Woman says landlord evicted family after demanding flood, mold repairs

NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) — A woman says her landlord evicted her family after she refused to pay rent until her landlord cleaned mold and water damage in their apartment.

The woman reached out to News 4 after she saw a story News 4 did about another tenant's issues at the same apartment complex last week.

In that story, a woman living at The 2900 Student Apartments in Norman told News 4 property management did not move her to a clean apartment after hers flooded, until she told them she’d be calling authorities and News 4.

Kasey Haze, a former longtime tenant at The 2900, saw that story.

“I wasn't surprised,” Haze said.

Haze and her three kids lived at The 2900 for six years until this past November, when she says problems she had with the complex ultimately resulted in her eviction.

“I just felt compelled to contact you,” Haze told News 4. “Because I feel like you just can't do stuff to people like that.”

She says her problems began when she and her kids moved to a first-floor apartment.

“I came home one day and my whole living room was soaking wet and so was my kitchen,” she said. “There was a water leak and, [maintenance] said it had probably been there two and a half, three years.”

She sent News 4 pictures she says she took long after management claimed they’d fixed the issue and repaired the damage.

“I mean, the whole place is nothing but mold,” Haze said. “They came in and they sprayed it with some bleach and left. And I never saw them again.”

In October, she says she told The 2900’s management she wasn’t going to pay her rent that month until they brought the apartment to acceptable conditions.

“My walls and everything started literally rotting, like, literally rotting,” she said. “You're supposed to make it livable. Me and my three kids live here. And I was just recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. And I guarantee you that has something to do with those air vents.”

But she says management had her evicted after she refused to pay until the problem was fixed.

“I can understand if I was like a bad tenant and did this or did that, but I always paid my rent,” Haze said.

Haze says she wants other renters to learn something from her story.

“And so that's why I tell everybody to keep your receipts because they will charge they will charge you in unless you can prove it to them, they're going to call you a liar,” she said.

News 4 reached out to The 2900’s management about Haze’s situation. A property manager said The 2900 responded to all of Haze’s work orders within 24 hours, but wouldn’t elaborate more about what that entailed.

The property manager said The 2900 stands by evicting Haze for non-payment, noting a judge signed off on the eviction.  

Haze says she is planning to counter sue.