- May 6, 2015
Residents of The Sycamores, a part of Jan Jose’s North Park Apartment Village, claim that mold is the “best kept secret” of their development. Some residents claim that a 2012 lawsuit indicates that the managers of the apartment were aware of potential mold problems with the building before they moved in.
Justin Keller, one of the residents of the luxury apartments, spoke with a local news station. He says that when he found mold growing on his bed frame, that was his breaking point for him and his fiancé, and the couple moved out. By that point, they had been experiencing mold problems in their apartment for a year.
“It was just covered in mold and I just freaked out,” Keller said.
Despite numerous maintenance visits, Keller told reporters at the local news station that the mold just kept reemerging. The couple found it on their windowsills, on their furniture, and even on their clothing.
“When it started going all over our stuff, it just became too unbearable,” said a frustrated Keller.
Documents indicate that the City of San Jose uncovered code violations that were related to mold at the apartment complex and that the ordered management to clean out the unit.
Keller and his fiancé were so fed up with the problem, which they say just wouldn’t quit that they ultimately decided to move out. Managers of North Park agreed to place the couple in a furnished apartment until the abatement in their apartment was finished.
Keller then invited investigators from the news station into his empty North Park apartment after the managers told him that it had been cleaned. Keller and his fiancé say that they were told that they had to move out of the furnished apartment they were provided with or pay more for the apartment; however, the couple wasn’t convinced that their apartment was really mold-free.
The news station decided to bring in an independent mold inspector, Tom Todd, to assess the unit. Todd took air samples from inside and outside of Keller’s apartment and sent them to Southeast Environmental Microbiology Laboratories, Inc., a certified, accredited company.
When the lab results came back, they indicated that there were “elevated mold conditions” in Keller’s previous unit. The levels of mold spores in the indoor air were five times higher than the levels in the outdoor air sample.
The news station contacted Joe Tobener, a tenant’s rights attorney, to ask his opinion about the matter.
“Clearly, in this example you provided, the landlord did not do proper mold remediation. The levels are very high,” Topener said.
A lawsuit filed by The Irvine Company, the owner of the North Park Apartment Village, was filed against the buildings of The Sycamores. The complaint? – Breach of contract for construction defects, including water intrusion. This suit indicates that the owners knew there was the potential for mold in the apartment, but did not disclose the information to Keller.
Mold Inspection & Testing San Jose has vast experience performing mold tests. For your safety, we suggest arranging to have a professional mold assessment by a reputable company before moving into a new home. To speak to an MI&T representative, call 408.800.1612.
