Family says they’ve been living in metro Atlanta rental home with mold, trash behind walls for years
Candace and Michael Holyfield say they believe they’ve been living above trash and mold for years while renting a home on Vesta Brook Drive in Morrow.
“It’s trash and it gives you major headaches, vomiting every day,” Michael Holyfield said.
The couple told Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln they constantly dealt with a horrible smell.
But after a water leak in their basement earlier this month, the Holyfields said they discovered old trash dating back to the year 2000, hidden behind drywall coved in black mold.
“It just got worse over time,” Michael Holyfield said.
Clayton County records show the home is owned by a Vesta Brook 6691 Trust.
The Holyfields’ lease lists RKK Inc. as the property management for the home.
Channel 2 Action News checked with the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office and records show that the company is owned by Alonzo Brown. It’s unclear if Brown knew there were problems but, the renters say they learned about the trash and mold after the first mold remediation company, hired by Brown left fans running in the basement for days.
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The family said they were told by Brown and the remediation company to not go into the basement.
Days later, Michael Holyfield said he finally went to the basement and discovered trash inside the walls where the company had removed the mold. However, the smell persisted, so the Holyfields called another company.
Jeremy Shelton with SafeAir Certified Mold Inspection Inc. told Channel 2 Action News that the mold remediation done by the previous company was not efficient.
“It’s toxic mold conditions. Conditions down there are horrendous,” Shelton said.
The Holyfields say they hired Shelton after the previous company did nothing.
“It’s just this nasty, wet mold, wet building material all throughout the basement and numerous locations. They’re saying they’re done with the cleaning. I can’t imagine how bad it was before they started,” Shelton said.
Channel 2 Action called and messaged Brown for comment on this story, but he did not respond.
Lincoln went by Brown’s Stone Mountain office. A woman said he was on the phone, and she could wait.
Lincoln waited for nearly 30 minutes, and no one returned to the door.
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