Damp in rented house

SingleMum_3

I am currently renting a house have been here since start of June and had nothing but problems
1) Bath will only fill to 1.4 full of hot water (dispite leaving boiler on overnight)
2) Boiler broke down - informed landlord straight away noone came out dispite chasing them for over a week managed to fix it myself 0 still had no heating or hot water for over a week
3) I have damp coming in everywhere in the house it smells and its a small house and running out of places to put things so they dont get damp

I have chased landlord for over a month I rang housing advice they said i should ring enviromental health

The damp is everywhere bottom of the stairs on main wall right where the electric box is with clearly visable water damage & mold all round windows in the house including my sons room (who is 3)

I have a 6 month tennancy and to be honest I have lost all faith in my landlord and want to leave here as soon as possible (not due to leave till Nov 24th when tennancy ends)

What can I do? The house is a mess boxes everywhere as I just have nowhere to store stuff anymore due to the damp..

What can i do?

SingleMum_3

Sorry missed a bit I am unemployed and have rent paid via housing benefit am waiting for son to goto school before i look for work

I am recently divorced and my x husband used to work fulltime

barnaby-bear

SingleMum wrote: »

I am currently renting a house have been here since start of June and had nothing but problems
1) Bath will only fill to 1.4 full of hot water (dispite leaving boiler on overnight)
2) Boiler broke down - informed landlord straight away noone came out dispite chasing them for over a week managed to fix it myself 0 still had no heating or hot water for over a week
3) I have damp coming in everywhere in the house it smells and its a small house and running out of places to put things so they dont get damp

I have chased landlord for over a month I rang housing advice they said i should ring enviromental health

The damp is everywhere bottom of the stairs on main wall right where the electric box is with clearly visable water damage & mold all round windows in the house including my sons room (who is 3)

I have a 6 month tennancy and to be honest I have lost all faith in my landlord and want to leave here as soon as possible (not due to leave till Nov 24th when tennancy ends)

What can I do? The house is a mess boxes everywhere as I just have nowhere to store stuff anymore due to the damp..

What can i do?

Move, no stick or carrot will help with a LL unwilling to spend what sounds like 10k+ of structural repairs. Even if he ups your rent afterwards a bit it'll take years and years to recoup - he'll fight tooth and nail and resent and resist if you try to force him - you're near end of contract put it down as a bad choice and move.

SingleMum_3

Thanks barnaby so very true this is my 1st time renting always worked and paid a mortgage. Not a good start to the renting world I will most deffo check properties for everything next time round..

m1ntie

I dont think you are going to get him to carry out any effective remedial work. If I were you I would look for somewhere else decent to start immediately your present tenancy finishes.

In the meantime take photos of the worst affected areas and then clean up all the molds etc. A solution of bleach is quite effective. Keep the house as well ventilated as possible.

Is your deposit protected - if your L/L is a bit dodgy he may not have done this and you have trouble getting your deposit back - find out now if you dont already know.

Keep any communication with him formal/written and keep copies.

Good luck and let us know how you go on.

tbs624

Yes the easy answer is to just say “put up with it and move out as soon as you can” , ie at the end of the Fixed Term in November 24th.

However, let’s remember that this LL is still going to be paid his rent money by you/Local Housing Allowance or Housing Benefit (depending on when you started to claim).

With the heating system - you should have a Gas Safety Certificate at the property and the boiler system should not only be kept in working order but should have an annual check. It is a criminal offence for the LL not to have the annual check or safety certificate for his property and that cert. should have been shown to you before you even signed the contract. You absolutely should not be repairing the gas boiler at the property yourself.

He has very specific legal obligations under the LL and T Act 1985 on maintaining the structure of the property and its heating/water systems. However, a Tenant must notify these in writing (hand deliver or send rec del & keep a copy safely with your tenancy agreement.

With the damp issue - are you aware of the effect that your own living style can have on damp & condensation levels within a property? Check first whether you are perhaps doing anything that could add to the damp problems.

Have a look here - scroll down to the factsheets, there’s one on damp and mould:

http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Housing/Private-Housing/homeowners-pack.en

Do all your windows open or have any been sealed shut or have rotten frames so you can’t open them properly?

At your local council there will be a dept that deals only with private lettings - usually called the Private Sector Rentals Team or something similar. They can give advice, and liaise with both the Env Health dept and your LL. It doesn’t costs you anything but you need to take all your paperwork - tenancy agreement, notes on phone calls to LL, HB or LHA ref nos etc. Always make notes on phone calls times, dates, who you spoke to and follow up with a letter simply saying “I spoke to you about…..on…….. My understanding is that it was agreed that …..,…….., and…………” and keep a copy.

If you raise these issues then the Council has to check the property out under the HHSRS (Housing Health and Safety Rating System) - if they don’t then get your local Councillor involved . You can find out who that is by putting your postcode in here: http://www.councillor.gov.uk/

With all these things you get more response if you do everything in writing (see Mc1ntie’s post above) - you have a record - a paper trail- to show who has failed to take action where.

Have you paid a Tenancy Deposit for this property, (if in Eng/Wales) and if so has the LL (a) scheme registered it and (b) given you the “prescribed information” about the scheme?

By all means start looking around elsewhere for when this tenancy expires but please don’t just sit in a damp, cold house with putting up with inadequate heating/hot water supplies as the weather turns colder and do nothing about it. LLs who fail to meet their legal obligations need to be brought to book, whoever is paying the rent.