DACULA, Ga. -- A Gwinnett County family is living in a moldy home that inspectors never signed off on.

Greg Fernander and his wife are renting the Dacula home, which is worth about $400,000.

"This has been really tough, because we both love the house. But we're not loving the problems that came along with it," Fernander said.

Fernander said those problems surfaced right after he and his wife moved in. The problems included mold, falling siding, cracking walls and a leaky kitchen sink.

"When I came downstairs, it was dripping. It was dripping on my television. I had to move the television back from the wall," he said.

There’s also water in the basement that Fernander said is coming from pipes in the pantry. The racks are screwed right into the water pipes, behind the drywall.

“There's actually mold starting to develop around the ends of the pantry shelves,” Fernander said.

He said the builder, Sutton Classic Homes, has done nothing. Meanwhile, he and his wife have shelled out nearly $3,000 a month in rent.

"He (Sutton Homes) has no respect for our lives pretty much. That's how I look at it. It's like stealing from me," Fernander said.

According to Gwinnett County, the home failed the final inspection and never received a certificate of occupancy, which is a violation of Gwinnett County code.

Reached by phone, builder Jeff Sutton said that as far as he knew, the house had a certificate of occupancy.

The Fernanders had hoped to buy the home as part of a lease option to buy, but are now packing their bags and moving out. Greg's mother, who lives with them, has cancer. He said he worries about her health and worries that the stress is too much for the family.

"This was our dream. Our dream was to be in a home where we can be settled. This is not a dream, this is a nightmare. It's been a nightmare since day one," Fernander said.

The Fernanders are trying to get back the $10,000 they put down when they originally planned to buy the house. CBS Atlanta has a letter from the builder's attorney, which says that money will not be returned.

CBS Atlanta tried to contact the builder's lawyer, but he has not returned repeated phone calls.

Gwinnett county officials said they’re very concerned about the situation. They will send out inspectors as soon as possible, and may file charges against the builder.