UPDATE: August 27 at 5 p.m.
Lexington city officials have confirmed to LEX 18 that the case is still open and Lexington Code Enforcement is still monitoring the mold situation at one unit in the Patchen Place Apartments.
"The apartment is still under notice," said Susan Straub, a spokesperson for the city, in a statement. "The case is not closed. We will continue to monitor the situation until the unit is fully compliant and ready for the next occupant."
This update comes after the owner of Patchen Place Apartments, Mike Mackin of Vermeil, LLC, provided LEX 18 with documentation showing that the company won an eviction hearing in court against McKenzie Murphy on August 21st for non-payment of rent for 3 months.
Further, Mackin provided a Small Claims Complaint filed against Murphy on August 8 for the maximum of $2500 for back rent.
He also confirmed on Tuesday that Murphy no longer lives in the complex.
Original Story:
McKenzie Murphy has lived at Patchen Place Apartments in Lexington with her daughter for more than a year. But she claims the last seven months of living in her apartment have been a bit rotten, as she has watched specks of mold infiltrate the walls.
"It's going to be blowing right into my living room area above here on the vents and then making it's way up onto the ceiling," Murphy said.
She began to notice the "little specks and stuff" coming from the vents, she told LEX 18's Kayleigh Randle as the two toured the apartment. Her apartment was condemned after Lexington Code Enforcement discovered what they believe is black mold growing from within the walls.
"So it kind of started more down here in my living room area in my vents around August, I want to say. Just a few months after I moved in," she said.
She contacted Code Enforcement.
They confirmed with LEX 18 that Murphy's apartment did have what they believe to be excessive mold.
The inspection notes read:
"Mold was found in the bathroom and around the HVAC vents...missing smoke detectors need to be replaced...unit needs to be treated for pests...and the HVAC system return is not connected to the unit with a missing air filter."
She said that the day after code enforcement inspected her apartment, she was given an eviction notice.
LEX 18 did reach out to the owner of Patchen Place Apartments, who shared a Small Claims Complaint against Murphy, dated for August 8 for $2500 regarding non-payment of rent.
According to Code Enforcement, the corrections must be completed by September 3 or there will be a $2500 fine.
A gofundme was created to help Murphy during this time.
