Photo not that of the actual client
One day, “Anais,” who lived in a subsidized apartment with her 14-year-old son, noticed severe mold and mildew in the living room air vents of her apartment. Soon, the infestation had spread throughout the unit. Anais has an autoimmune disease, and after the mold was discovered, her doctor diagnosed her with respiratory ailments that required treatment and medication. Her doctor believed the mold had triggered her respiratory issues, and Anais was concerned that it would also have long-term effects on her son. Still, her property management did little or nothing to address the issue, so Anais hired a company to test her apartment for mold. When the tests came back positive, she tried to use bleach to eradicate the mold and mildew, but it didn’t work. She then asked the property manager to transfer her and her son to a new unit, but he would not transfer her lease, nor would he allow her to break it without penalty. Attorney Robert Maldonado of JALA’s Fair Housing Unit spoke to Anais and got copies of the mold reports, as well as a letter from her doctor stating that she needed a unit free of mold and mildew because of her respiratory ailments. After JALA submitted two reasonable accommodation requests, Anais was eventually allowed to terminate her lease without costs, penalties, or fees. She has since moved to a new, mold-free home with her son, where both of them remain stably housed.
