I guess the inspectors don't deal with mold, but can compel landlords to test for it and provide them with reports. In my case, I didn't need to deal with that because the part of the ceiling that was exposed was rotten from it. We had to wait about 10 minutes before the maintenance supervisor arrived, so I was able to explain how they handled/mishandled the water damage over the years and could express my concerns about it. The area's not exposed, but there are still indications of underlying damage.

The inspector suggested removing and replacing half the ceiling. The maintenance supervisor raised no objection, and said it would actually be easier for him because taking care of the area by the water damage would have been very difficult otherwise… I think his hands were tied before.

It was a big relief to have someone with authority look at the ceiling and tell them what had to be done. I didn't have to make any decisions or demands. I'm very satisfied with how things turned out.

They're going to fix the ceiling next week. Since I won't be able to go to the bathroom while they're here, I'll take my trip to the outlets that day and run up the mileage on the car so I can go back and get it inspected. I will have to lock the kitties in the bedroom so that they're not underfoot and don't inhale anything coming off the ceiling.

My husband's afraid that they're going to try to evict us because I called the Health Department, but by law they can't do that. They could try to find another reason though. The only thing I can think of is "damage to the apartment" because of our smoking, but we've been living here for 7 years, and there was no smoke-free policy in place when we moved in, and the health inspector didn't make any comment about the smell when she was here.

My husband had me all worked up looking for apartments. When he told me to do it, it was with a sense of urgency, but when I asked him about a potential move-in date (because landlords want to know that type of thing), I couldn't pin him down. He said he didn't want to move soon "unless the right apartment comes up." He couldn't make up his mind whether he wanted to move or not.

Our lease doesn't expire until August. Breaking our lease would leave us liable for rent until they find a new tenant, and because of all the half-assed repairs they have done in here over the years, the apartment would need quite a bit of work before they could get a tenant in here for the rent we pay now. Maybe they would go after us for it, maybe not. The only way out of the lease is if the apartment management co. agreed to let us off the hook, and I doubt they would do that.

I decided it's not worth the risk of breaking the lease and being on the hook for a lot of money we can't afford. So, I stopped looking for apartments. We will just have to make the best of it here for now.
If we do get evicted, or they do try to somehow force us out, I have already done research, so it will be easier to find an apartment.

My anxiety's been ****ing sky high. I still haven't calmed down. I was probably already wound up before all of this.