Port Wentworth family claims mold forced them from apartment, faces $20,000 in damages

PORT WENTWORTH, Ga. (WTOC) -A Port Wentworth family says mold in their apartment made them sick and forced them to move out, leaving them with $20,000 in damages they claim their former apartment complex refuses to cover.

Malachi Singleton and his family lived at the Palisades at Rice Hope apartments before the mold issue forced them out. The couple has a young child and another baby on the way.

“They were willing to send a family with a toddler and a pregnant wife, a pregnant woman, back into a unit that they knew it was molded,” Singleton said.

The family first noticed small amounts of mold in their apartment. The problem escalated in September when they went on vacation for five days.

“By the time we got back, the mold was so aggressive that it was growing on things. And so at that point, when we came back, my daughter and I both got really sick,” Singleton said.

Singleton alerted apartment staff, who he claims said they would test the apartment.

“They looked at our couch. They looked at some of our other things, but they looked noticeably at our furniture. And they said it looked like it was just water damaged and that we should just clean it off,” Singleton said.

The family hired their own testing company, which found different results.

“When there’s more mold content in the apartment than there is in the air outside, at that point, the apartment, the unit is deemed uninhabitable,” Singleton said.

He says the report explained the health problems they experienced.

“When we read the report, everything made sense. Because all of the mold in there caused breathing problems, allergy problems, and then the mold was also consistent with other buildings that have water damage,” Singleton said.

The mold damage cost the family more than $20,000 in damages. They had renters’ insurance but faced pushback due to proof requirements over what caused the mold.

“We know we may not recoup all of that,” Singleton said.

The family says apartment managers promised to return their security deposit.

“We do have that in writing, but they never gave that back to us,” Singleton said.

WTOC called The Palisades at Rice Hope Apartments, who directed inquiries to SouthWood Realty, their corporate owner. A corporate representative claimed the family never reached out to them.

The family says they have been going back and forth with the company and were directed to a regional manager but only reached voicemail.

The family has created a GoFundMe page to help with expenses.