[pulpfiction]

Hello..

My girlfriend is moving out of her current apartment in Ellington. While helping her do so, we went to her storage unit (which is seperate from her actual apartment) to retrieve boxes. We wound up with orange mold all over our gloves, scarves and coats while in the storage unit (of course, while both wearing our favorite coats, both of which were pricey).

There is NO ventilation in the storage facility whatsoever. Upon speaking to her landlord, my girlfriend learned that there were humidifiers, but they had been stolen and never replaced. This seems like gross negligence on the part of her landlord; does it not?

We wound up taking our coats to the dry-cleaners to have the mold removed ($85 in total, since my coat is leather). Her landlord refuses to compensate us. While I realize this is a relatively minor amount, isn't the landlord responsible for ensuring that their tenants property doesn't become filled with mold?

Any advice on what to do here? Thanks for reading.

[Silli]

Read the lease and see what it says about personal property. Generally, damage to your own property within the unit is covered by your own rental insurance, not your landlord's. If there were a flood or fire, for example, the landlord's insurance would cover the structure and your insurance could cover your belongings. If there were mold in the unit's living space, again, the landlord would only be responsible for the structure, not the contents. This situation seems somewhat equivalent.
Maybe someone else can chime in on the negligence aspect.

[Cambium]

Interesting situation. While a landlord is not responsible for the tenants personal property, a landlord is responsible for keeping the premises safe and free of any health issues. (ie: radon, Carbon Monoxide, mold, ect.)

Think of a storage locker. You pay them to protect your belongings. You weren't paying your landlord to store your stuff so it's your own risk. But then again....Landlord owns the storage closet (or does he?) ..

As a landlord...I first would ask you "did you not realize the humidity dangers of leaving an expensive coat in there?" Next I would make sure the apartment is damage free and spotless. If there is no problems I would pay for half the cost just cause I'm nice.

good luck.