Re: Affordable/Safe housing

[Guest guest]

(I sent a response to this but don't see it so I will post it again.)

The only way there will affordable low cost housing is if health

hazzard exists, law is that landlord must clean it up or he cannot

rent out property. So, have to demonstrate that this is health

hazzard. Perhaps you are all on that page already. It must be shown,

then that the health impact of residents costs government much money

when people are forced to quit their jobs because they can't work and

then need public assistance.

>

> my rent was 1270 pr month / i pay my own utilities and sewer and in

lease any repairs under 100 i had to pay ,,,,,, then when i moved

here they give you a discount ,,, well that is the red flag ,,,,,

they say one month

[Guest guest]

yes, Landlords should have to deal with it the same way that

schools are being made to deal with it, is it osha that puts presure

on schools? I'm thinking there is something called the landloads

association where you can make complaints about landlords. not that

it would do any

good.

> >

> > my rent was 1270 pr month / i pay my own utilities and sewer and

in

> lease any repairs under 100 i had to pay ,,,,,, then when i moved

> here they give you a discount ,,, well that is the red flag ,,,,,

> they say one month

>

[Guest guest]

you are so right rt, the last apartment I was in was bad ,and was

aggervateing my illnesses. I talked to the landlord about it and he

said there was nothing he could do about it, him and I both knew that

what he really was saying is that he was not going to spend money

dealing with it and no one could make him. him and I both knew that

he knew it was a health problem.(wont go into that) but I told him

that because he wouldn't do anything about it, that I would have to

move and I couldn't pay him rent and save money to move at the same

time. after I moved he called and wanted this money, and talked about

takeing me to court. I told him to go right ahead. I prepared for

this possability by takeing pictures of the moldy cealing tiles from

a suspended cealing that he would just replace as they got moldy from

multiple leaks(those drop in kind on metel grids), and took clear

tape and took tape samples and sealed them in ziplock bags, in case I

would need proof.for about $50.00 you can send this tape sample to a

lab and have it tested. and because I had to line all the heater

vents with hepa filters, and they were turning black, I took some

pictures of them, than left them there so he could see that I had to

do this because the basement and crawl space were these vents were,

was bad. I am not saying anyone else go this route, It worked for me,

because he knew I was pissed and if he wanted to make a court issue

out of it, that I would do it. and he knew that this could possably

result in him haveing to do something about these moldy apartments,

like

condemnation !

> >

> > my rent was 1270 pr month / i pay my own utilities and sewer and

in

> lease any repairs under 100 i had to pay ,,,,,, then when i moved

> here they give you a discount ,,, well that is the red flag ,,,,,

> they say one month

>

>

>

>

>

> FAIR USE NOTICE:

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>

>

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>

[Guest guest]

Im not in a mold consious

state.

> Jeanine thank you for sharing this. I'm sure others in similar

situations

> will benefit from your detailed explanation how you successfully

left a

> toxic apartment.

> Rather than spending a lot of money on testing, you obtained the

samples,

> saved them and took pictures and informed your landlord of your

actions.

>

> What a brilliant idea!!

> Rosie

>

> On Behalf Of who

>

> you are so right rt, the last apartment I was in was bad ,and was

> aggervateing my illnesses. I talked to the landlord about it and he

> said there was nothing he could do about it, him and I both knew

that

> what he really was saying is that he was not going to spend money

> dealing with it and no one could make him. him and I both knew

that

> he knew it was a health problem.(wont go into that) but I told him

> that because he wouldn't do anything about it, that I would have to

> move and I couldn't pay him rent and save money to move at the same

> time. after I moved he called and wanted this money, and talked

about

> takeing me to court. I told him to go right ahead. I prepared for

> this possability by takeing pictures of the moldy cealing tiles

from

> a suspended cealing that he would just replace as they got moldy

from

> multiple leaks(those drop in kind on metel grids), and took clear

> tape and took tape samples and sealed them in ziplock bags, in case

I

> would need proof.for about $50.00 you can send this tape sample to

a

> lab and have it tested. and because I had to line all the heater

> vents with hepa filters, and they were turning black, I took some

> pictures of them, than left them there so he could see that I had

to

> do this because the basement and crawl space were these vents were,

> was bad. I am not saying anyone else go this route, It worked for

me,

> because he knew I was pissed and if he wanted to make a court issue

> out of it, that I would do it. and he knew that this could possably

> result in him haveing to do something about these moldy apartments,

> like

>

condemnation !

>

>

>

> ---

>

>

>

> FAIR USE NOTICE:

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Five years ago this coming June, I moved into a

low-income senior citizen apartment building and went

on Section 8 for the first time in my life.

The building is owned and managed by a large company,

and they have many other Section 8 apt. buildings not

only in PA., but in several other states.

Soon after I moved in, I began to get sick, then I

discovered there was mold in the building, and

according to the tenants that lived here before I

moved in, the owner knew mold was present, but refused

to do anything about it, and the tenants were afraid

to complain, because the Manager told them, if you

don't like it move, and in a round-about way, made it

clear to the tenants, if they complained, they would

be evicted. Of course they could not be evicted for

complaining, but they are in their 70's and 80s, and

were scared, so they kept quiet. Just what Management

wanted!

Well, I was not about to keep quiet, because my health

kept getting worse, and I could not afford to move.

Hardly any place around here, that is in a decent

area, will not accept Section 8, so I was stuck.

I took pictures of the mold on the walls in the

basement, and took samples from under the carpeting

and air vents in my apt. and sent them to a lab, and

they came back positive for mold.

Then I sent the pictures and a copy of the lab reports

to the owner; the local Housing Authority; the local

Code Enforcement Office; the Pennsylvania Housing

Finance Agency - the Agency that secured financing for

the owner of this building; and I also the information

to several of the investors that put up money so this

old school building could be renovated and turned into

48 apts. for low-income seniors. But, no one cared

that there was mold in the building, and that it had

made me sick.

After that, I went to an attorney who took the case on

a contingency fee basis, but he turned out to be a

jerk. We went thru a Deposition, and about 6 months

later, the owner made a ridiculously low offer to

settle, but I rejected it. Then, this past January,

the owner doubled the original offer, but it was still

so ridiculously low, I refused again, and that's when

my attorney said he would withdraw from the case if I

didn't accept the offer.

Well, he withdrew from the case, and I am now in the

process of trying to find another attorney to take it

over.But in the meantime, I contacted the Regional

Director of " HUD " for this area, and I cannot believe

how helpful him and his staff have been. I’m just

sorry I didn’t contact him years ago.

Since originally contacting the Regional Director, I

cannot tell you how many inspectors have been out to

the building from the local housing authority, and now

they are going to be doing air quality testing.

So even though Pennsylvania does not have any laws or

regulations relating to mold or indoor air quality in

general, at the present time, it doesn’t mean that

nothing can be done.

Of course the owner as well as the local housing

authority are upset with me, and probably classify me

as a trouble–maker, but I don’t care. In fact, the

other week, the Property Manager even came my

apartment and threatened me and my dog, and I’m just

sorry I didn’t get that conversation on tape, because

I would have taken it to the District Attorney.

All I can say to anyone who lives in Section 8 housing

is, if you have problems and the owner won’t do

anything, and if the Local Housing Authority won’t

help, then go to the Regional Director of “HUD in

your area, and just hope and pray that he is as good

as the Regional Director of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Barb

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Well, then this is a matter of enforcement. If the law is already

there and I thought it was actually, it needs to be enforced. If a

connection can be shown that people GET SICK in this housing and

that costs GOVERNMENT lots of money, then they would start to

enforce. So the key would be to show a connection between the sick

buildings and illness of people inside and that cost to government

or WHOEVER the cost gets transferred to.

> >

> > (I sent a response to this but don't see it so I will post it

> again.)

> > The only way there will affordable low cost housing is if

health

> > hazzard exists, law is that landlord must clean it up or he

cannot

> > rent out property. So, have to demonstrate that this is

health

> > hazzard. Perhaps you are all on that page already. It must

be

> shown,

> > then that the health impact of residents costs government much

> money

> > when people are forced to quit their jobs because they can't

work

> and

> > then need public assistance.

[Guest guest]

Elvira, I know you realize that just because you are ill and live in

HUD housing, it doesn't mean you are ill from the housing. I'm sure

you know that. I hope you can show the connection if there is one.

Londa appears to be trying very hard to help. Have you had your home

or your grandson's home tested for mold or at least gotten one of

those home mold test kits? barb

>

> Barb my email goes to very important people and my case come's up in

7 days it doesn't look bad I never give up, it hard but I hang in

there thank's to people like all of You. What a great site please read

on you should see my

[Guest guest]

Elvira, so sorry to for what you've been through, keep your chin up. I

hope your not takeing these antidepressents while in a toxic mold home

because from my own experience, they do not mix well. if you cant

afford to get test done, take a lot of pictures of the mold, and skin

problems, sores under nose, exc. some of these mold testing labs will

test a sample, you use clear tape,like the 2 inch wide, stick it to the

mold and than put it in a zip lock bag. should cost about $50.00, you

may want to take a picture of someone doing this too. hang in

there.

> >

> > Barb my email goes to very important people and my case come's up

in

> 7 days it doesn't look bad I never give up, it hard but I hang in

> there thank's to people like all of You. What a great site please

read

> on you should see my

>

[Guest guest]

Elvira, I'm not disbelieving what you say. No, definately not.

Londa sounds like a good caring person. I hope she can help you

further. No, what I was saying is they are going to deny your story

unless you have proof. You don't need proof for us here. I'm just

trying to help. I don't know what you can afford but have you tried

getting a mold plate from Home Depot and sending it off to a lab?

Others here might have better ideas. If mold is visible, the tape

lift idea might be better. Then taking that info and putting along

with info from out site about symptoms and listing all the symptoms

you and your family are having that line up with that? Perhaps you

have already done that. Please excuse me if I am not understanding

of where you are at today in your battle against mold and feeling

sick. I don't read all the posts here and I sometimes go for long

periods of not reading here at all.

--- In , " elvira52 " <Elvira52@...>

wrote:

>

> Hummmmmmm,

>

> Do you really believe what you are saying?

[Guest guest]

Elvira, I read what you sent. Sharon is not listening and obviously

she is not qualified to prescribe medicine but obviously thinks you

are crazy. I wonder if it would be helpful to give her some info on

mold and mold illness that a qualified doctor has written. Dr

Shoemaker is a doctor who is listed as a " Preferred Provider with Blue

Cross and Blue Shield " , not a crazed snake oil salesmen.

>

> Barb1283,

>

> 1.what I was saying is they are going to deny your story

> unless you have proof.

>