WIS Investigates: State law does not protect tenants from mold

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -

It's in every home in the country, but too much of it has been known to cause serious health problems, even death. It is mold and experts say it is very common in South Carolina.

But what about if you are renting an apartment? In South Carolina, there are no laws to protect you or force your landlord to clean it up. We met one viewer who ended up in court after months of trying to get her apartment complex to remove the mold growing in her apartment.

Navy veteran Lakisha Miles was impressed when she moved in to a two-bedroom apartment in Austin Woods Apartments.

I came here and saw the crown molding, Miles said. I fell in love with the apartment. It's a beautiful apartment on the outer shell, but what's going on between the walls?

The questions started last summer when Miles' children started getting headaches.

This is where they spent a lot of their time. This was the main restroom they used, she said. That's when I got information. There was a flood next door, and it wasn't cleaned up properly.

Miles says numerous requests for clean up to the Austin Woods Apartment managers went unanswered, so she called in her own mold expert.

Report came back, there were seven types of mold growing in this downstairs bathroom, Miles said.

After months of not getting anywhere and an emergency room visit for a respiratory infection, Miles stopped paying her rent and called us.

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WIS Investigates: State law does not protect tenants from mold