‘Mold started occurring in the bathroom, I saw a mushroom coming out of the floor’: Family frustrated after months of leaks, mold in DCHA apartment

WASHINGTON ( DC News Now ) — For months now, Crystal Pettie and her 95-year-old grandmother have been living in a constant state of anxiety.

“You can smell the mold and the mildew when you come in the house,” said Pettie. “I’m allergic to mold and mildew and my grandmother is 95. She shouldn’t be living in that. I’m just worried about both of us staying safe.”

The two live in an apartment at Stoddert Terrace, a complex owned by the DC Housing Authority (DCHA).

Pettie said problems in the unit first started in October of 2023, when an upstairs neighbor overflowed their bathtub, leaking into their lower-level unit.

“Which was of course an accident. But the last year it’s been water leaks from the kitchen, water bubbles under the paint in the kitchen,” she explained.

Problems persisted.

“It also started in the linen closet – leaks in the linen closet. All this year it started getting severe. In March we’ve been seeing water leaks here and there,” said Pettie, who explained that the leaks were determined to be an issue with the pipes.

Photos and videos from Pettie show water leaking into the hallway and bathroom floor in June.

DCHA tore a hole in the ceiling of the bathroom to investigate. The hole was left open.

Videos from July show water leaking from that hole, damaging the walls.

“Mold started occurring in the bathroom, I saw a mushroom coming out of the floor. Every time we have a leak, I immediately call the hotline so someone can come out,” said Pettie.

But she feels little has been done to address the issue.

“It’s been going on for months. I call, they come and take pictures, they say, ‘okay,’” explained Pettie.

The whole situation has caused the family stress.

“It’s anxiety because when I go to work, I’m worried about something happening to my grandmother,” said Pettie. “If she passes out because of her respiratory system, I’m not here.”

The entire situation is like Deja’Vu for the family.

More than 30 years ago, Pettie’s grandmother was featured in an article by the Washington Post, after the ceiling in her former public housing apartment collapsed into their bathtub on Christmas Day.

“Here we are years later, something similar happening. They’re taking their time on it and it feels like it’s just not fair to her,” said Pettie.

DC News Now reached out to DCHA Monday afternoon to ask how the agency is handling the problem.

Around 2:50 p.m., crews from DCHA were at the unit patching the hole in the ceiling.

“It shouldn’t have taken this long for someone to do something. It shouldn’t take me going outside the program for them to do something,” said Pettie.

In response to questions asked by DC News Now, the agency said, in part:

“DCHA has removed the damaged drywall and patched the hole in the subject unit’s ceiling. Maintenance staff is scheduled to return tomorrow to complete sanding and painting, and finalize the repair… DCHA has replaced the wax rings on plumbing fixtures in the unit above the subject unit. At this time, no leaks from the upstairs unit are present.”

The agency also noted that a third-party vendor has tested the unit for mold and that DCHA will complete any remediation necessary when the report is complete.

Pettie said she’s grateful for the maintenance team that has tried to help, but said she’s been disappointed with the lack of communication from DCHA leadership.

“My whole thing is I’ve been calling for months and months and months. I even call them directly, well what’s going on?” she said. “I should be able to get an answer, I don’t care who you are – if I’m in public housing or not – because if it was their family member, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have gone on for this long.”

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