ROCK HILL, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – A Rock Hill man is calling on city officials to respond to a landlord in town who he says is taking advantage of his mom.
According to the family the landlord, who is known for working to redevelop the South Side of Rock Hill, isn’t fixing what the family calls important issues like dangerous mold in the home.
Rock Hill’s Regina Duvall says for the last several months, she’s been living in a hotel, because the home she is renting on Lige Street for $850.00 a month she says is considered dangerous to her health.
“It needs to be fixed”, says Duvall.
Duvall says it all started when her hot water tank burst and flooded some of the house. Vincent James with Impact Change, who is the landlord over the home and dozens of other houses in Rock Hill fixed the issues, however she says mold was discovered.
He’s telling me I can leave and he would break the lease or whatever, but he’s not willing to fix it”, says Duvall.
Duvall says she hired an independent inspector with Green Home Solutions of Rock Hill, who says he found dangerous types of black mold in the home, one type being Stachybotrys. The inspector confirmed with CN2 News the mold should be removed before Duvall moved back in the home, adding the mold was found in the back hallway of the home and present in the kitchen.
Josh Bovill is Regina’s son. He says after going back and forth with the landlord about the issues with his mom’s rental, he was frustrated when the issue wasn’t being resolved. So he sent a release to Rock Hill city officials asking them to reconsider any partnerships or affiliations they may have with Vincent James and Impact Change.
“Before I wrote the release I had conversations with him back and forth since it happened. Every step of the way he made it difficult and more difficult”, says Bovill.
CN2 reached out to Vincent James, who in 2022 announced his commitment to revitalize the South Side of Rock Hill through the development of Three Points at South End. He told CN2 by phone he will do what is needed to fix any issue and has other tenants who are happy. As for Regina, she says she wanted to speak out, in hopes this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
“I want to be that voice for those who can’t be a voice. Because I’m not afraid, you know. Because right is right and wrong is wrong”, says Duvall.
According to City of Rock Hill Officials, Vincent James has 70 properties registered in the city’s Rental Registration Program. Vincent James with Impact Change told CN2 News he plans to hold a press conference at a later date to address these concerns.
CN2 has now learned Duvall is moving out of the rental and has found a new place to live.
City of Rock Hill Officials say they did do their own inspection of Duvall’s rental after learning about concerns and the only violation they saw was a missing smoke detector. However, the city’s inspectors are not trained to test for mold. The International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC), which Neighborhood Inspections enforces, addresses requirements for property maintenance, including plumbing, mechanical, electrical and fire protection. Link to IPMC: https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IPMC2018P2
City leaders say when problems are identified, there’s usually a re-inspection process and repeated violations that aren’t addressed could escalate to court.
There is a requirement that all rental properties be registered through of City of Rock Hill Neighborhood Services.
Tenants who have concerns about properties they’re renting can reach out to the neighborhood inspections division to request a site visit for inspectors to evaluate the location based on International Property Maintenance Code guidelines
Neighborhood Services can be reached at 803-329-7014.
