I am facing problem with my shower floor

By jeff

I live in Cheyenne, Wyoming and have been renting since August 2010. Upon moving into my basement apartment my wife and I reported a leaking shower head and the landlord stated to us that he would fix the leak within the week. He never did anything to remedy the problem.  Well here it is the first of March 2011 and in Feb. two tiles from the shower fell off and where the tile fell off the wall was black and spongy. I felt the rest of the walls that surround the shower and about a foot off the shower floor on two walls the tiles were mushy or spongy when I pushed on them slightly. Upon further inspection, I looked on the other side of the wall, in the laundry room and pulled back the insulation and noticed that there was black spots on the drywall behind the shower and there was a partially soaked 2×4 at the base of the wall. I also noticed several areas where the tiles were gapped and even bowing away from the wall. What I want to know, is am I responsible for that repair and can the landlord make me pay for the cost of replacing the walls involved? I think he should be held responsible because we let him know when we noticed the leak, and his lack of responsibility has caused this now even worse problem. During our stay over the last several months in this apartment, I was always wondering why my wifes allergies were acting up and why she was having asthma attacks. When we go to the store or leave for a short weekend somewhere, I have noticed that my wife wouldn’t have any problems with sneezing or wheezing. So I firmly believe that this mold issue was the cause. Please let me know what you think my rights are or should be.

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