my mom has a slum lord please help

[JADE1975]

my mom has been having problems for years with the owner of the property she rents from . there are major plumbing issues , improper venelation , black mold that is causing health issues , and now to top it all off she has just been released from the hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning that she has somehow got . the gas company came out but they cannot find where it is coming from but the only place she could of got it is from her house ... the owner is now refusing to agknowledge this . nor is he willing to fix the plumbing (she has no cold water only hot and the plumbing is very old and the toilet and sinks plug and do not work properly .. and he will not do anything about the mold that is basically infesting the whole house and i believe is a health hazard .. we are at our wits end my mom cannot afford to move and is staying with me until we figure this out but she is still paying rent we are in california does anybody have any suggestions on what we can do ??? is he breaking laws and can he be considered a slum lord ??? please help

 

[Hot Topic]

my mom has been having problems for years with the owner of the property she rents from . there are major plumbing issues , improper venelation , black mold that is causing health issues , and now to top it all off she has just been released from the hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning that she has somehow got . the gas company came out but they cannot find where it is coming from but the only place she could of got it is from her house ... the owner is now refusing to agknowledge this . nor is he willing to fix the plumbing (she has no cold water only hot and the plumbing is very old and the toilet and sinks plug and do not work properly .. and he will not do anything about the mold that is basically infesting the whole house and i believe is a health hazard .. we are at our wits end my mom cannot afford to move and is staying with me until we figure this out but she is still paying rent we are in california does anybody have any suggestions on what we can do ??? is he breaking laws and can he be considered a slum lord ??? please help

A normal person would not live in such circumstances for "years."

Does your mother have proof that it's black mold? Has she had it tested by a professional mold migation company? Those kits sold in hardware stores are not a reliable way of determining the presence of mold. She needs an expert's confirmation, not a guess that the mold is affecting her health.

Has she had a carbon monoxide detector up? If not, why not? It should have been side by side (or combined) with the smoke detector. Extremely odd that the gas company couldn't find anything.

 

[BL]

Since she still is paying rent and legally resides there she should ,

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/repairs.shtml[/U]]California Tenants - California Department of Consumer Affairs

The tenant should notify the landlord in writing about the conditions that require repair. (See "Giving the landlord notice".)

The rental unit must have serious habitability defects that were not caused by the tenant's family, guests, or pets.


The notice should specifically describe the defects and the repairs that are required.

The notice should give the landlord a reasonable period of time to make the repairs.

If the landlord doesn't make the repairs within a reasonable time, the tenant should contact the local city or county building department, health department, or local housing agency and request an inspection.