Did she just catch her landlord lying about not finding any mold?

A tenant went viral after she caught her boss allegedly lying about a suspicious growth in her closet.

Sheridan Ellis (@sheridanellis) recently posted a series of videos to her TikTok account, where she has almost 27,000 followers. In the first videos, she showed viewers the corresponding form and thought about what they should do. She then exposed her landlord for planning to lie to her about his findings.

As of Sunday morning, her most-viewed video detailing her plight had more than 2.7 million views.

Tenant finds worker lying

In a video, Ellis said they initially told her they would send a professional to test the “growth.” However, she wasn’t home when they arrived, so she thought about how she could follow their conversation from a distance.

“I was at work watching and recording with my dog ​​camera as they made a plan of what to tell me so they wouldn’t lose their job,” she explained. After collecting this evidence, she said she went to Home Depot to purchase her own mold testing kits. In her opinion, this confirmed that it was indeed mold in her closet.

“I know I’m not a mold expert, but this doesn’t look like Pepper Jack or Gouda to me,” she said of her findings.

To make matters worse, Ellis said another tenant had a similar problem and was told the mold was just dust. “She lost $7,000 worth of things,” Ellis explained.

The tenant said that despite the evidence she collected (more on that below), her apartment still denied that she had mold. But not only did Ellis have video evidence of this, she also said she developed a rash that covered her neck and shoulders.

“I recorded everything. I have a whole album of things,” Ellis said. She encouraged viewers not to move into her apartment complex, the Ross + Peak Apartment in Dallas, Texas.

@sheridanelli’s Proof Part 1 of the Ross + Peak apartment complex is located. While I was at work I checked my camera and watched them walk around – not testing anything – and made a plan on what to tell me 🙃 #cushmanandwakefield #cushmanwakefield #dallas #rosspeak #mold #apartment #leasing #CAMPfacility #CAMP ♬ Original sound – Sheridan Ellis

Wait, what did the tenant record?

In Ellis’ evidence video, which she said she shot with her dog camera, she caught three people in her apartment discussing what to tell her about the mold.

“I asked my apartment complex to test the mold in my HVAC cabinet that resulted from a leak that they never fixed,” she wrote in the text overlay. “I was told they didn’t find anything, so I checked my camera…”

In the recorded video, a woman who was not named appeared to suggest telling her the truth. But then another worker intervened.

“I wouldn’t even do that [do] all of that,” said the man. “I would just say… ‘The growth, the organic growth that we found, we cut out and removed.'”

He continued, “You guys are going to clean their air ducts or whatever.” At one point the man almost suggested calling the thing they found in the closet “mold,” but then he stumbled over his words and said, “Yes.” I preferred to call it “organic growth” because “none of us are scientists.”

In fact, he doubled down on this again towards the end of the video. He said telling the tenant, “Less is more.” The housing workers nodded in agreement.

In a follow-up video, Ellis showed viewers the shape in question. She considered why her apartment would lie to her about the mold and confirmed that workers had told her they found “organic growth” (instead of mold) in her closet. However, she said there was “so much mold and organic growth” that workers had to cut through an adjacent wall.

She also said the mold was allegedly located in a locked HVAC closet that only housing workers with a special key had access to.

“So, yeah, what would you do – just hypothetically?” she jokingly asked the audience.

@sheridanelli’s Proof Part 1 of the Ross + Peak apartment complex is located. While I was at work I checked my camera and watched them walk around – not testing anything – and made a plan on what to tell me 🙃 #cushmanandwakefield #cushmanwakefield #dallas #rosspeak #mold #apartment #leasing #CAMPfacility #CAMP ♬ Original sound – Sheridan Ellis

What happens if there is mold in your home?

According to a Texas-based legal blog, tenants can receive compensation for damage caused to their home by mold. But the mold shouldn’t have gotten that far, the blog said. Because “the law states that landlords in Texas are required to eliminate conditions that “substantially impair the health and physical safety of a regular tenant.”

However, the law in question is somewhat questionable as to when the complex must remove the mold. It noted that landlords have a “reasonable” amount of time to fix the problem, although it appears Ellis’ videos documenting her predicament were taken over a long period of time. However, it generally said that mold problems should be addressed no later than seven days after a tenant’s first complaint.

Tenants like Ellis whose apartment complexes refuse to help have certain rights, according to the blog. For example, it was suggested that someone like Ellis should either terminate her lease, file a lawsuit, or ask a third party to fix the mold problem and then “deduct the cost of the repairs from your rent.” It also states that anyone experiencing health problems due to the mold should contact a personal injury attorney immediately.

Others weigh in

And based on the evidence Ellis had, viewers suggested she wait to pay rent until the issue was sorted out. Most viewers said she should let the matter be resolved in court.

“Please do not pay the rent directly to them, but go to your court and file a tenant’s claim. Your rent will be held in escrow directly with the court until the issue is resolved,” one woman suggested.

“This lawsuit is going to be epic,” said another.

“Sue them,” a third viewer echoed.

Other viewers noted that the management of her apartment also lied to her.

“Our apartment flooded last year due to the apartment’s negligence and I had to threaten lawyers and do a bad Google review to get out of our lease,” one person shared.

“This happened in my apartment where there was mold and I got so sick that I was ignited so violently with the gas,” another added.

The Daily Dot reached out to Ellis for TikTok comment. We contacted Ross + Peak Apartments via the online messaging portal.

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