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Woman says she's being evicted after refusing to pay rent for mold-infested apartment

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A DeKalb County woman is being evicted after she refused to pay rent because of a mold infestation at her apartment.

Rachel Ramzinelli said the mold and water issues are so bad, a huge hole rotted through her floor and her niece broke her foot after her leg got caught in the hole.

"Really, sometimes I get sick at night and I'm afraid I'm not going to wake up the next morning. That's a miserable feeling," said Ramzinelli, who suffers from asthma.

Channel 2 Action News spotted mold all over Ramzinelli's closet, vent and rugs inside her apartment.

Ramzinelli said she complained for months to Valley Oaks complex management and even showed Channel 2's Rachel Stockman the certified letter she sent to management.

Most recently, she tried calling the Environmental Protection Agency in Atlanta, but got a message that the federal government was shut down.

"It's like pouring salt in the wound. You just have nowhere to go," Ramzinelli said.

"Unfortunately, this tenant never came to our office to report it," said Noah Ramirez, who worked at Valley Oaks management.

"But she sent a certified letter," Stockman told Ramirez.

"She did. But how come she didn't tell me before?" Ramirez said.

Ramirez said that Ramzinelli has seven days to vacate the apartment.

"I beat cancer twice, and it's sad to think that I might not beat this," Ramzinelli said.