Frances Landon, a 90-year-old Tehachapi resident, is concerned for her health as she fights to have what she claims is mold removed from her apartment. With certified test results in hand, she is demanding action from management, who deny that the problem exists.
“Yes, I have. “And I’d like to live a little longer,” Landon said through tears. “I apologize.” But, at the rate things are going, I won’t be around for long.”
Landon claims she informed her apartment manager about the mold problem in her bathroom over five months ago.
“They just kept poo-pooing off on me, you know, blowing me off, I guess, you kids call it today,” she told me.
Landon, with the help of family and friends, is still fighting with management over the issue. Stephanie Bird, Landon’s caregiver, describes his determined spirit.
“She’s very kind, and there’s not much you can’t say about her. She brings a lot of fire into your life. In good ways, of course, but she’s simply fantastic,” Bird said.
Landon paid $350 to have an inspector inspect her bathroom for mold. According to her, certified results confirmed the presence of mold in the shower and at the toilet’s base. The mold in the shower is fusarium, which, in rare cases, can be fatal.
Landon, an oxygen tank user with pre-existing breathing issues, reports that her breathing has recently become more difficult. She claims she had to go to the emergency room for treatment this past weekend.
“I don’t take guff from anyone. I never have. “Never will,” Landon stated.
The Michaels Organization, responding from its national office in New Jersey, stated in an email: “There are no visible signs of mold in the resident’s apartment, and our tests of the apartment revealed no mold. “We repaired the toilet.
I contacted Tehachapi’s code compliance and public works director, Don Marsh, about the situation. According to Marsh, when residents are dealing with mold issues, they should first contact their landlord. If this does not solve the problem, the next step is to contact Kern County Code Compliance. Marsh stated that the city has mediated in some mold cases to help residents and landlords resolve disputes.
“I just want the mold to be gone. “They won’t fix it, and I don’t know what else to do,” Landon explained.
Landon, who will be 91 in December, says she will not pay her rent in September unless she is reimbursed for the money she paid for mold testing.
