A London, Ont., mom who moved her family from a home rental apartment after just five months, and later learned another family had moved in the day after her lease expired, is speaking out about what she believes is mould at the property.
Amanda Wilcox, 31, said that earlier this year, she was worried about her two-year-old daughter, who had developed a bad cough and was prescribed a steroid puffer after they moved into a three-bedroom rental at 182 Clarence St.
It was nagging me. I saw her kids kind of sitting on the porch and I said, ‘I gotta say something in case they don’t know.’– Amanda Wilcox about new tenant
“She would cough, and cough and cough until she was vomiting,” said Wilcox, whose partner was also living with them in the unit. “I had mentioned to [the landlord], ‘The smell in this house is awful. We can’t breathe, we’re getting nosebleeds. We feel like crap,'” said Wilcox.
“He said nothing.”
After Wilcox got a chance to see the home’s basement unit — which had been rented out as a separate apartment to someone who then passed away — she discovered what she believed was black mould, so gave her notice. She moved out on Aug. 30, but after driving by the house days later and seeing three children out front, Wilcox decided she needed to speak out.
“It was nagging me,” said Wilcox. “Every time I went to visit my parents, I saw her kids kind of sitting on the porch and I said, ‘I gotta say something in case they don’t know.'”
“We’ve been sick on and off,” said the tenant, Jessica Bottineau, 37, who already had her suspicions about the place.
City of London has property standards file
Bottineau, a member of the Wasauksing First Nation near Parry Sound, moved in with her three children the day after Wilcox moved out. “It seems like we’re sick. It will be OK for a day or two and then bam, it’s right back.”
The day Wilcox stopped by the house, Bottineau’s daughter had just returned from the hospital.
“My daughter couldn’t breathe, headaches, vomiting, feeling dizzy.”
When Bottineau took the place, she was scrambling to find somewhere to live. She said she had left an abusive partner, and she and her children were staying at a friend’s place. Last month, Bottineau was diagnosed with leukemia
Bottineau, who’s on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), pays $2,000 a month for the three-bedroom unit and another $700 for the basement, which she says the landlord promised to refurbish. Bottineau had hoped to open up an eyelash spa in the basement, but it’s sitting unused by her.
Bottineau said she doesn’t believe the basement got a proper upgrade and that the mould is still a problem.
A spokesperson for the City of London confirmed there is an active property standards file at 182 Clarence St. and “the city will be following up to ensure compliance with property standards regulations.”
“When I looked through the place … [the dark spots were] isolated to two exterior walls, small sections,” said Alek Kontic who owns the property and several others, including the home next door to 182 Clarence St.
He said he treated the spots with bleach and a “mould control product” he purchased from Home Depot.
“It’s [mould] not growing and it could also be minerals coming through the wall too,” he said. “I would test if there was a serious issue for sure.”
Kontic also believes if the air quality is poor in the house, the tenant who lives in a unit at the back of the house may be responsible. Kontic said he’s been trying to evict that tenant through the Landlord Tenant Board,
Complaint from former tenant of another home
Another one of Kontic’s former tenants is taking him to small claims court for $1,000.
For three years, David Gray lived in the upper unit of the home next door to 182 Clarence St.
“The first problem was smelling gas,” said Gray.
He said that when his landlord didn’t respond to his concerns, he shut the gas off himself and called an expert. A technician discovered carbon monoxide was leaking from the stove, said Gray.
“At some point, I decided I’ve had enough and I took him to the Landlord and Tenant Board,” said Gray, who agreed to settle before the case made it there.
But Kontic never paid him, Gray said.
Gray said he’s now taking Kontic to small claims court.
Kontic, however, said he wasn’t aware of Gray’s court pursuit, so provided no comment.
Bottineau said she has been doing her best to mitigate the mildew smell in her unit.
She has purchased air fresheners, scrubbed the basement with bleach and purchased a dehumidifier.
The landlord said he’s trying to figure something out, said Bottineau.
But, she added: “This place should be condemned. This house needs a total makeover. This house should be condemned until it is properly done, and he should not be taking anybody in.”