10-16-09
SILVER SPRING, Md. – A local woman says she lost everything after mold started growing in her apartment.
Charmaine Green-Forde lives in the massive 1100-unit Enclave Apartments in Silver Spring, and says her apartment has made her sick.
“I noticed that when I wasn’t in the apartment I felt OK, but anytime I was in the apartment, I really wasn’t feeling well,” she said.
She also says she is not being treated fairly and is concerned 60 other tenants who also live there might be in a similar situation.
It all started after an older model AC unit backed up and flooded her apartment while she was out of town this summer. “There was so much water that the water was actually seeping under here and running off of the balcony,” she said.
Then she started having problems with headaches, nausea and sinus problems.
That, she said, launched a months-long battle with the apartment complex–a place she’s called home for two years.
First, she says, only the carpet padding was replaced, then the carpet itself. Then she says workers told her the bedroom wall was taken care of and that she wouldn’t have to worry about mold, but she didn’t buy it.
“I don’t see any breaks in the wall… the wall still felt wet… it’s just not good,” she said.
A few weeks later, mold began creeping across three bedroom walls. The county condemned the unit and the Enclave put Green-Forde up in this efficiency where she promptly found a patch of what looked like…mold.
In addition, Green-Forde had to continue paying rent. An email from the Enclave says no rent credits are offered for leaks.
In a written statement, the Enclave told ABC 7 News they “did not request the resident move back into her apartment before repairs were properly made.”
Meanwhile, an environmental company has just signed off on the condition of the apartment and Green-Forde can move back in when she’s ready.
A county judge just let her out of her lease and that she’s entitled to no more than $2,500 compensation. But she says between new clothing, housing and medical bills she’s out nearly $8,000.
Note – Information on Riverstone Residential knowingly exposing tenants to extreme amounts of mold toxins at Toxic Mold Infested Jefferson Lakes Apartments in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. katy
Toxic Mold Infested Jefferson Lakes Apartments managed by Riverstone Residential
Riverstone Residential Litigation
Katy's Exposure 