you're in a pet free apartment; etc] 3. "Unconditional Quit" ["Paid rent late on more than a few occasions; Violated a term or condition of the lease multiple times and have failed to correct or cure the defect; Been conducting illegal activities in the lease property, such as making or dealing drugs, or engaging in gang-related activity, or; Seriously damaged the rental property"].. Reporting the problem of "mold" to the police wouldn't fall under any of those categories, thus, not a valid reason for eviction, but I could be viewed as a troublemaker [which I really am not], and they may not like that, even if I was justified in contacting a government agency [etc].

*I looked at the reviews for my apartments at apartmentratings.com [which I found to be very accurate for my last place], and my current place, nothing but 5 stars across the board. Not a single negative thing was said *shaking head*.

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RE: Mold or Moisture? - 5/25/2015 2:38:47 AM

kkaliforniaa

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Okay.. So I looked this up, and it's called “retaliatory eviction”, and it can be used as a defense so you can remain in your apartment. *whew*.. But it's still a concern that should be thought over.. So the question becomes, how many times should you make sure maintenance is still going to make the repairs, before you start making formal complaints?

I found this while I was looking,
"Generally, landlords do not have to make repairs unless there is:
(1) Defective and hazardous gas equipment
(2) Binding agreement by the landlord to repair
(3) Violation of the covenant of quiet enjoyment of the premises
(4) Repairs for common areas (e.g. walkways)
(5) Dangerous/hidden defects"

HOLY *BLEEP*!!.. That makes it sound like, if you accidentally made a hole in the wall in your apartment, or your dishwasher backs up in to your garbage disposal, etc, maintenance isn't required to fix it [unless they have formally agreed to it]

< Message edited by kkaliforniaa -- 5/25/2015 3:05:22 AM >

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RE: Mold or Moisture? - 5/25/2015 5:43:02 AM

WinsomeDefiance

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Can you afford to fight an eviction?
Is it worth the hassle of fighting to get it fixed vs the hassle and expense of moving?
If it was me, I'd find another place and turn in my required notice.
If you leave on bad terms you would be unlikely to get a good reference for a new place.
Evictions go on your credit report. Which makes it hard to find a new place.
Just things to think that on.

< Message edited by WinsomeDefiance -- 5/25/2015 5:45:04 AM >

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RE: Mold or Moisture? - 5/26/2015 2:10:54 AM

kkaliforniaa

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The eviction thing was just a hypothetical situation. Also, my lease is nowhere close to being up.. It may or may not happen depending on anything.. As for the expense of moving, it's not just the expense of moving, but if the next best place in the area is more expensive, you have to think about that. Sure, there are places that cost about the same, but for whatever reason I didn't like the other places when I chose this one [from reviews I read, one of them had.. MOLD. So I would be in the same situation that I'm currently in].. Factor in that if people don't fight this sort of thing, it means that the people who were wrong in what they did can continue doing that. If someone goes through this sort of thing, and wins, then it gives management a bad reputation. All in all, it wouldn't be in management's best interest to even consider something like this *shrug*.. .. I also mentioned that this would be a retalitory [sp] eviction, not an eviction based on non-payment, breaking the lease, etc. It could also be done by management choosing not to renew a tenant's lease. I can't imagine that something like this would wind up on a credit report.

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