Landlord/tenant clash on alleged mold

An Olney woman believes her recent eviction notice came as a response to her reaching out to local media regarding an alleged mold infestation.

Pamela Guerin currently lives in the Blue Bonnet Apartments and believes the Olney Housing Authority maliciously targeted her with an eviction notice after she appeared on Channel 3 News decrying what she considers a mold infestation.

“This was retaliatory, no doubt in my mind,” Guerin said. “He has denied my sickness the entire time. He had these people leave their card on their door. He is trying every way he can to evict me on old issues that we have already dealt with.”

Guerin said the alleged mold has seriously impacted her health and made the apartment unlivable. She added that she has multiple notes from her doctors stating that living in a moldy apartment could have a serious impact on her health, because of her fibromyalgia diagnosis.

“I  took three medicines when I came here. Now, I have an entire bag ... “I’ve been so sick the past few months. I can’t even go to the bathroom without hanging onto the walls. I’m so weak. I can’t breathe. I hurt. I’ve been diagnosed with fibromyalgia since I’ve been here. When I saw the black mold on the outside of the house, I realized, this is major.”

Olney Housing Authority Executive Director Rick Dinwiddie said the Guerin’s eviction has nothing to do with her reaching out to the media. He added that the eviction notice was the result of several violations of her lease, but did not elaborate on the on how Guerin violated her lease in order not to violate Guerin’s privacy rights. In regards to the mold, Dinwiddie said the apartment Guerin lives in is prone to mold, but on multiple occasions she has refused Dinwiddie access to the apartment in order to determine whether alleged mold is from the recent flooding or neglect on Guerin’s behalf, an accusation Guerin does not refute.

“There are four apartments down there that are prone to flooding in certain circumstances and she was the only one that I heard of,” Dinwiddie said. “... It has never been anything really serious. An annoyance, for sure, but never any serious damages.”