A Las Vegas mother, Melody Tobias, has come forward to share her distressing experience of living with mold in her apartment, claiming that property management did not adequately address the issue.
Tobias and her family resided at the Sedona Ridge Apartments, located near Tropicana and Jones, for nearly three years before moving out at the conclusion of their lease.
The mother expressed, “I’m so stressed, and it’s so hard, like I don’t sleep anymore.” Her concerns revolve around ongoing mold issues she believes stem from repeated flooding events and consistent water damage in her unit.
“It’s just—it’s very frustrating because nobody should have to go through this. Like we are literally victims of this,” Tobias stated.
One of the most alarming incidents took place in April when water leaked into her home due to a flooding issue in the boiler room of her upstairs neighbor’s apartment.
Despite reporting the incident to property management, Tobias claims the response she received was inadequate.
According to her, the property manager merely acknowledged the wet condition with indifference, suggesting she could simply leave her windows open to aid in natural drying.
“He was just like, ‘Yup, that’s still wet’ and patted it and he was like, ‘Oh, just leave your windows open and it will dry naturally,'” Tobias recounted.
Concerned about the persistent moisture, Tobias and her husband sought a free water damage inspection from a local company.
The inspector revealed a shocking finding: standing water reached two feet up the wall and three feet out.
“So when he did come, he said there was still standing water two feet up the wall and three feet out of the wall. And so I asked him if he can check the other area, and our bathroom, it was still wet, and that was two years ago,” Tobias shared.
Following this alarming verdict, she requested a mold test from the property manager, which she did not receive. Subsequently, she pursued her own professional mold test that confirmed the presence of mold in her apartment.
At that juncture, she began withholding rent, prompting a delayed response from the landlord.
The property management finally sent someone to test her unit, but she claims she never received the results of that testing.
Although the property owners replaced the carpet in her children’s room, they asserted that the situation was satisfactory, which left Tobias dissatisfied and concerned.
“All we were asking them to do is do the right thing and take care of us, and they couldn’t even do that. They are treating us like we are nothing and we don’t matter,” she lamented.
In response to these serious allegations, Sedona Ridge Apartments issued a statement emphasizing their commitment to resident safety.
The management claimed, “Our community members’ safety is our priority. We take this situation very seriously and have been working with our community member since April, when we had a water heater leak in an apartment above her. Upon notification of the issue, we immediately responded, replaced the water heater, and assessed for any remediation needs through a third-party contractor.
While not necessitated by their findings, out of an abundance of caution, we did remove the carpet in her apartment. Throughout this process we’ve prioritized her and her children’s safety as well as their comfort, making multiple offers for them to move out early without penalty, as well as rental concessions – all of which she declined. We will continue to reach out to her and seek resolution,” stated the Sedona Ridge Apartments Management Team.
Taylor Altman, a staff attorney at Legal Aid of Southern Nevada, advises tenants who find themselves in similar situations to take specific actions.
“We recommend sending a habitability letter by certified mail, putting the landlord on notice. And also what we recommend for tenants who have a serious mold problem is to look into getting a mold test,” Altman said.
She elaborates that landlords typically have 14 days to respond to such notifications.
Should they fail to do so, tenants have several courses of action available.
“So number one is withholding rent. Number two is called the repair and deduct method, where you get someone to fix the problem and deduct that from the rent.
Another thing the tenant can do is terminate the lease and move or sue the landlord for damages,” Altman explained.
For those facing similar issues, the Nevada Legal Aid encourages individuals to reach out by calling (702) 386-1070 or to visit during walk-in hours from Monday through Thursday, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
image source from：ktnv
