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Help!! Mould And Damp In Property Im Renting Whats My Rights???

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  • olly300
    olly300 Posts: 14,736
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    guppy wrote: »
    And then try and let it to someone else in the same state :(

    That's why the council needs to be involved.

    Councils can and some do take action against landlords for renting out substandard properties however due to the legal process taking a long time even if they are proactive it will take time.
    I'm not cynical I'm realistic :p

    (If a link I give opens pop ups I won't know I don't use windows)
  • olly300
    olly300 Posts: 14,736
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    carlyjadex wrote: »

    also there is no partition in our loft so we share with the naighbour is this legal? surly they cant get that insured.

    The loft is legal.

    Some old houses where built with shared roof spaces.

    Out of interest if there is mould in your part of the loft it can easily spread to the neighbour's part. I suggest you give your neighbour's your landlord's not your letting agents address and suggest they write to the landlord asking him to sort the maintenance out or they will take legal action.

    Basically the more pressure you can get different people to apply to the landlord the more likely s/he will want to get rid of you asap.

    One thing you have to bare in mind is that the legal process takes a long time so even if your council is on the ball they have to legally give your landlord weeks to sort things out.

    Also I suggest you or your OH doesn't bother dealing with the letting agent in person any more. Anything you want to say to them do it in writing preferably with the advice of the CAB.
    I'm not cynical I'm realistic :p

    (If a link I give opens pop ups I won't know I don't use windows)
  • tbs624
    tbs624 Posts: 10,816 Forumite
    I am also in the same situation, i have been in my rented house for about 3 years now and it is covered in mold. In fact its that bad that its all over the clothes in the drawers! i also have athsma i have a 9 year old daughter that is allergic to mold i am allergic to mold and i am also 6 months pregnant. I am on the housing list and have been for the last year and a half but the chances of getting anywere with that are very slim. I would move to another private rented house but cannot afford the deposit and months rent in advance and am frankly at my wits end! So i know exactly what you are going through :mad: I cant see the landlord being able to do anything about it because part of the problem is there is no double glazing on the front of the house and i simply cannot afford to put the heating on. Lets hope there is hope out there for people in desperate times of need!
    Don't want to divert the original thread but ,Candy, if you are not heating the property you will be making the mould problem worse- can you get your benefit entitlement checked in case you are due any more help? If you are on a low income then there are schemes for improving insulation etc that won't costs the LL anything. If you want to move to another private rental talk to someone at the Council about the possibility of getting a Bond Guarantee instead of a deposit paid by you
  • I will look into that, things will b ok when the babys 6 months old i can work again just av to get by till then landlords coming round soon (wont hold my breath)
    !!!!!!!!Bingo Mad!!!!!!!!:beer:
  • BASFORDLAD
    BASFORDLAD Posts: 2,418 Forumite
    The landlord proberly isnt ill in hospital at all, and just using it as an excuse to not get the work done
    wot i would do is go round to the landlords address and then u can see if they are lieing:)
    For everthing else there's mastercard.
    For clampers there's Barclaycard.
  • guppy
    guppy Posts: 1,084
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    Not directly related to your original query, but since its now been established your landlord doesn't really have much interest in your wellbeing - does the property have working smoke detectors etc.?

    If not, get on to that too :)
  • tbs624
    tbs624 Posts: 10,816 Forumite
    guppy wrote: »
    Not directly related to your original query, but since its now been established your landlord doesn't really have much interest in your wellbeing - does the property have working smoke detectors etc.?

    If not, get on to that too :)

    Many HAs and decent private LLs will supply them but, if in Eng/Wales, there is no legal requirement for smoke detectors to be provided by a LL except for properties built after 1992 or for HMOs.

    Tenants can however buy one themselves for less than a fiver or get them free via the local fire safety officer in some areas.
  • TJ27
    TJ27 Posts: 741 Forumite
    tbs624 wrote: »
    Many HAs and decent private LLs will supply them but, if in Eng/Wales, there is no legal requirement for smoke detectors to be provided by a LL except for properties built after 1992 or for HMOs.

    Tenants can however buy one themselves for less than a fiver or get them free via the local fire safety officer in some areas.

    I can understand why you say that tbs but it's a little misleading. All accommodation, regardless of whether it's a HMO or comes up to 1992 building regs, is subject to the HHSRS. Fire is one of the hazards and unless smoke detectors are fitted the house is very unlikely to be up to standard. The local authority would almost certainly serve a notice under such circumstances.

    One way or another, pretty much all rented accommodation (with very few exceptions) should have mains wired, battery back up, interlinked smoke detectors fitted. If tenants don't have them, you should phone your local authority.
  • tbs624
    tbs624 Posts: 10,816 Forumite
    Thanks for your clarification TJ27:smiley:

    I' d agree, on a personal level, with your comment that all properties *should* have hard wired systems in place , but I think to say that this is the case (with very few exceptions) is perhaps an overstatement under the provisions of HHSRS and/or Lacors guidance?

    There do seem to be variations from Council to Council on how all of this would be dealt with - under which Category level would your own council list a lack of smoke alarm, and would they always serve a formal notice?

    Do you not think that until the issues around retaliatory evictions are fully addressed there will be few tenants (especially on periodics ) who will contact their council only on the provision(or lack ) of a smoke alarm? A hardwired system may be the ideal but as I said before the Fire Service does offer battery ones FOC ( see Tim Deegan's posts elsewhere)

    Here's what Shelter's current info says:
    If you don't live in an HMO, your landlord doesn't have to comply with any specific laws, but has a general duty to keep your home fit for you to live in.

    If you don't think your rented accommodation is fire safe, your first step should always be to try negotiating with your landlord. They may be prepared to provide you with fire safety precautions, such as a smoke alarm, fire extinguisher, or carbon monoxide detector if you request them.
    I have never understood the thinking of LLs who *don't* install smoke alarms,regardless of any actual "requirement" not least because apart from the possible safety of their tenant, it protects their own property, but it's perhaps also worth noting that the HHSRS info did state somewhere that over 75% (IIRC) of fires were started due to occupier carelessness/misuse of appliances.(please feel free to correct ;))
  • TJ27
    TJ27 Posts: 741 Forumite
    I note you make reference to the LACORS guidance, which is now the "bible" document in England (and in practice Wales too). You can download it halfway down this page:
    http://www.lacors.gov.uk/lacors/ContentDetails.aspx?id=19843


    I think pages 23 to 24 are most relevant. An interesting paragraph states that:
    "There is no risk low enough to negate the need for
    some form of detection and warning system in the
    house."

    So it seems to suggest that an alarm is always required. However it also seems to suggest that in some non HMO, low risk houses, grade F (basic battery) detectors are OK. I certainly don't think that saying virtually all rented houses should have hard wired alarms is an overstatement. In my eight years of enforcement I can't say that I've even once come close to asking for a grade F alarm. Edit again: The guidance gives NO examples where the use of battery detectors is appropriate and says that, even if they are used, they must be interlinked. So a couple of smoke detectors screwed to the ceiling is not good enough in ANY circumstances.

    Regarding retaliatory eviction, well yes it could be an issue. But I would have to say that, in my part of the world at the moment, a landlord who evicts his tenants without too much thought is a landlord with a lengthy void. A basic hard wired alarm has got to be cheaper than six months lost rent. Edit: Six months lost rent and still having to install the alarm!

    I don't know the figures but wouldn't dispute your assertion that the majority of fires are caused by tenant carelessness. All the more reason for installing a better alarm than is perhaps necessary? It doesn't matter whose fault it is, if there's a fire in a house the occupants need to know about it PDQ and get out.

    But I digress! Sorry OP.
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