LONGMONT, Co. -- The constant coughing outside of Maria Monet's apartment is a signal of what's inside: sewage and mold.
The elderly woman, who is in a wheelchair, says her Longmont apartment complex isn't helping fix a problem that's caused her to spend most of the day on her porch.
"There’s feces coming out...there was mold there and behind the dishwasher...that's still wet, that whole cabinet... there's mold under there," Monet described to Denver7, needing a surgical mask to spend any extended time in her own apartment.
"I have a lot of breathing problems. It's burning my throat, my nose, my ears, my eyes," she said, describing her Cloverbasin Apartment complex rental in Longmont.
Late last month, an inspection by the Boulder County Health Department found a leaking sewage pipe had caused water damage and sewage backup, leading to a high concentration of mold in her apartment.
The company that operates the Cloverbasin Apartments, Mission Rock Residential, said in a statement: “We are doing everything we can to assist this resident in making repairs.“
A spokesperson also cited an instance where maintenance workers were denied entry to make those repairs. That incident happened in May, months before the healh department ever got involved.
"Is that what your value is? That's how they treat you. Like you’re only good enough to be in garbage or in sewer," Monet said.
The apartment complex did cut out sections of the drywall in Maria's apartment and remove some of the moldy carpeting on Friday, just hours before our cameras arrived to interview her.
The apartment complex has now involved their attorney.
Maria was previously scheduled to move out of her apartment on Sept. 15. In the meantime, she has no choice but to stay.
