just had the biggest bomb dropped on me.

[RompStompnBoogie]

To make a very long story as short as possible: I moved into a rental house with my boyfriend almost 3 years ago. A little under a year ago we broke up. I've been stuck ever since. I sleep on the couch and my home life is basically a warzone. It's been very tough to find a place to go with my animals, so I've dealt with it and just kept looking for something else. I tried to get approved to buy my own house but my credit isn't good enough. I've been looking for houses to rent with a good friend, but the animals are always an issue. Well my friend just came into a good amount of money. He got preapproved for a mortgage and we are now looking for a house for him to purchase. Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel, right? SO WRONG. I've been getting very sick lately, and being the type of person that is too stubborn to see a doc, I keep shrugging it off. Well this past weekend I noticed that the ceiling in this garage type room off of my kitchen and living room was pouring water. Half of the sheetrock was on the floor below and when I looked up at what was left of the ceiling.....COVERED IN MOLD. I called my doctor, she told me to look out for fatigue, headaches, stuffy nose, sore throat, etc. I have all of the above. She suggested to get out ASAP. The landlord is supposed to be coming this week. I'm afraid my house will be condemned, it's that bad. I now have less than a week to find foster homes for 5 dogs, 2 cats and a cage full of rats, pack my stuff, rent a storage unit and find a place to stay for a month or two until my friend buys a home. I brought the rats to the animal shelter I work at last night. My boss was kind enough to let them stay in her office while I get my crap together. Either my mom or my boss will be fostering my cats, my coworker is speaking to his wife about fostering one of my dogs. I have one dog that will not be able to go into a foster home. It takes her forever to warm up to strangers and nobody that she hasn't known for a while will be able to handle her.

[RompStompnBoogie]

I'll have to find a place to stay that will allow me to take her. That leaves 3 dogs, 2 of which I'm hoping to keep together due to seperation anxiety, and 1 that is dog aggressive. This sucks. I hate leaving them, even though it's temporary. I won't leave them with strangers, I won't leave them at the shelter and I really would prefer not to/can't afford to board them for 2 months. Blah.

[Chevalrose]

I'm sorry! :-( That really sucks. I wish I could help!

[RompStompnBoogie]

It does suck :-( There's a new doggie daycare/cageless boarding place down the street from the shelter. The woman that owns it is awesome and I know that she's done a lot to help a lot of people. I might ask her if she would help me with Frankie and Romeo. I like the idea of them not being stuck in kennels...they'll have their own room and she has employees that stay overnight with the dogs. They'd also get to play with the daycare dogs during the day, AND I'd get to visit them whenever I wanted. I just don't know how to ask for the help...more specifically, a discount. All I know is I want to get everyone out of that house ASAP. If I'm this sick, I can only imagine that the mold has affected the animals. I've lost 3 rats since April and couldn't figure out what was going on. Well, one was euthanized due to lymphoma, which was likely unrelated, but the other 2 passed away from upper respiratories/pneumonia that I was treating with ABs, nebulizing...the whole 9 yards. Kinda makes sense now. I'll tell you what, MY lungs hurt like hell. Can't stop coughing at night. Should I be getting treated somehow or will being out of that environment be enough?

[Chevalrose]

What did your doctor say other than to get out of the house? Maybe call her again and see if you should make an apointment.

I would just tell the kennel your situation. Go for it. I think anybody would have some sympathy for you and your animals.

[RompStompnBoogie]

I hope so, I'll give that woman a call today. The doctor said the mold needs to be tested to see what the next step is. I guess some types cause cancer and what not. The thing is, if I call the health dept to test it, chances are the house will be condemned. I have to get my animals situated and pack my stuff before that happens or I'll really be SOL. The other thing I'm wondering is whether or not I have a law suit on my hands. I'm not one of those sue happy jerks but risking my health and my animals health is NOT acceptable. We had a problem with water damage in there last year. The landlord told the guy that came to fix it just to patch it up instead of replacing the boards and everything. The guy told me and my ex that the roof should have been replaced and pitched more because water just kept sitting on top and rotting everything. So this is an issue that my landlord ignored because he didn't want to pay to solve it. I didn't realize it could get so bad.

[rats_have_rights]

See If your landlord can isolate the mouldy area from the rest of the house with plastic sheet and duct tape. He should (for his own sake, if nothing else) get someone there today to isolate the area, and seal it off. Negative ventilation and proper suits are needed for clean up, get them to put in a contractor's fan to draw air out of the sealed area,creating a negative pressure.It's the same set up as used in asbestos removal.

Good luck to you and the animals.

(p.s. I think you have a good case. Save all your documents, get your area building inspector, health department,etc
 involved if your landlord doesn't get off the dime.)

http://healthandenergy.com/mold_in_buildings.htm

http://www.inflector.ca/cases/cases.html

[RompStompnBoogie]

Thanks, I appreciate that and the links. So how bad would a mold problem have to be in order for a house to be condemned? Also, the rats were sneezing a lot today... I don't know if I'm noticing more because I'm kind of frantic about the whole situation or if they're just stressed from the move last night. Think I should give them a few days to settle in or see if the vet wants to put them on ABs right away? This sucks, by the way.

[rats_have_rights]

It really depends on what kind of mold it is. Some are worse than others.

[OdysseyDesign]

we use to deal with black mold issues a lot in WA. I doubt the house would be condemned BUT the situation needs to be addressed ASAP. There needs to be a dehumidifier in the room, the room needs to be blocked off as well as fans to help dry out the place...once everything is dry then the mold can be treated by a professional.

Meanwhile check your lease and also talk to your landlord. Personally I think he should be footing a hotel bill for you or helping you find a place to stay and paying for it. Get your Landlord/Tenant rules for your state and read them as well as call the phone number that is listed on it and ask questions. Each state has a list, just google Landlord Tenant laws and list your state.

[coeurfragile]

Do you have renters insurance?  I work at a hotel, and I know we've had guests with home emergencies that the insurance has covered the bill for. I believe it was for a fire, but if you can't live in your house because of the mold, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to talk to your insurance company to see if they could help you out.

[RompStompnBoogie]

Nope, no renters insurance. I looked a the landlord/tenant laws and only found something about fire. Also, I just found out that my landlord went bankrupt a few months ago and signed everything over to his sister. Not sure why I didn't know that, but it's a good thing! I think she will get this taken care of for us. She is coming over tomorrow. I sealed the room off with plastic and duct tape, hopefully we'll be safe here inthe meantime!

[jodieluvsrats]

Oh goodness...I wondered why I had seen you on here in a while. Ugh.thhat's awful...mold is nasty business.. The brothers say "Hi" to Peanut.. and I wish you the very best of luck with your situation...

[OdysseyDesign]

Nope, no renters insurance. I looked a the landlord/tenant laws and only found something about fire. Also, I just found out that my landlord went bankrupt a few months ago and signed everything over to his sister. Not sure why I didn't know that, but it's a good thing! I think she will get this taken care of for us. She is coming over tomorrow. I sealed the room off with plastic and duct tape, hopefully we'll be safe here inthe meantime!

Mold is not going to be directly refereed to in Landlord/Tenant laws. What you have to look at is how you have to address the issue. Once you notify your landlord how much time do they have to address the issue? After that, how much time do they have to FIX the issue? Steps to take if the problem is not corrected.

[RompStompnBoogie]

Miss Peanut says HIIII to the brothers! She is glad she is away from the mold, but she misses being at home with momma Oh yeah, in the landlord/tenant rules, I forgot to mention... The only thing I could find was something stating that if the landlord didn't address the problem within 15 days the tenant had the right to void the rental agreement and vacate the premises, the landlord would have to give us back any security deposit and whatever rent money from the remainder of the month that we wouldn't be here. I really have a hard time understanding all that legal jargon though haha.