Landlady wants £350 from me and GF - with PICTURES

neas

redrabbit29 wrote: »

The estate agent and repair man still told me it was damp when they came round. I still feel it's unfair to ask for this money, when I had no idea what it was. I never questioned it, and if I had believed it was a direct issue of the houses health I would have reported it.

Do you honestly believed I should compensate my land lord for this? What if I had have found it a year ago and recognised it as potentially a problem, and reported it? Would we be in a completely different situation here?

I'll adjust my letter to my Estate agent.

If it was damp.. the landlord is at fault as its a building fault of its design and nothing you had done would affect it.. If its damp it would make the wall feel 'wet'.. as literally theres water in the wall :P.. hence its 'damp'.

Sounds like you got mould, if you keep ontop of mould and clean it with vinegar/bleach the rate it grows can be dramatically reduced. If you simply wipe over every few months then itll stain more and more.

Have you tried using An abrasive cloth and clean it with vinegar and then try with bleach... we did this and its allmost all gone.

sooz

Can you attach a pic of the damage?
Neas is right, damp & condensation are two entirely different things. However, even if condensation is causing staining to your ceilings, I think it's unreasonable to ask you to pay to have this painted now, whilst you are living in the property.

Some properties are more prone to condensation than others. I have one particular flat, where I warn the tenants that the bathroom especially, does suffer from it, as it's on the corner of a rather exposed building, and has been completely tiled. Despite an opening window & extractor fan on a long timer, mould does form on the ceiling & the silicone. But I don't charge them for it! I tell them how to minimise it, provide them with a bottle of Dettol mould & mildew remover, & replace the silicone & repaint the ceilings a little more often than in other properties.

Condensation & a small amount mould (not like that one pic!) wil not damage the building. This is a decor issue, which can be addressed once you have moved out.

In the meantime, you should keep wiping down any mould you find, either with vinegar as suggested, or Dettol mould & mildew remover. It's great, but do follow the instructions on it, wear gloves &mask, & watch out for spills as it contains bleach. Keep all trickle vents open, heat all rooms (including the spare, even if you don't use it), & open windows regularly. Keep the door closed when you are showering, run cold water in the bath before hot, put lids on pans when you are boiling etc.

LittleMissAspie

Yes the Dettol stuff is good, very strong though. We did our ceilings ages ago, beginning of summer I think. The bathroom ceiling is just now starting to get grey spots. Going to try spraying geranium oil next. And one of those moisture traps.

I really don't think you should be charged redrabbit, it's a common problem and you're dealing with it. Perhaps try cleaning it up with bleach and then invite them for another inspection to prove that?

dougk_2

This paage gives you more detail on mould & mildew and how to "treat" it.
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/housing/356-643/356-643.html

Unfortunately 99% of the governments "energy efficiency" ideas and the "save the world by insulating your house" only make the chances of mould and mildew worse as people block up every gap and draft and stop the ventilation thats needed.

I believe if everyone reading this went home and pulled their wardrobes away from the walls (especially those on external walls) a large proportion would find some mould on the walls or on the wardrobe.Maybe as many as 30-50%.

To the OP - its not neccessary for the whole room to be painted after cleaning/killing the exsisting mould if its only in one place - not all walls of a room thave to be the same colour. I would offer to do the work yourself if the LL supplies the paint!

sooz

dougk wrote: »

This paage gives you more detail on mould & mildew and how to "treat" it.
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/housing/356-643/356-643.html

Unfortunately 99% of the governments "energy efficiency" ideas and the "save the world by insulating your house" only make the chances of mould and mildew worse as people block up every gap and draft and stop the ventilation thats needed.

I believe if everyone reading this went home and pulled their wardrobes away from the walls (especially those on external walls) a large proportion would find some mould on the walls or on the wardrobe.Maybe as many as 30-50%.

True - old houses with open fireplaces, real floorboards and single glazing rarely suffer from condensation.

neas

Concur if its just a little mold.. try and remove as much as possibl eyourselves then explain that its not damp.. and that if it is damp the landlord is 100% liable.. as that would be a fault with the building.

Or ask for a detailed invoice so you can take it to your local citizens advice bureua :P

redrabbit29

Picture of wall with crack and some discolouring:
http://img88.imageshack.us/my.php?image=house1is8.jpg


Picture of cieling skirting board with some marks:
http://img222.imageshack.us/my.php?image=house2ln7.jpg

Picture of: the corner of ceiling/wall with some marks:
http://img222.imageshack.us/my.php?image=house3xn6.jpg

Window Marks and TEDDY:
http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=window1fp7.jpg

More Window marks closeup:
http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=window2zc1.jpg

redrabbit29

I don't see what I have done wrong. We keep the windows shut at night, and during the day, although open them when we are home to freshen the room up. There is normally one window open at some point during the day upstairs. When we have a shower or bath we use the fan thing, and normally open a window afterwards to clear it out.

There is a ventilation flap on the windows which is ALWAYS open in all rooms.

skint_chick

i looked at your pics and the first thing i thought was why on earth do have a huge crack in your wall? i doubt you caused this - and i would put in your letter that you feel this has contributed to the mould problem as the spores even when cleaned away remain inside the crack which you can't get at. did the LA never notice this huge crack? surely your LL should be getting this fixed? i would do as the others have suggested and get some dettol on the mould sharpish - take "after" pics as well and then send your letter. if you have ventilated the room as much as poss it's hardly your fault.

poppysarah

Is that a crack?
Is that new? I'd guess that's causing some of the problem.

Have you just wiped it down recently? It looks like it's damp.