Woman urgently needs place to live after unit deemed unsafe from mold and mildew

One Fort Myers woman has until noon on Tuesday to find a place to live. She says the unit is unfit for living because mold and mildew are growing all over.

But, her landlord says the tenant is the one causing this because of her living habits. Her landlord also says he doesn’t have another unit at the Waterford Apartments to spare. But, he did admit that even if he had another unit, he probably wouldn’t move her to it.

He believes she would just transfer the mold from one unit to the next.

Cynthia Powell has lived at the Waterford Apartments along Central Avenue for more than a year, but on Tuesday, that will change. Powell has to leave her apartment is not safe to live in. The person to blame for the issues is different depending on who you ask.

“It’s not just green. It’s black mold and mildew. It’s sweating black down the walls. It’s all over the walls,” Powell said.

Both Powell and her landlord, Larry Twinney, told WINK News that Lee County Code Enforcement came to check out the apartment. And both agree that mold has got to go.

“I want to go because my health means something. But I should have been offered a place to be placed. At least another unit if another unit was there,” said Powell.

Powell claims her landlord is kicking her out. But according to Twinney, Powell refuses to follow his instructions to prevent mold from appearing in the first place. He also says he’s given her multiple opportunities.

“The mildew issue is caused because she does not run her air conditioning because she doesn’t want to pay the electric bill. That’s a big factor. And she maybe she can’t afford it, I don’t know,” said Twinney. “She has the windows covered in plastic. So there’s no breathable air getting into that apartment whatsoever.”

Making matters worse, Powell has been searching for days to find a new place to live. But, sadly for her, there’s nothing available immediately.

Of course, this has been a difficult time for Powell. She still doesn’t know where she’s going to go. She hopes he can stay with family and friends until she finds something permanent.

But finding affordable housing isn’t easy these days.