OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — At Steeplechase on Maple, 80-year-old Jean Ruschy was told by her property manager that her lease would not be renewed. Her family then discovered a mold problem that's left them in a tight spot.
- We spoke to Ruschy's daughter Robyn Kovacs who took us through the apartment to look at the problem.
- Management is not renewing Ruschy's lease due to violations of their smoking addendum. Her daughter claims Ruschy did not violate those rules.
- The family discovered mold in the apartment, which city of Omaha inspectors revealed 10 property violations.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
This is Robyn Kovacs and this apartment complex were walking into is called steeplechase on maple. Kovacs mom Jean Ruschy has been living here for over six years.
During that time, she's had a complaint or two.
"She's always calling them for the sink plugged, the water leaking in my dad's bathroom, the water leaking upstairs in this bathroom from a bathtub overflowing,” said Kovacs.
And while Kovacs tells me maintenance has fixed things, she says it always seemed more like a Band-Aid.
"They fixed the ceiling, put drywall over that and just left it. They put drywall, cut out the wall and put a piece of drywall in there too."
While things weren't necessarily great, it had become her mom's home.
Then on January 6th, Ruschy gets a letter from her property manager stating that her lease 'will not be renewed due to failure to comply with the no smoking addendum.’
She has to move out by March 5th.
Her daughter, Kovacs claims her mom hasn't been smoking in her apartment and believes the smell lingering is from something else.
"She started sneezing all the time. Her nose was running all the time,” said Kovacs.
That's when another family member suggested they get the city inspectors involved.
After an official inspection by the city of Omaha on January 27th, 10 violations were revealed; a majority suspected to be mold.
The family then paid to have an independent company come out and test for mold.
They were able to confirm mold in two places and recommended no one 'occupies the apartment until remediation occurs.'
The city of Omaha Superintendent of Permits and Inspections tells us they have sent a notice to the property manager and given them 30 days to address the violations: the deadline March 2nd.
We reached out to Steeplechase who provided a statement saying ‘they were not made aware of the tenant's repair needs until today. And that their team is taking immediate action to address the concerns.’
Kovacs says in the end, her mom is being forced to find a new place to live but she's worried everything her mom owns is now contaminated with mold.
So next steps?
“I have contacted some lawyers to find out what we can do because basically, I think they're going to have to replace all this. She doesn't have any clothes. She doesn't have anything.”
