[J]

So I'm watching a movie out in the living room when all of sudden I hear a loud "Thump, Crash!" come from the back of the house. The back of the house is where my room is. I go walking back expecting to find a fallen over bike or something else uneventful. Turns out a 4'x5' square of my ceiling decided to fall on top of two of my bikes, all of my traveling bike tools and car tools.

Rewind about 3 months to when it was raining for weeks at a time and my ceiling was coincidentally leaking water into my bedroom. I put out pans to collect the water and called the rental agency about the leaking roof/ceiling. An underpaid and under skilled handy man comes by and tars the roof. Rain comes again, roof leaks again. I call rental agency again. Same handy man comes by and puts more tar on the roof. Rains a little more and roof leaks a little less but still leaks.

Random carnage shot-

Last Thursday I got back to my house after a short 3 day visit to parents and see the ceiling is noticeably lower/sagging. So much that you could almost see into the rafters from in between unlevel squares of sheet rock. I call again and tell them I'm extremely worried about how the ceiling looks. They put in a work order and the same handyman finally comes by today and again tars the roof and claims "I found the hole that was leaking!!" He said it was a 2" gap around where the chimney meets the roof. Sounds promising as that would let a decent flow into my ceiling.

Handyman then comes into my room and I point out the sagging ceiling. He says he's not sure what to do and that he doesn't have the proper supplies. I ask him if he thinks it's going to fall down and he answers my question with "Do YOU think it's going to fall out?" Ugh.

Anyway, it fell out tonight at 11:45pm and this leaves me thinking of what to do about it tomorrow morning as far as contacting the rental agency... suggestions?

I've already cleaned up the mess myself and patched the hole with some tape and plastic wrap. Feels like home again and smells like asbestos! yay

Oh and here is a shot of where I'm guessing a bigger portion of sheet rock struck my Blur's top tube and rear shock. I don't think it's dented...

Funny thing is I got a call last week from the rental agency asking if we wanted to renew the lease for another year. I was going to say yes..... buut

 

[Al C. Oholic]

he fvckin tars it? from what i can tell, you live in a basement apt? if i'm wrong, whatever, but how the hell is tar supposed to fix anything? waterproof, yes. structurally support, uuuuhhhh......
sue.

 

[J]

he fvckin tars it? from what i can tell, you live in a basement apt? if i'm wrong, whatever, but how the hell is tar supposed to fix anything? waterproof, yes. structurally support, uuuuhhhh......
sue.

It's a single story house with no basement but the two back rooms (one of which is mine) are add-ons with flat roofs.

Yeah he tarred roof and hopefully it does it's job for tomorrow's rain forecast since there is no more insulation to absorb it first!

I am thinking of trying to blackmail/threaten them to "sue"/get super pissed if they don't install a dishwasher for us. Man, I'd love a dishwasher.

 

[jonKranked]

do i see black mold?

 

[johnbryanpeters]

do i see black mold?

That's what I thought I observed.

 

[hotrodmarlin]

do i see black mold?

You've got them by the balls with this one J...

 

[Pesqueeb]

J,
Think your hosed dude, not only does that indeed look like mold, but your in SLO. They don't give a sh*t if you leave, the owner will just fill the place with college students and when it happens again its just gonna get patched over until the house collapses. If I called anyone, it might be a local building inspector.

 

[jonKranked]

J,
Think your hosed dude, not only does that indeed look like mold, but your in SLO. They don't give a sh*t if you leave, the owner will just fill the place with college students and when it happens again its just gonna get patched over until the house collapses. If I called anyone, it might be a local building inspector.

definitely building inspector. maybe health inspector too. I'm pretty sure black mold is classified as a toxin. If it's bad enough, the building can be condemned.

 

[jonKranked]

 

[eaterofdog]

Based on the thread title, I thought this was going to be about the rent being late.

 

[denjen]

Something similar happened to a friend of mine a few years back. He contacted the city and they sent an inspector out. The city sent a letter to the landlord saying they were condemning the building if things were not fixed ASAP. They also had him start paying his rent to the city to hold until the problems were fixed. Contractors were on site very quickly.

 

[mattmatt86]

Something similar happened to a friend of mine a few years back. He contacted the city and they sent an inspector out. The city sent a letter to the landlord saying they were condemning the building if things were not fixed ASAP. They also had him start paying his rent to the city to hold until the problems were fixed. Contractors were on site very quickly.

I had a similar situation in college. As soon as I went to the rental company and uttered the words "inspector" the landlord was out there the next day. We even got our whole apartment recarpeted and painted while we were on spring break.

 

[Jeremy R]

Thank God it did not mess up your "Me Wall."

 

[J]

That God it did not mess up your "Me Wall."

Seriously. Everyone's gotta have em if they want to be big someday!

I had a similar situation in college. As soon as I went to the rental company and uttered the words "inspector" the landlord was out there the next day. We even got our whole apartment recarpeted and painted while we were on spring break.

This sounds like the best route, however a new quarter just started and I don't have any long breaks coming up. Why couldn't the black mold just stay inside the ceiling!?

 

[Jeremy R]

Seriously. Everyone's gotta have em if they want to be big someday!

Ha, one of my buddies had a setup like that once, except he installed track lighting around it to make it shine.
Well, if brass medals could shine.

Hope you get your pad hooked up!

 

[jimmydean]

Renters insurance.

 

[jonKranked]

Why couldn't the black mold just stay inside the ceiling!?

Because it's black mold.

 

[JohnE]

Move in with Al C. Holic.

 

[greengreer]

Call the better business bureau and a building inspector. Make a good record of the incident with the city because otherwise as someone else mentioned they will just put some poor unsuspecting college kid in there and continue to pull the same sh*t.
Our neighbor had a similar thing happen in that the person upstairs had a small leak in their bathroom, filed a work order with the slumlord who did nothing about it until one day their floor and the people below them had their ceiling collapse.

Oh yea, if there is mold certainly get rid of it, you can get really sick plus you get to bend your landlord over a barrel.

 

[JohnE]

Because it's black mold.

Whys it gotta be black?

 

[jonKranked]

Whys it gotta be black?

I didn't make the mold that color. But you bring up a good point

 

[DirtyMike]

Dude.... J, Run away fromresigning the lease, keep your pictures, go see a doctor for some antifungal meds, call a buidling inspector, than a lawyer.

Thats black mold for sure, and alot of it. The walls are coming down in that room, and possibly many others to rid the building of it, it IS classified as a toxin, and is very dangerous to be around. I am not saying to go to a doc because I think your going to die from exposure, I am saying go, and get it documented that you were exposed to black mold. That way when nothing happens and you end up sick, you have all the proof you need to truly rail teh landlord

 

[jonKranked]

Dude.... J, Run away fromresigning the lease, keep your pictures, go see a doctor for some antifungal meds, call a buidling inspector, than a lawyer.

Thats black mold for sure, and alot of it. The walls are coming down in that room, and possibly many others to rid the building of it, it IS classified as a toxin, and is very dangerous to be around. I am not saying to go to a doc because I think your going to die from exposure, I am saying go, and get it documented that you were exposed to black mold. That way when nothing happens and you end up sick, you have all the proof you need to truly rail teh landlord

if anything, take MORE pictures.


Have you been noticing increased allergies/sinus issues since this happened?

 

[stosh]

thank god it did not mess up your "me wall."

ftmfw!!!!!

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

 

[stosh]

Nice job CrabJoe

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

I have a good friend who was exposed to black mold and now has asthma because of it. Get the fvck out of there ASAP.

 

[Al C. Oholic]

Move in with Al C. Holic.

ya, i hope you have a van tho, all i've got is a truck. i found a nice river tho.

 

[Pesqueeb]

Crabjoe FTW! Should have made it an emo cat though.

J,
If it is indeed black mold, it can make you very sick with long term consequences.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

Like this:
1. Go buy a high end mask or respi from HD.
2. Get into the hole with a good quality camera. Take a butt ton of photos, including macro shots of the "mold"
3. Take them to the landlord, and then take a duplicate set to the dep of health. In your jurisdiction you can force them to come do a health inspection.
4. Explain to the landlord that he is culpable for all expenses; health, moving, pain and suffering, so on and so forth, as he has exposed you to a toxic area.
5. Move, now.
6. Go see a doctor. Get it documented that you were exposed to this.
7. As of today, since you published this on the internet, the Statute of Limitations has started clicking. You have two years should you need to file an action. (I think.)

 

[mattmatt86]

Dirt, You're firing on all cylinders today with the Law advice. And I thought you skipped Wednesdays

 

[Pesqueeb]

Dirt, You're firing on all cylinders today with the Law advice. And I thought you skipped Wednesdays

Apparently Wednesdays are when his actual clients get short shafted.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

My brain is running at full tilt today.
A lunch at the strip club does that for me.

And my real clients are happy campers, except for the one facing 75 years. He's a little bitter.

 

[jimmydean]

...except for the one facing 75 years. He's a little bitter.

"Your best bet is either kick someones ass, or become someones bitch..."

 

[DirtMcGirk]

I think in his case the best I can hope for is a long term commitment to the SHU.

But everyone else is pretty happy with me today.
Especially Betty, the stripper from lunch. I gave her an extra 20 just for having the biggest fake rack I've ever seen on an ginger. She liked me short time.

 

[TheTruth]

Damn you gravity! Why?!

That's it! Time to screw over as many people as I can since I am mad that such a thing could happen to me!

 

[J]

Like this:
1. Go buy a high end mask or respi from HD.
2. Get into the hole with a good quality camera. Take a butt ton of photos, including macro shots of the "mold"
3. Take them to the landlord, and then take a duplicate set to the dep of health. In your jurisdiction you can force them to come do a health inspection.
4. Explain to the landlord that he is culpable for all expenses; health, moving, pain and suffering, so on and so forth, as he has exposed you to a toxic area.
5. Move, now.
6. Go see a doctor. Get it documented that you were exposed to this.
7. As of today, since you published this on the internet, the Statute of Limitations has started clicking. You have two years should you need to file an action. (I think.)

Thanks for that Dirt.

Couple questions. First off, I called poison control here in SLO to get an idea for how bad "black mold" is. The lady said that there was a lot of "lawyer hype" and media hype about it years back from a certain lawsuit. She also said since then it has been disproved that black mold is all that bad. She said to only worry if I am allergic to mold. Now, I'm not sure if I believe her but do you know what case she is talking about or if this fact is even true?? Mother called the poison control center in her area and got somewhat of an opposite response.

Second, I talked to the landlord today and mentioned black mold and asbestos and that I was concerned about living here. He didn't seem to be alarmed and said that he would compensate me for the days I will have to live outside of the house while it is being fixed. (Take a 1/3 off the rent for the three room house). And that was the end of it. Tomorrow I plan on bringing a bunch of pictures to the health department and asking for a health inspection. At this point I'm overwhelmed with not wanting to move all my **** out and am hoping this will be a clean 8-10 day fix like the landlord says.
However, I find this unlikely... as in he will "fix" it in said amount of time but it will not be "safe" once again. Should I play it out for the 10 day period and see how the fix job goes? By play it out I mean live at my buddy's place and say that I am going to move back in to my original house after the fix?

Already falling behind in Spring quarter, awesome.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

Well your land lord is trying to screw you.

He actually has to compensate you for your time out of the house. Not only not paying rent, as this is a health and safety issue, but he actually has to pay to put you up somewhere. I'll look up the Cal Statute tomorrow, my brain is pretty fragged from today.

Secondly, you're allergic to mold. Everyone is.

This guy is just a rip off on ice. He's used to being an SLO landlord, abusing college kids who don't know any better, and pocketing deposits.

You've been exposed to toxins. Remember that, it'll come in handy down the street.

So if you have to move out for ten days (which is pretty optimistic) and you have to move all of your crap out of the room (which he has to compensate you for at whatever the prevailing rate for day labor is there) then you need to get taken care of. You can't live there at all while they do the asbestos abatement. Furthermore, he really needs to do the rest of the house. Actually, I think he's required to do so with the current asbestos legislation out there.

 

[DirtyMike]

Well your land lord is trying to screw you.

He actually has to compensate you for your time out of the house. Not only not paying rent, as this is a health and safety issue, but he actually has to pay to put you up somewhere. I'll look up the Cal Statute tomorrow, my brain is pretty fragged from today.

Secondly, you're allergic to mold. Everyone is.

This guy is just a rip off on ice. He's used to being an SLO landlord, abusing college kids who don't know any better, and pocketing deposits.

You've been exposed to toxins. Remember that, it'll come in handy down the street.

So if you have to move out for ten days (which is pretty optimistic) and you have to move all of your crap out of the room (which he has to compensate you for at whatever the prevailing rate for day labor is there) then you need to get taken care of. You can't live there at all while they do the asbestos abatement. Furthermore, he really needs to do the rest of the house. Actually, I think he's required to do so with the current asbestos legislation out there.

Yes, for the Asbestos, and for the Black mold. Holes will have to be made in ALL walls and living areas to check for the black mold, anywere a hole is made, asbestos will also have to be removed as well.

Black mold isnt that much lawyer hype, Itll **** you up. The spored get into your lung, then you get sick, and then get worse and worse.... till your told you have lung cancer, then you get a wonderful lung biopsy< talk about painfull> then they find your lungs are ****ed possibly beyond repair, then you find your life will never be the same................. Very bad to be around.

Its so bad, I was unable to buy the first two houses I looked at when the home inspection hit...... Its reguarded as a deal killer, homes are not sellable nor rentable in teh state of california if there is black mold in them.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Your landlord is a slum lord. I've been in similar rental situations before, and without going into detail, I'd have to say getting the hell out of there is the best choice.

You've noted a pattern in how this guy " fixes " his property, what makes you think this time it will be any different. Get out now before you get trapped in an even a worse situation.