Black mold!

[pro_perdef]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oregon

Hi there everyone. My family rents a home in Oregon. Last summer a team of "forensic building inspectors" swarmed our townhouse neighborhood and tore the siding/roofing off of a bunch of units, including ours. They were doing discovery for a pending lawsuit between our HOA and the builders of the townhomes. What they found on our house was pretty shocking.

There is, what I would call, an excessive amount of black color mold on our townhouse on the wood behind the siding, and that wood is rotting away. We have no idea how far, if at all, this mold has penetrated into interior walls, ceilings, etc...but we have two small children and we don't want to take chances with them. We do know water is penetrating into the Garage as the drywall in the garage ceiling is showing signs of water damage.

Since the discovery of the mold in July, no action has been taken to fix the problem other than putting a leaky tarp over the widows walk deck that is on top of the garage.

Our landlord is aware of the problem, but insists it is the HOA's problem to fix. The HOA won't do anything until the lawsuit with the builder is resolved.

Do we have just cause to break our lease and expect to get our deposit back? I don't want my kids (one is 9 months old) having problems because of mold...

 

[FarmerJ]

If your city / county condemns your unit as not habitable for human use then your lease is canceled , so has your city / county inspections been out as of yet ?

 

[Searchertwin]

Since the discovery of the mold in July, no action has been taken to fix the problem other than putting a leaky tarp over the widows walk deck that is on top of the garage.

Do you honestly think they put up a "leaky" tarp if they are fighting with the builder?
The word "leaky", indicates that you are a complainer OR using this as another excuse to build the mold issue so you can break lease. Won't work. You will lose. Replace tarp if not happy at your expense.

Our landlord is aware of the problem, but insists it is the HOA's problem to fix. The HOA won't do anything until the lawsuit with the builder is resolved.

That's because if they "touch" anything, their warranty with the builder is gone bye-bye. Just like any warranty under a product. So can you blame them?

Do we have just cause to break our lease and expect to get our deposit back? I don't want my kids (one is 9 months old) having problems because of mold...[

OH, you can, but you will be facing paying for your lease till you or LL finds someone to take over. And your deposit is gone.
They are aware of the mold, they are taking action and as long as they are, there is nothing you can do.
Renters always think that mold is a reason to break a lease. They will somehow have all the medical conditions that they find online. But YOU have to realize that mold is everywhere. You step outside and you will breathe mold particles.

 

[pro_perdef]

Do you honestly think they put up a "leaky" tarp if they are fighting with the builder?
The word "leaky", indicates that you are a complainer OR using this as another excuse to build the mold issue so you can break lease.

Yes. I do think that. Why do I think that? Because I've seen the lawsuit and been deposed as a witness in it. Further more, out of 70+ units in our development, 32 of them currently have a tarp over the widow's walk deck for the exact same problem (and often worse) than ours.

That's because if they "touch" anything, their warranty with the builder is gone bye-bye. Just like any warranty under a product. So can you blame them?

The buildings are over 10 years old. There is no warranty on them.

OH, you can, but you will be facing paying for your lease till you or LL finds someone to take over. And your deposit is gone.
They are aware of the mold, they are taking action and as long as they are, there is nothing you can do.

They are NOT taking action. They refuse to take action. The HOA refuses to do anything until the lawsuit is settled, even though the agreement owners/renters sign with the HOA states this is their problem to fix.

 

[Searchertwin]

Yes. I do think that. Why do I think that? Because I've seen the lawsuit and been deposed as a witness in it.

Not really. You probably was the only trying to use mold as an excuse out of all those 70 units.
You can go to other party and indicate that you know for a fact that there is dangerously black mold growing and you have medical proof that it will cause you medical problems. You have a mold inspectors report and it indicates it is the mold that will cause medical problems. Good luck for reports.

They are NOT taking action. They refuse to take action. The HOA refuses to do anything until the lawsuit is settled, even though the agreement owners/renters sign with the HOA states this is their problem to fix.

Your fighting a losing battle. 10 years is nothing. It can be up to 20 years on buildings. You don't know what is between owners and builders.
Shingles on roof can have a warranty up to 25 yrs.

Again, action is being taken. Tarp has been placed over problem until it is settled. No one is saying that HOA needs to fix, they will when case is settled. Till than all you can do is complain.