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My partner and I rented the apartment located at 460 NE 28th Street Apartment 708 Miami Florida at the Icon Bay building from Alberto Minaya in April of 2022.
We paid the rent in advance and when we eventually moved out Alberto the landlord refused to pay us back.
The apartment was great, and everything was going well until we found mold and hell began.
On December 2nd, 2022, we messaged Alberto informing him that there is mold in the closet and sent four photos.
After not hearing from Alberto for 3 days, we followed up with him and he responded stating he just landed in Miami and will coordinate someone to check the mold.
Then on December 8th, Alberto sent a handyman that is not certified by the state for mold inspection to inspect the mold in the apartment and the handyman said he thinks it’s just surface mold and we were left with not many options.
We had to pay $500 for the mold inspection and testing to confirm there was mold in the apartment. We then temporarily got out of the apartment.
I have attached the multiple mold tests results on the property all showing positive test results for mold (some positive for Aspergillus/Penicillium and Cladosporium).
We had to get a few mold inspections because we felt the mold was not out and Alberto refused to pay for them, and we felt sick.
The worst thing besides the inconvenience of having to move back and forth and pay for mold tests was that our beloved dog died, Gotti, from breathing issues during this time.
Gotti was my partners best friend and having him die during this time really took the wind out of our sails.
Then to make matters worse, Alberto refused to pay us back and made settlement offers for less than the rent we paid him and not covering our costs.
We sent demand letters and eventually had to file a lawsuit for Alberto to pay us anything.
You can see below the timeline as presented in the demand letter.
We hope this information helps you and if you have any questions or concerns feel free to call me: Zachary Davis at (954) 319-7868
TIMELINE
On December 14, 2022, the mold inspection came back with Aspergillus/Penicillium and Cladosporium. Tenants wanted to get the cleaning done right away but spoke to landlord first. Landlord did not give consent to get the mold cleaning done.
On December 17, 2022, landlord offered to let tenants move out of the apartment, with 30 days notice, or split the mold remediation cost which was $5,000.00.
On December 19, 2022, tenants and landlord agreed to split the cost of the mold remediation.
On December 21, 2022, Miami Mold Specialists do a full mold remediation, which was allegedly completed on December 21, 2022. Tenants went back to the apartment and still experienced symptoms and vacated on December 22, 2022.
On December 27, 2022, Miami Mold Specialists came back and re-tested for mold in the hallway. The mold test came back negative for mold on December 28, 2022.
On December 31, 2022, tenants go back to the apartment and experienced symptoms and vacated again. Tenants gave notice to the landlord, and he stated to let Miami Mold handle the situation.
On January 4, 2023, tenants provided their first notice in writing to the landlord that tenants will be moving out.
On January 5, 2023, landlord stated tenants had no right to move out as he believed that the crack in the bathtub of which he claims was the source of the mold was the tenants’ fault and therefore the mold was the tenants’ issue. At that point, tenants hired and paid for another mold specialist to inspect the property. Environmental Research and Restoration inspected and tested the mold for $590.00. They found mold in multiple areas that had not yet been remediated in the same area/room. In addition, the company identified that the mold came from a leak from the washer/dryer or the apartment above. The company also cut into the dry wall by the bathroom and did not find any leak from the bathtub. Additionally, tenants sent a Formal Notice of Breach per F.S. 83.51 giving the landlord 7 days notice of tenants’ intent to vacate.
On January 9, 2023, landlord hired another mold company that started remediation.
On January 13, 2023, landlord states that the apartment is cleared, and tenants can move back in. During this time, landlord admitted that the mold came from a leak in the washer and dryer and not the bathtub.
On January 17, 2023, tenants sent landlord pictures showing that the washer and dryer were not plugged in, the guest room was still blocked off with plastic, there were no closet drawers, and the closet was in pieces in the main room. Additionally, the dry wall was exposed. Tenants again made landlord aware of the status of the apartment and sent another notice of the intent to move out on the 24th of January.
As of January 19, 2023, the apartment located at 460 NE 28th Street, Apt. 708, is still unhabitable.