I have to move. Our health depends on it

[slyderdai]

I got a call on monday from the pa. state health clinic. My 18 month old daughter has extremely high concentrations of lead in her blood. Today the health department came to inspect the place. Everything in the apartment that is wood I.E. window sills, door jambs, floor molding is painted with lead based paints. I have tried to contact the landlord about 15 times with no reply. My daughters doctor called today at 1 and said we need to get out. So we are gonna go stay with my sister until we find a place suitable for the family. My landlord called us back finally and basically evicted us on the spot. I asked about my security deposit of 1000 dollars. She said only after we are out will she return our money (if there are no damages). This is where i lost my temper. I said my family having a safe roof over their heads is more important than her basically condemmed house. The state pretty much said that it will be condemmed until it is refinished with new not just painted over.
I threatened to have an attorney involved and she started sing a different tune. So we'll see how it goes from here.

[Felis-Pardalis]

Good luck
The Landlord should pick up the Med bill's as well,tho doubt she will that would be admitting fault/guilt.

[05xd]

Slumlords FTL! Lead paint is no joke,but I still wonder how we survived our childhood with lead paint all around us.I'd sue the pants off of her.I know legally here,the landlord cannot evict you for calling someone for lead paint issues

[bdiggy]

Wow, that sucks man! Good luck with it though.

[Munky]

Sue the ***** for everything she's worth.

This is America, after all. Isn't that what we stand for?

[cclngthr]

I think, legally, the landlord must refinish, meaning the old lead based paint must be removed physically by a certified/licensed contractor and repainted, which that's what the owner of my apartment complex told me that he had to do to each apartment in the complex.

[PSUsouthpaw]

I got a call on monday from the pa. state health clinic. My 18 month old daughter has extremely high concentrations of lead in her blood. Today the health department came to inspect the place. Everything in the apartment that is wood I.E. window sills, door jambs, floor molding is painted with lead based paints. I have tried to contact the landlord about 15 times with no reply. My daughters doctor called today at 1 and said we need to get out. So we are gonna go stay with my sister until we find a place suitable for the family. My landlord called us back finally and basically evicted us on the spot. I asked about my security deposit of 1000 dollars. She said only after we are out will she return our money (if there are no damages). This is where i lost my temper. I said my family having a safe roof over their heads is more important than her basically condemmed house. The state pretty much said that it will be condemmed until it is refinished with new not just painted over.
I threatened to have an attorney involved and she started sing a different tune. So we'll see how it goes from here.

If the landlord doesn't play nice, I may know a few rabid paintballers who may need someone to practice covert ops on.

[05xd]

I think its time to look into a Lead Abatement license.There has to be mad loot involved in it.My old landlord took a 2 day course on it and got his license so he could do the work himself.

[BColeman]

slyderdai:

Dude, that really sucks man. It should be illegal for the landlord to evict you on the spot, especially if you've paid your rent on time and you've been a decent tenant.

I would assume she did this because the Health Department called her/him up about the situation too.

And YES, please get a Lawyer involved. A personal injury attorney would be the best for you. The landlord needs to cover the costs of all Medical treatments, return your security deposit, etc. etc. Definitely get a lawyer.

[caseinajar]

that sucks man, get a lawyer. get your money. and get outta there.

[OPZ]

Come over to western PA...we're so much cooler out here anyways! haha

But seriously, that is really really ****ty, best of luck man!

[ghrpdx]

I'm glad you guys left. The health of your family is more important than anything else.

My last apartment had me sign a waiver stating that some surfaces may contain lead and I could not take legal action. Basically, I could choose not to live there if I didn't want to before any papers were signed. Check your lease/rental documents, there may be a lead disclaimer/disclosure.

Same thing for mold. If mold generated on surfaces after residency, it was the resident's responsibility to deal with it themselves. They even gave a list of things to do to prevent mold growth.

It's amazing how DANGEROUS everything is today. When I was a kid everything had lead in it, we didn't wear seat belts, and never wore helmets. I'm still here.

[kylemorg]

Good luck getting this sorted out, and I hope your daughter will be fine...

[SuperGLS]

Kids have been eating lead for years... big deal.

[P.J.]

I'm glad you guys left. The health of your family is more important than anything else.

My last apartment had me sign a waiver stating that some surfaces may contain lead and I could not take legal action. Basically, I could choose not to live there if I didn't want to before any papers were signed. Check your lease/rental documents, there may be a lead disclaimer/disclosure.

Same thing for mold. If mold generated on surfaces after residency, it was the resident's responsibility to deal with it themselves. They even gave a list of things to do to prevent mold growth.

It's amazing how DANGEROUS everything is today. When I was a kid everything had lead in it, we didn't wear seat belts, and never wore helmets. I'm still here.


My last apartment had me do the same thing.

[Ugzz]

i couldnt buy my house until an inspector went through and tested the paint for lead casue the house is over 100 years old.

lucky me it was already redone years back :D

sucks you ahve to move, and yeah, times sure to change. kids are more fragile today then they were. i used to climp on HUGE 10+ ft plastic spheres shaped like planets at my old playground, and they had holes in them to climb in and out of.. it was like 6-8ft high and underneath on all sides.. solid concrete. nowadays kids have that soft foamy stuff

i must have fell off of so much crap in my day, only had to get stitches once for running the wrong way up a huge *** all metal slide.. dont see those around anymore do ya? hehe

but back on topic hehe
i bet the landlord is just pissed you found out about the paint now they have to pay $$ to fix the problem. so they might give you crap, as much as it sucks to do small claims court i would do it if she talks about eating into you 1k deposit..

[slyderdai]

well it's been decided. we are putting our stuff in storage and gonna stay with my parents until we find a reasonably safe, and affordable place to live. there just isn't anything that doesn't have lead for us that is always the first question i ask. We are looking into buying a house across the street from where i grew up. I really wish we didn't have to stay with the parents but we just got the report back from the health department and it is bad. I am gonna do everything in my power to get this place condemmed until it is fixed. I don't want to let someone else's child be exposed to this crap. The more i think about it the angrier i get. I sweaqr if my child has any problem because of their neglegence. I'm not the type of person to sue but i will get satifaction one way or "another". This is the first time since the day i turned 18 i have lived there. But my room still has all my graffiti on the walls and i think the kids are gonna like that. I am having a hard time finding the silver lining in this cloud. Except the possibility of me going to an autocross on sunday i can vent my frustration on the track.

[korai9989]

I wish you luck my friend. The landlord is supposed to be responsible for all things like that... lead, asbestos, arsenic, etc. Good luck finding a place, and before I ship these gauges, are you sure on the address on mifflin?

[slyderdai]

yup we won't be outta there until mid next week but my mail will still go there until i get a change of address form filled out. Or it will be held at post office

[PILL]

I'm glad you guys left. The health of your family is more important than anything else.

My last apartment had me sign a waiver stating that some surfaces may contain lead and I could not take legal action. Basically, I could choose not to live there if I didn't want to before any papers were signed. Check your lease/rental documents, there may be a lead disclaimer/disclosure.

Same thing for mold. If mold generated on surfaces after residency, it was the resident's responsibility to deal with it themselves. They even gave a list of things to do to prevent mold growth.

It's amazing how DANGEROUS everything is today. When I was a kid everything had lead in it, we didn't wear seat belts, and never wore helmets. I'm still here.

You can still sue. Waivers are only as good, or bad, as the lawyer defending them. In other words, waivers are just about useless.

[DJ Hellfire]

Law-f'in-suit!