Mold is not just a problem on Indiana University’s campus, but a problem off campus in a popular apartment complex. Hundreds of IU students live in The Dillon which is owned by Campus Life and Style. CLS owns over 30 student housing properties in the nation.
When Chelsea Zhang moved into her apartment in August 2021, and says she couldn’t even sleep in her own room.
Zhang said, “Not even overnight I started getting the worst headaches, having allergies. I was like I feel like something is not right.”
Three former residents of The Dillon say they now have serious health side effects from what they have confirmed as exposure to black mold. In May of 2021, Ellerin Robins made formal complaints to the Dillon about the mold in her home.
She and her roommates asked the Dillon in June to complete a mold test and the Dillon told them the results came back negative for mold. But the management never showed the lab results to the tenants. The Dillon put in dehumidifiers attempting to help the situation, but the roommates said the machines did little to alleviate the moisture conducive to growing mold. They said when they stepped on the carpet their socks instantly got wet.
The women living in the home documented in photos all the mold they saw on their ceilings, walls, and floors. The mold also spread in their refrigerator and condensation appeared on their windows. Dillon’s maintenance crews cut out a piece of the drywall that had mold but left insulation and piping exposed.
The residents hired a professional mold inspector at their own expense after they say the Dillon ignored their emails and health concerns.
They paid an inspector from Mold Inspection and Testing to check their apartment. The results from the company based in Indianapolis were stark. They confirmed a serious level of mold.
The inspector told the women that it was unsafe to live in the home and suggested that they move out, a recommendation documented on the paperwork.
“Personally, it feels like the biggest slap in the face that maintenance didn’t even care enough to tell us when it was affecting our health” said Ellerin Robins.
Robins was also a leasing professional at the Dillon. She started working there in October 2020. However, in the beginning of September, she says the Dillon fired her.
Robins said, “They said we need you to sign an NDA because we don’t need an employee slandering the Dillon. I said, ‘Well it’s not slander if it’s true.”
Robins and her two roommates refused to sign the non-disclosure agreement which she says resulted in her termination. The Dillon allowed the residents to break their lease.
The three tenants received their August and September rent back and moved out of the Dillon in the first week of September. But the residents said they lost more than $7,500 worth of their personal property, which had to be thrown away for safety reasons. The tenants say The Dillon refused to pay for the items lost from the mold. The only items the residents were advised they could safely salvage are those made of metal and plastic.
They say the damage extends well beyond their belongings to their physical and mental health.
Zhang expresses her severe health concerns after living with mold exposure.
Robins lived in the apartment for 10 months. She said she discovered skin lesions on her hands and legs after exposure to the mold. She says she is also is suffering from swollen lymph nodes and has scheduled a biopsy.
The two other residents scheduled medical appointments in the coming months to monitor their health.
“I feel like the reason they are getting away with this is because we are college students, and they think that college students don’t have the ability, the voice or the money to actually fight for what’s correct,” Sohini Chowdhurry said.
The former Dillon residents relocated to a new apartment complex, but they said they haven’t fully processed what they went through.
IU NewsNet reached out to Campus Life and Style in response to the accusations the former residents made. CLS didn’t answer our long list of specific questions, but Jessica Nix, CLS Senior Vice President of Marketing and Leasing, provided a written statement:
“Leaks happen and when they do, it’s possible that conditions will be ripe for mold growth. Most mold we encounter every day is harmless, but it’s our policy to take no chances, and when we become aware of mold growth, we act swiftly to ensure that it is professionally removed.”
To make formal mold complaints to the city, contact the Bloomington Housing and Neighborhood Development.
IU NewsNet is continuing to investigate tenant complaints of of mold in the Dillon.
