Tenants concerned about black mold growing at apartment complex

By James Felton, James Paxson and Rayvin Bleu

Click here for updates on this story

    DAVISON, Michigan (WNEM) — Residents living at a local apartment complex are claiming neglected mold is making them and their families sick.

The residents living at Rising Estates in Davison are demanding the owners take action.

“It’s in our walls. It’s in the ceiling. It’s in my bathroom. It’s covered my balcony. Yes, horrible,” said Skylar Rodgers, tenant at Rising Estates.

Rodgers said black mold is an unwanted amenity at Rising Estates. She said she has tried getting management to address the issue with little success.

“They told that if I really thought it was that big of an issue, since I have proof of an inspector, I would have to evacuate and leave the apartment for them to be able to fully clean like they need to. And I said well I’m giving you the money that I have to be able to live here. And due to my financial situation, I just can’t do that, unless you were to pay for me to move to a different place. And they just completely brushed it under the rug,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers did say a wall was replaced in her bathroom recently, but that is it. Sasha Landskroener joined Rodgers and also raised mold concerns to management.

Landskroener said she was shown the door.

“Finally, the property manager and the maintenance man came out and looked at my walls, and then ten days later I get a “Notice to Quit” with no known reason, my rent was all up to date, even though I had been going rounds with them about the mold issue since December,” Landskroener said.

The pair are part of a group of tenants that reached out to TV5 to get their story out and that is not all.

“I’ve also contacted an attorney,” Landskroener said.

Rodgers said she has asthma and is immunocompromised, but day and night faces mold exposure.

She said the building’s regional manager told her that resolving the problem would require her to evacuate, at her expense.

“With my financial situation, I don’t have money, I don’t have anywhere to go,” Rodgers said.

When Rodgers resigned her lease, her rent increased.

“I asked my park manager, I said, ‘our rent’s going up $125, yet I’m calling you every week because of a mold issue. I’m paying you more money for situations that aren’t being resolved.”

TV5 did reach out to the property manager. She had no comment.

We also contacted the owners of Rising Estates Apartments. An email sent to Monarch Investment and Management Group has not been answered.

For her part, Rodgers wants to see something done about the black mold right away.

“Whether it be they have to move everybody to a different building so they can fix this one up, or you know they can offer to pay us back for some of the rent that we paid and all the money that we’ve lost. And I’m really just worried about the children at this point. So hopefully they can just you know get it cleaned up as best as they can,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers wants the tenants at rising states apartment to know, their apartment may be affected too.

“Everybody in this building, in this apartment complex, needs to know how bad the mold actually is,” Rodgers said.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.