- July 8, 2019
A resident of Northland and her dog are exhibiting symptoms of mold-related illness. The woman’s doctor and her dog’s vet said that they are both allergic to mold.
Lana Becerra, her boyfriend, and her dog live in an apartment just off Barry Road. A few months after moving in, Becerra and her boyfriend noticed mold in the couple’s bedroom closet. She contacted maintenance, who took more than a month and a half to address the issue, and when they did, the just painted over the mold.
“They assured me that this was going to take care of the problem, that basically, they told me repeatedly it wasn’t dangerous. Only 2% of mold is dangerous and that it can’t hurt us,” Becerra said.
Because maintenance assured Becerra that the mold wasn’t dangerous, she and her boyfriend decided to remain in the apartment.
“For a month and a half, we waited, because we thought, you know, they were going to fix it. Then when it hit two months, we were like, okay, we really need to take action here,” Becerra said. She also claims that she argued over the phone with maintenance, and that they told her the mold growth wasn’t their fault.
Becerra said that she and her boyfriend were old that they could move out of their apartment and into a two-bedroom unit, which would cost them more than $100 a month than they were paying for their current apartment. Their other option was to break their lease and move out.
After Becerra and her dog fell ill, the couple and their dog moved out of the apartment. Becerra had to go to the ER because she had relentless cough. Doctors told her that she was very allergic to mold and that she had developed an infection in her lungs. The doctors told her that the cough, the infection in her lungs, and the hives that she had developed were all due to mold contamination.
When the couple’s dog began losing fur, they took her to the vet.
“From what we have talked to the vet, due to her having allergic reactions to having exposure to mold as well,” Becerra said. Since the family moved out of the apartment, their dog is healing.
Technically, the couple broke their lease. Becerra said that property management wanted her to sign a document that confirmed she wouldn’t take legal action against the apartment complex.
“Within a month, our whole life was turned upside down, and we just knew we had to get out of there,” she said. Becerra told news reporters that the issue needs to be addressed because she and her boyfriend spent a lot of money to live there and their health was affected.
When a local news station spoke to the property manager, they were told they would be contacted by a regional manager, but that has yet to happen.
Mold Inspection & Testing Kansas City is a reputable mold testing company that has performed countless mold assessments in Kansas City. We strongly urge the manager of Becerra’s apartment complex to perform mold testing to ensure the safety of the residents. To speak with an MI&T representative, call 913.912.4577.
