(WSVN) - A single mother claims her apartment has made her child sick, and now she wants a new place to live — and her money back. 7’s Rosh Lowe has her story in tonight’s Lowedown.
Tracie Brown is a single mom and a Broward County schoolteacher.
Her 4-month-old, Kai, needs oxygen to breathe and was rushed to the hospital Thanksgiving weekend.
Tracie Brown, concerned mother: “I broke down. I almost went into a mental breakdown when I rushed him to the hospital.”
Tracie says her son got sick from breathing mold in their apartment.
Tracie Brown: “I notified my doctor that there is mold present in the house. He said that since the baby has bronchitis, he cannot come back into the house.”
Tracie says she tried to get the landlord to fix the mold problem, but nothing was done. So she stopped paying rent in August.
She also filed a complaint with the county, and now an attorney has volunteered to help her.
David Kubiliun, attorney: “She lives paycheck to paycheck, so it’s not easy to pick up and move.”
In October, the apartment complex was cited for several violations, including leaky pipes and standing water. So Tracie asked to be let out of her lease.
To her surprise, the company threatened to evict her.
But one day later, she received this email saying, “The eviction process was dismissed and the owner personally asked to help.”
Tracie Brown: “I asked them if I could get my security deposit to move and they said no. They were going to use my security deposit to fix the damages of the mold.”
They offered to move her into a new apartment, but that unit had issues of its own.
Her attorney says that’s not good enough.
David Kubiliun: “The unit has not been painted or cleaned, two of the windows do not open, the dining rooms blinds are broken, and there is also two plug cases that are broken and a light case missing.”
Since Thanksgiving, Tracie has been living in a hotel with her children and doesn’t know where she will go to next.
Tracie Brown: “This is a nightmare. This apartment is the apartment from hell, honestly.”
Tracie just wants her security deposit back, so this nightmare will go away and she can find a new home for her children.
The Dania Beach code inspector tells us that, as of Thursday night, Tracie’s apartment is still not fixed and the next step will be a code enforcement hearing.
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