A Woodland family is currently staying at a hotel after discovering a major mold problem that their apartment blames them for. The family is now in limbo over what to do next. Watch this story on air during our 11 p.m. newscast. Araceli Castro and her husband Martin Zapata told KCRA 3 Investigates that the mold spread from the floors and walls of the apartment to their 9-year-old son’s mattress, which they believe made him sick. Castro and Zapata said their family’s health was in danger and the property management had failed to do its job. The discovery of the mold infestation led Woodland code enforcement to order an inspection in early May after it was discovered that the unit was in “deplorable condition”. In emails obtained by KCRA 3 Investigates, the president of Laughton Properties told code enforcement that many of the issues in the unit were caused by “lack of housekeeping” and “outright damage.” ” of the tenant. Code enforcement responded to emails and said there was previous water damage that was not caused by tenants and said the only action management has taken is to place fans in the apartment instead of removing the carpet and asking for a mold test. In a report from a third-party testing company dated May 11, workers found “high levels” of mold in the air and recommended immediate cleaning of the air, removal of all carpets and plates of plaster and disinfection of walls and other surfaces, among other things. The family, me for a while, just hope to live somewhere safe and clean. Property management declined KCRA 3’s maintenance request, but sent our team a copy of what is called a “rebate offer”, which asks the family to relinquish possession of the apartment and receive 2 $700 in cash. The family has until May 28 to sign it, and property management says that if they don’t sign the document, the family will be evicted. KCRA 3 Investigates has contacted an attorney who is reviewing this. We are working on other aspects of this story, including the rights of tenants in this situation.
A Woodland family is currently staying at a hotel after discovering a major mold problem that their apartment blames them for. The family is now in limbo over what to do next.
Watch this story on air on our 11 p.m. newscast.
Araceli Castro and her husband Martin Zapata told KCRA 3 Investigates that the mold spread from the floors and walls of the apartment to their 9-year-old son’s mattress, which they say made him sick. Castro and Zapata said their family’s health was in danger and the property management failed to do its job.
The discovery of the mold infestation led Woodland code enforcement to order an inspection in early May after it was discovered that the unit was in “deplorable condition”.
In emails obtained by KCRA 3 Investigates, the president of Laughton Properties told code enforcement that many of the issues in the unit were caused by “lack of housekeeping” and “outright damage.” ” of the tenant.
Code enforcement responded to emails and said there had been previous water damage that was not caused by tenants and said the only action taken by management was to place fans in the apartment instead of removing the carpet and asking for a mold test.
In a report from a third-party testing company dated May 11, workers found “high levels” of mold in the air and recommended immediate cleaning of the air, removal of all carpets and plates of plaster and disinfection of walls and other surfaces, among other things.
The family, meanwhile, is just hoping for a safe and clean place to live.
Property management declined the interview request from KCRA 3 Investigates, but sent our team a copy of what is called a ‘rebate offer’, which asks the family to relinquish possession of the apartment. and receive $2,700 in cash.
The family has until May 28 to sign it, and property management says that if they don’t sign the document, the family will be evicted.
KCRA 3 Investigates has contacted a lawyer who is looking into this matter. We are working on other aspects of this story, including the rights of tenants in this situation.
