I have discovered Black Mold in the house that I rent. What should I do?

Hey what’s up guys I ran into a little bit of a black mold problem and I need someone’s expert opinion. A couple of months ago I started renting a house with some friends. Everything was going fine until the first day that it rained since we moved in. We discovered that one of our room mates had a leak in his bedroom. We live in Florida(a naturally humid place) and it has been raining a lot, like at least once a week, for the past month or so. We tried to fix the leak a couple of times but were unsuccessful. Because of the severity of the leak and the frequent rain that room mate began sleeping at his parents house. He also started complaining that he was feeling sick, having trouble breathing and that his glands had swollen up for the first all year(it’s december so it’s the end of the year mind you.) A few days ago, another one of my room mates started complaining of ailments. He claimed that he thought he may have bed bugs in his room. Later that day his arm broke out in hives and his wrists started swelling, but they returned to normal the next day. Yesterday, one of my room mates who was getting ready to move out pulled me into the kitchen. He asked me to take a deep breath, and told me to take note of the air quality. He then took me into the hallway that leads out of the kitchen and to take a deep breath. He asked me if the air didn’t seem much more moist in the hallway and it noticably did. He showed me an area of the wall/ceiling that was obviously damaged during the leaking, and was completely saturated with water. There was a black substance on the wood, and he said it was black mold and that the house is unsafe to live in and that above all else that was the main reason why he was moving out. I had some other people look at it and they’ve confirmed that it is definitely mold, and it is definitely black. I was just wondering what I should do, our lease is 1650 a month, and I am currently paying 275 a month rent, however with 3 of my room mates moving out the rent will have to be split between 3 people instead of 6. I wanted to talk to the owner of the house and negotiate the price of the lease because it is too expensive for the house in it’s current condition. I talked to one of my other room mates who is staying and he said he wants to bring a mold expert into the house to see whether the mold is a health concern or not. The house is about 80 years old and the ceiling has some major leaks. Am I taking a huge risk by staying in the house? What would you do in my situation given what you know about mold?

black mold is some nasty stuff and is linked to several permanent respitory conditions some folks more susceptible than others and that is why your friend is feeling the effects. the main problem most likely is s leaky roof and it doesnt have to be leaking over the infected area. the landlord needs too have the leak stopped then the mold abated and the area painted with mold resistant paint. if he balks at this notify your local board of health, take pictures of the area.