Jussta jussta@jussta.com

3 avril, 2008 17:57

I have to take action, knowing at least I have informed those who represent me in California to enact legislation. Here is a copy of my email to Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Diane Feinstein, and Congressman Darrell Issa on two different subjects. 1. Landlord/Tenant Law on Security Deposits 2. Mold & Mold Remediation laws needed.

I urge each of you to speak up and also email your senators and congressman in your respective states to enact legislation or to change legislation to remedy these grave inequities. Thank you, Jussta

"I am writing regarding a ridiculous Landlord/Tenant law regarding security deposits. Current law states that a landlord has twenty-one (21) days to refund a security deposit after the tenant vacates the rental premises.

However, a tenant is required to pay by cash or cashier's check the security deposit before moving into a rental. The term is usually for at least one year – oftentimes longer – sometimes several years, the state of California does not allow for interest to be paid to the tenant for the period the landlord holds the security deposit.

In these financially challenging and difficult times, many people are downsizing and those with foreclosed homes must now return to becoming a renter requiring very large security deposits ranging anywhere from hundreds of dollars to well over a thousand dollars, prior to moving into a property. Security Deposits are to be withheld only for damages to the property, not for normal wear and tear and use.

According to landlord/tenant law booklets, security deposit deductions and total refusal to return them to a tenant are the most misused portion of the landlord/tenant law. The renter has no alternative but to resort to suing the landlord in Small Claims Court which usually takes months following refusal of return of all or a portion of the security deposit. To add insult to injury, the landlord then has 30 days following the Judge’s decision to return all, or a portion, of the security deposit to the renter. The landlord may appeal the verdict or finally pay the security deposit to the renter 30 days after judgment is entered..

Please do everything in your power to pass a law or change this outdated and unfair Landlord/Tenant law immediately the security deposit be returned within 24-hours of mandated walk-through with Landlord and Tenant. It would also be fair to include a provision to cap the amount of security deposits to half of the monthly rent.

I currently am moving because my rental is infested with mold (no building codes on mold either). I am a permanently disabled senior on very low income. In order to move to a healthy environment, I must sell my meager belongings in order to be able to pay an $1,150.00 security deposit on my new rental residence.

I appreciate your immediate attention and action on this matter - I know I speak for hundreds of thousands of your constituents. Many times, renters must tolerate slumlords and unhealthy or unfair rental conditions simply because they cannot afford these extremely high, unfair security deposits. This is one of the major reasons for renters becoming homeless.

Thank you, Senator.

Sincerely, Jussta"

MOLD

"I moved into a rental in a senior community called Peacock Hills in Oceanside, CA in May 21, 2007. There was a musty smell, but when I questioned the landlord, he stated the smell was because the duplex had been closed up for almost two months. I had no reason at the time not to believe him. Within two weeks of moving in, I began having a horrible constant wracking cough. My symptoms worsened until I was literally gasping for breath. The musty smell had become so bad that I had to leave the windows and doors open to tolerate being in my rental.

Three months later, I was wheezing as if I had asthma. I am a permanently disabled senior on extremely low income and had no funds to have the air quality checked. Finally, I called my insurance company and filed a claim for mold. My insurance company immediately sent out a 20-year mold claims adjuster who told me there was at least three types of mold spores in this rental. My mold claim was denied due to prior mold infestation. Only after I faxed her this denial from my insurance company and informed her this rental was uninhabitable did she finally pay for me to stay in a motel with my cat, Queenie. It took her two weeks to have an air sample done on this residence. The air sample measurement was 39,556 airborne mold spores out of a possible 40,000 airborne mold spore reading.

The landlady neglected to inform me of numerous plumbing leaks, including a major foundation leak. The landlady also failed to properly remedy the soaked foundation, kitchen cabinets, sopping wet carpets which all resulted in massive mold spore exposure for me and my cat.

I was billeted in a motel for over 2 months while the landlady supposedly had mold remediation performed - but the company only did what the landlady paid them for which was primarily to rip out the kitchen cabinets, the wall board and to spray biocides in the walls without removing the mold. During this time, I became a mold expert doing research on the world wide web. I was horrified to learn how devastating exposure to mold can be.

Concurrently, I was examined by a top allergist, Dr. Zeiring and discovered that I had a major bronchial infection along with symptoms of asthma - which I had never experienced before.

The landlady and her husband, Jack and Jewel Cornell had been reported as slumlords long before I ever moved into this duplex - again, unbeknownst to me.

The landlady provided a "clearance test" which had to be falsified, because within days of moving back in here, the entire kitchen smelled of a terrible pungent smell that only became worse. I had caught the landlady and the air quality company planning to do a "clearance test" weeks earlier and they planned to leave huge Hepa Filter machines running during the air sample test - which is outrageous and fraudulent since this is not a true sample of the air quality!

I have been re-moved into this rental for five months and my breathing is once again labored, my symptoms are increasing, my allergist has prescribed nasal drops and a nebulizer (breathing machine) using both Albuterol and Pulmicort (a steroid) and I have been diagnosed with a NEW to me 1/2" benign tumor in the back of my lower left lung.

Shortly after moving into the motel last August, I took my cat into Banfield's to have her teeth cleaned. I received an urgent telephone call that Queenie's blood test prior to surgery revealed that her white blood count was almost non-existent. After a couple of months in the motel, a follow up blood test revealed that Queenie's white blood count had returned to normal. The vet emphatically stated that Queenie's lack of white blood cells was a direct result of exposure to airborne mold spores (the worst kind).

My allergist has urged me to move ASAP as my and my cat's health continue to be compromised in this unhealthy "sick" duplex. With the recent rains over two months ago, I heard a loud dripping in the ceiling of an illegal add-on room the landlord built. I informed the landlady only to have her totally ignore this report and fail to inspect or take action to remedy the leak and subsequent mold formation.

I am asking that building codes and strict guidelines for mold remediation be enacted immediately to protect the health of your constituents in California - and we need nationwide building codes to cover acceptable air quality standards and mold remediation.

This is particularly important during these financially challenging times when landlords are more apt to not do proper upkeep and maintenance especially on rental units and homeowners not clearing their homes prior to sale.

I was shocked to learn, as I know you are, how prevalent residential mold has become not only in Oceanside, but in the state of California. Prior to this horrid experience, I always thought of mold as prevalent in states with high humidity such as Texas - and certainly in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina and the massive flooding.

I appreciate you listening and taking action immediately. I have volumes of research and am volunteering to testify before a senate subcommittee on this problem or in whatever way you might use my experience and knowledge gained in this.

Sincerely, Reverend Jussta"

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