Mold Plagues Tenants, Landlords

Andrew LePage

Anyone who wonders whether indoor mold is a serious problem just needs to tune into the drama unfolding at Deer Park Apartments in Antelope.

"It's an extreme example of how serious and expensive the mold problem can be if it's not cleaned up as soon as possible," says Jim Lofgren, executive director of the Rental Housing Association of Sacramento Valley. The owners of the 190-unit complex are spending what a Deer Park spokeswoman said are tenant possessions that might be contaminated by mold. Those costs include a 60-foot-long, five-stage decontamination chamber built at the complex to expedite and lower the cost of the cleaning process. Two weeks ago, with two toxic mold-related lawsuits against them pending, Deer Park's owners gave all 270 tenants 35 days' notice to vacate their apartments by Nov. 30. The owners plan to test for mold and decontaminate units.

With the holidays just around the corner, the mandate caught Deer Park tenants off guard, thrusting them into one of the capital region's tightest and priciest rental housing markets ever. Many face paying $100 or more a month more for rent than they are now paying.

Deer Park tenants were offered a move-out package that included $2,000 to $4,000 per unit to help pay for cleaning their possessions possibly contaminated by mold. That's far less than the $12,000 to $17,000 apiece an attorney said he won for more than 100 tenants who settled their property damage claims against Deer Park's owners, a group of investors, in summer 1999. Deer Park's owners have since bolstered the move-out package. Whoever accepts the offer agrees not to seek future damages. State, federal Web sites offer mold advice There are no local, state or federal health agencies that set mold contamination standards or have authority over mold problems. Rather, under current laws and regulations they are limited to providing information and advice.

To receive a state DHS brochure titled" Mold in My Home: What do I do?" call your county's Department of Environmental Health Services. The Sacramento Human Rights/Fair Housing Commission offers a free mold brochure, available by calling the commission at (916) 444-6903 ext. 120 or contacting the commission at 1112 I St., Suite 250, Sacramento, CA 95814.

Residents, however, have complained that they still may not be able to secure housing in the area. At least five Antelope apartment complexes have refused to rent to Deer Park tenants unless they can somehow prove their belongings are mold free. "They've got my ($100 deposit) money, but so far they're not letting me in," said Deer Park tenant Rodger Parrish, 29, who is trying to move into a nearby complex. Deer Park has taken several new steps since making its initial offer. It has hired a firm to set up an on-site mold decontamination center to clean hard goods such as tables, desks and chairs. Electronics equipment is being cleaned off-site. However, the cost of such cleaning will be deducted from the $2,000 to $4,000 tenants are being offered if they leave by Nov. 30. Deer Park reports that so far the expense of decontamination hasn't exceeded $600 per unit.

Deer Park owners have also hired an insurance adjuster and are paying tenants "fair market value" for soft-good possessions such as beds, couches and fabric chairs that can't be totally cleared of mold and will either be thrown away or incinerated. Tenants with sales receipts for such soft goods will be paid replacement value.

Wendy Buller, spokeswoman for Deer Park's owners, said that so far the owners have paid an average of $3,000 to $4,000 per unit in soft goods compensation. Deer Park owners have sent neighboring apartment complexes copies of a Nov. 7 letter from an official with the state Department of Health Services that states the steps Deer Park is taking are adequate. "I do commend the Deer Park Apartment owners and their agents in taking these measures to ensure that tenants leaving their apartments do not bring contaminated material to their new residences," writes Jed M. Waldman, chief of DHS' indoor air quality section. "My office would be happier if more landlords acted in such a responsible manner." Lofgren, executive director of the local rental housing association, said the DHS letter and another from tenants stating they would only move in decontaminated or new belongings "should be sufficient to relieve owners of their concerns." "However, the owners may want to consult with their own attorneys or insurance company to ensure there are no problems," he said.

Meanwhile, scores of Deer Park tenants are scrambling to find new homes or get settled in new places by Thanksgiving week. Stuart Campbell is one of them. He's upset that he didn't have more time to look for a new home, particularly since the owners have known about mold problem for at least a year. "I'm very angry about that," he said. Campbell, 30, has lived at the complex for about a year, paying $925 a month for a three-bedroom, one-story unit. But today's rental market is different and Campbell, a paramedic, says he couldn't find a comparable home for less than $1,200 a month. He said mold in his apartment has made him sick, and he's now among about 40 other Deer Park tenants who recently joined in a legal complaint seeking mold-related property damages from Deer Park. Some Deer Park tenants contend they have had extensive mold growth in their apartments and have suffered allergic reactions, including flu-like symptoms and exacerbated asthma. Buller said testing of about 50 units showed "abnormal" levels of mold in all but 10 of them.

EPA to Offer Mold Guidelines for Schools and Commerical Building Managers

When mold contaminates a school or commercial building, the building manager must quickly decide if internal staff can safely eliminate the problem or if the job requires trained consultants. The US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Indoor Environments Division hopes soon to make the choice clear-cut for building managers when it releases new mold-remediation guidelines. Early in 2001, the division expects to post Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings on its Internet site. EPA will subsequently offer these guidelines in print.

"EPA wants to provide the best mold-remediation practices currently available," says Elissa Feldman, associate director for the agency's Indoor Environments Division. "This guidance aims to help maintenance and janitorial managers and their staffs determine when and how they can remediate mold contamination. The guidelines describe how to scope out the mold problem, how to determine what its moisture sources are, and how to take a cautious approach to determine the full extent of both problems. The guidelines will explain what equipment building staff need to clean up contamination and how to isolate it. They also explain when it's better to call in experienced professionals to remediate it."

In addition, Laura Kolb, an environmental health scientist and the project manager for the new EPA guidelines, tells Cutter's *IEQ Strategies*, "Our guidelines will help the building manager evaluate the plan an environmental contractor produces to remediate mold in their school or commercial building. Our primary goal is to protect the health of the building occupants and the people who perform the remediation," she says, stressing that building managers should also base decisions on the health risks.

The species of mold that tend to thrive indoors pose both known and suspected health risks. These risks include allergic reactions, the development or exacerbation of asthma, other respiratory ills, fatigue and lethargy, cancer, and brain damage.

While building managers await EPA's guidelines, they can find EPA information about mold on its Indoor Environments Division Internet site. They also can request mold information 24 hours a day by leaving a voice mail at EPA's Indoor Air Quality Information Hotline 1-800-438-4318.