Resident’s house was full of ‘toxic’ mold; they want to hold their corporate landlord accountable
With a voice built for the radio microphone and a blonde haircut atop her head, Jamie Kruse is a woman who is used to commanding attention.
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When she felt that her landlord ignored her concerns to the point of threatening her family’s health, she decided to use her skill set to make sure the world paid attention to them.
This summer, Kruse and her family moved into 1056 Saddleback Ridge Road near Apopka, in a move that Kruse admitted was “under the gun.”
It was one of the more than 85,000 homes owned by Progress Residential, the largest owner of single-family homes in the US and a subsidiary of an investment firm.
Kruse said within weeks, she and her daughter, Violet, began to feel sick.
“She was sleeping, like, 16 hours per day,” Kruse recalled.
As time went on, Kruse said the family dealt repeatedly with water coming from the second-floor bathroom through the ceiling below. Each time, Progress sent a maintenance man with commercial dryers to fix the mess.
After the fifth time, Kruse said Progress sent a plumber, who opened the wall and told her the shower head and bathtub had not been installed correctly, and water had been leaking through the walls and floor for years.
She asked Progress for a mold test, but the company, like most landlords, wouldn’t pay for one. She coughed up the several hundred dollars instead.
“He walked downstairs -- I’m on the phone with my attorney -- and they both said, ‘You and your daughter have to leave right now,’” Kruse said. “You’re not safe.”
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By that time, Violet said she could barely get off the couch.
“The best way I can describe it is kind of like a mixture between having the worst flu of your life and being on a boat,” she explained.
The full report showed the house had extremely high levels of mold, including varieties that produce chemicals that are toxic to humans.
Kruse spent the better part of a week donning hazmat gear and picking through her belongings, which she said will cost tens of thousands of dollars to clean. She left most of the belongings in the house when she handed over the keys Thursday.
So far, she said, Progress has not made any serious offers to help her.
It isn’t about the money, though. Kruse said Progress knew the house had a problem before they listed it for rent. She wants the company to take accountability for that and the other houses in their portfolio, triple-checking each for health and safety hazards before a family moves in.
“They wave a little bit of money in front of (people), and they settle? In my opinion, that’s not okay,” Kruse said. “I want compensation, but I don’t want it to be private. I want the world to know.”
When contacted for responses to Kruse’s claims, a Progress PR representative responded with a short statement.
“The wellbeing of our residents is our top priority, and we take their concerns very seriously,” the company said. “We are in close communication on this matter to reach a swift and satisfactory resolution.”
WFTV was forwarded a screenshot of an email declining Progress’ initial settlement offer for $15,000, a fraction of what Kruse said her costs were, not counting the ongoing medical visits for herself, her daughter and newborn granddaughter.
Kruse’s attorney, Jesse H. Clark, called Kruse’s situation “worse than average” but said mold and other health issues are growing more prevalent as corporations continue to gobble up America’s housing supply, to the point that the problem was becoming “really common.”
Florida building code doesn’t explicitly reference mold, he said, an omission that works against tenants trying to hold their ground.
Clark advised people to call code enforcement out anyway, insist they visit in person, and detail every issue with the home they’re renting to give officers ground to pursue their landlords.
He also advised tenants to pay for their own mold inspections, saying landlords who pay don’t release the results to their tenants.
He also said tenants encountering problems should avoid a landlord’s portal and communicate only through email.
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He also reminded tenants of their rights: to have at least 12 hours’ notice before their home is entered, except in emergency situations, and the right to get their security deposit back without signing a release.
He also said tenants can legally withhold rent for a serious issue seven days after filing a written notice, which should also include a note reserving the right to terminate a lease.
“I don’t want this to happen to anyone else,” Kruse, who plans to pay for social media advertising to spread her message, said. “Maybe they won’t care, maybe they won’t learn, but I won’t stop.”
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