The woman in the unit next door to my apartment moved out. She said her apartment was contaminated with a Toxic Black Mold. Five months later the vacant unit was rented. New carpet was put it and a new coat of paint was put on the walls, covering all of the dark discloration.
While cleaning in the bedroom of my children, I noticed a dark spot on the wall below an electrical outlet, when I touched the discolored area-THE WALL FELL IN.
Upon retrieving the pieces out of the wall I noticed that the insulation, sheetrock and studs inside of the wall were all black. This was a Toxic Black Mold known as Staccy Botris.
This is a form of Black Mold that has killed people, caused countless serious health problems.
I immediately informed the landlord, Ginny Casselman of Frank Bennett Property Management Company, in writing. Ginny said that she was going to take care of it right away. She arranged for the general maintenance company they use to fix broken gates and repace door knobs to address the problem.
Meanwhile, I had to make arrangements to have all of our property moved out of the apartment and find somewhere for my family to live during this time.
The maintenance company did not show up to examine the extend of damage, not once but twice. They called me and told me that they were not qualified to address a problem of that nature.
Back to square one. Ginny Casselman was notified. It took her nearly a week to return the call to me. She said that she was trying to figure out who would handle a problem of this nature.
(which kinda of means that the unit next door was probably never properly addressed). But she had found someone.
Three weeks later the company that came out said that the apartment would have to be quarrentined, and extensive repairs would have to be made. Not to mention that the carpet and carpet padding would all have to be replaced. The ventilation systems would have to be checked for contamination as well. This is a process that would take probably 2-3 weeks after landlord approval. (My lease was expired in 6 days, and we had provided our Landlord with more than the required 30 day notice prior to the discoverly of the mold issue.)
Our deposit was supposed to be returned within 14 business days of the end of the lease or surrender of the property, which would have been June 11. As of July 6 I have contacted the landlord via certified mail (which included our return address on the letter and the certified mail confirmation number printed on the letter). I have called her office and left numerous messages, sent her emails and still have not gotten my deposit.
I have sent her notice of Damages in the amount od two months rent, notice that she failed to return my deposit in the time outlined by the AZ landlord and tenants act, and now she has to refund the deposit in the amount of two times the amount wrongfully withheld.
I am also confident that Ginny Casselman is going to make an attempt to charge me for not cleaning the carpets upon vacating the unit. Although the carpets all have to be replaced, not to mention that NO CARPET CLEANERS WOULD CLEAN THE CARPET, due to the fact the apartment is contaminated with toxic black mold which would contaminate the carpet cleaning equipment and begin speading this hazardous fungus into the homes of others.
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