Landlord Won't Believe Tenant's Complaint About Mold in Video Viewed Over 5M Times

A woman on TikTok went viral after sharing how her landlord refused to believe that there was dangerous mold growing inside her rental.

The video shared by Elena Sretenovic, or @talllgurl on TikTok, received more than 5.7 million views and 3,600 comments since being posted on December 3.

Sretenovic explained that she and her roommates started getting headaches out of nowhere and began wondering if there was mold in the house. She said after she started seeing mold videos on her "for you page" on TikTok she decided to order an at-home mold test kit.

She said she took a swab from a "moldy vent" inside the house. In the video, Sretenovic showed a photo of the vent which was covered in a greenish-brown substance. After 48 hours, mold began growing inside the petri dish which she showed in the video.

Sretenovic said that she and her roommates told their landlord about the mold but that she "gaslit" them and said the vent was just dirty.

"TikTok please help we don't know what to do we're just broke college students," the caption of the video read.

In the video, Sretenovic said she requested a mold inspector to look at the vent before the vent was replaced.

"We do not want anyone to touch or replace the vent until it is inspected please," the text sent to the landlord read.

But Sretenovic claimed the landlord ignored the request by replacing the vent and saying she sprayed "lysol on the mold to 'kill' it."

"Meanwhile you're all getting fevers and constant migraines," the text read over a photo of a thermometer showing a 100-degree temperature.

She explained in the video that one of their doctors ordered mold exposure testing on December 1 and that the landlord finally agreed to have an inspector come in.

"The cost is $249, if they find mold, I will take care of everything," the landlord replied in regards to the inspection. "If they don't find anything, you will be liable for the fees."

In the comments, many users defended Sretenovic and her roommates for reaching out to their landlord and some also recommended that she hire an attorney.

"You can 100% get an attorney involved or at least threaten to do so cuz this is very illegal and dangerous to your health," one user wrote.

In a follow-up video, Sretenovic said the inspection "didn't go as planned." She also said that many comments on her original video thought the inspector could be bribed by the landlord.

She said in the video that when the inspector came into the apartment he said their landlord "filled him in" and then they explained the situation to him as well. But she explained in the video that she has a suspicion that her landlord said they were "paranoid" and to let them know that everything was fine.

Sretenovic also said he did not touch the vent and that he swabbed around the apartment but that it "passed" on the safety scale. But she did say she requested an air sampling test.

Newsweek reached out to Sretenovic but did not receive comment in time for publication.

In another follow-up video, Sretenovic said that this was everyone's sign to test their house or apartment for mold. Others have also had similar problems with mold and documented their landlord's responses online.

On Twitter, a user from the United Kingdom went viral after sharing an exchange with their landlord publicly after they refused to fix the mold problem in his apartment.

In the screenshot of the text exchange, the man sent a photo of a hat covered in mold to his landlord.

"Hi the mold in the flat is now making my own clothes and possessions mouldy," the text read. "Please can this be sorted ASAP, I've asked so many times now."

In response, the landlord asked if he was sure it wasn't just an "acid wash effect."

In other tweets from the thread, the man shared photos showing mold growing around his window frame, all over the walls, and even on some of his furniture. He also mentioned that while he did move out of the apartment, he was not given back his deposit.

The Twitter user also claimed that he attempted to clean the mold himself but ended up hospitalized. In the thread, other Twitter users recounted similar situations where their landlords refused to help them with various problems.