Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia
I have been living in a rental unit for the past 4 years. About 3.2 years in to living here I noticed mold spores on a vent & a ceiling fan in my kitchen. I cut out a peice of drywall in the ceiling. The drywall had layers of black mold imbedded in it. I called my landlord and told him in January 2015. He did nothing. In march of 2015 I went to the office and wrote a note to the landlord explaining the mold that was placed in my file. I verbally spoke to landlord and told him that my 6 year old son was still complaining of headaches. He showed up in mid April Unannounced. He explained that it was mildew and not mold. He then had the hole I cut out simply patched over, & replaced the fan . It was then that I realized that this had been an issue even before I moved in. I noticed that the vent had patch over the edges of it, and realized then ceiling was bowed before I moved in 8/11 and is still visible to this day. I stopped paying him rent in may 2015. It took 3 months before he sent me to court. Previously, if I was late he would have presented a 5day w/in 20days of being late. In the past 4 years I have had assistance from the county to help with rent on 2 separate occasions. I was reading about the Rico law, and I wonder if I could use this to make him pay for his disregard of my children's health. I am still currently in the home. I attempted to present my case in court when he went for repossession. The judge heard only the beginning of my case and told me that I should have filed a grievance, but that he can't give legal advice, he set appeal bind at 6,500$ My landlord was granted reposition of the unit. That was 7/31/15, still no eviction notice. Do I have a case? I am still in the unit.
1 Answer from Attorneys
A case for what? Provable damages which you've incurred allegedly due to this mold? (And, no, your
son's headaches will not suffice here.)
No, apparently, not (in my opinion).