Mould in a rented house...

olly300

sugarpants wrote: »

ps/Emiled letting agents 3 weeks ago...They dont seem to care! !!!!!!!s!

Why should they?

They neither own the property or live in it. They just get a percentage of the money you pay to the landlord.

I suggest you get the name and address of your landlord.

You are legally entitled to this if you put it in writing - sent the letting agents a copy by first class post and email stating at the bottom of them both you have done this.

In the letter state under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 you require the full name and address of the landlord. Add that the law requires they give you this information in 21 days otherwise you can take legal action against them to force them to disclose these details.

If the letting agent writes back and states they are the landlord then ask them for the full names and addresses of all the directors and secretaries of the company under the same law.

tbs624

If you feel that your LL or LA is failing to address dampness caused by repairs issues then contact your local Private Sector Rentals Team and ask them to liaise with the EHO to get the property assessed.

Most Councils will also give tenants advice such as this or this - it actually helps your case to be able to show that you have done everything you possibly could as a T to reduce condensation and that is the problems still exists, or is clearly due to repairs issues then the LL/LA has to act. Always put your requests for action in writing and keep a copy.

tbs624

olly300 wrote: »

I suggest you get the name and address of your landlord.
In the letter state under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 you require the full name and address of the landlord. Add that the law requires they give you this information in 21 days otherwise you can take legal action against them to force them to disclose these details. ...

... any T whose LA refuses to provide this info should contact the Tenancy Relations Officer on the Council's Private Sector Rentals Team. It's a *summary offence* to fail to provide the info and the TRO can initiate a prosecution.

clutton_2

i know this wont be popular - i bought a house that was minging and black and damp upstairs, and i gutted the bedrooms, replastered, damp proofed, replaced water goods, repaired pointing etc etc The damp was no more.

the first tenants never complained of damp - she hung her washing on the line and heated the house, and opened windows when cooking and after bathing

second tenant never hung washing outside, didn't heat the house properly and refused to open windows

black mould returned

next tenant - opened windows, heated the house, no damp


tenants must take some responsibility for paying for repairs that they caused in the first place - i have now put clauses in my agreement around this

i am not saying that OP does this - but many landlords hear "its damp" when actually its down the tenants inappropriate ventilation

if LLs do not fix water goods, dont have damp courses, and have cracked pointing then they will suffer damp in the structure of their houses - stupid in my view to let that happen.

all this just goes to show that LLs need money in the bank before they start letting houses

Meatballs

I wouldn't open windows, whack up the heating and run a dehumidifier - that's counterproductive. Your energy heating the room will shoot out the window and the dehumidifier will be trying to dry out the outside air!

In my flat the storage heaters are unable to keep the temperature above ~16 degrees alone. We have double glazing, but no trickle vents, there are some air bricks but they seem to cause more trouble than they are worth - condensation forms around them when the shutter things infront of them are open.

Drying clothes indoors - have a dehumidifier in spare room, no problem.

In bedroom I've put a bowl of salt on the windowsill, and I keep the bedroom door open at night and get much less condensation than I did before. If there is lots of condensation on the windowsill I wipe it away with a cloth. In summer I keep window open a crack, but it's too cold to do so in winter. I have moved wardrobe and dresser away from external wall and check behind them regularly to ensure there is no damp.

Kitchen I open window for a short time after cooking to remove water moisture (and smoke) there is no extractor fan.

My only problem at the moment is in the bathroom, we a manual extractor fan in there, and we keep it on after showering until we get home from work, but still get some mould on ceiling and some condensation on window. There is no heating in the room. Just respray with mould killer once a month or so to keep it under control. Either needs a larger extractor fan or some form of heating. Can't leave the window open in a ground floor flat during the day when we are out...

horrorhag

Meatballs wrote: »

In bedroom I've put a bowl of salt on the windowsill, quote]

does that work?

I am also renting and have a severer damp problem but mines is structural but they still havent sorted it in over 3 years (since the last tenant was there). luckly its written in my inventory which is signed by the letting agents.

secondtoughest

I'm moving into a flat soon, it doesn't have a bathroom window only an extractor fan that works with the light. In order to prevent mould and condensation I was thinking of doing the following - if anyone has any further suggestions it would be helpful!

Wipe down bath/shower after showering to remove moisture
Keep extractor fan running and close door after showering (for half hour? More??)
Open bedroom windows (velux) a crack while I'm out at work in mild weather.
Try to air bedrooms/living room completely at least a few times a week (fully open windows)
Dry clothes in second bedroom with a slightly opened window and close door
Use extractor fan while cooking/open window in mild weather

Anything else?

Head-Out-Of-Sand

secondtoughest wrote: »

I'm moving into a flat soon, it doesn't have a bathroom window only an extractor fan that works with the light. In order to prevent mould and condensation I was thinking of doing the following - if anyone has any further suggestions it would be helpful!

Wipe down bath/shower after showering to remove moisture
Keep extractor fan running and close door after showering (for half hour? More??)
Open bedroom windows (velux) a crack while I'm out at work in mild weather.
Try to air bedrooms/living room completely at least a few times a week (fully open windows)
Dry clothes in second bedroom with a slightly opened window and close door
Use extractor fan while cooking/open window in mild weather

Anything else?

For the bathroom, you can get special sprays to spray in the shower to prevent mildew/mould - maybe you could pick up one of these to have in the bathroom? I don't think they're too expensive

clutton_2

most decent modern double glazed windows have a "vent" which means the window can be left open a tiny tiny amount (and look as if it is locked shut tight from the outside) but air will vent thru and circulate - have a play with your window closures and see if you can do this

nesssie1702

I work in Environmental Health and one of the things we've seen more of this year is an increase in complaints of mould and damp in properties, especially rented ones. The tenant also has a responsibility to ensure that they are taking care of the property and that will include heating and ventilating it.

Condensation and the damp connected with it are caused by water vapour in the air - breathing in and out will produce water vapour, as will drying clothes inside, boiling pans on the cooker, hot showers and baths. If you don't allow the water vapour to escape then it will settle on the walls of the property. Opening windows in the kitchen when cooking (and closing the door, so that the rest of the property doesn't get cold or affected will help too), likewise, open the bathroom window (if you've got one) after a shower or bath. IMHO, I don't like internal bathrooms, give me one with a window every time!

It's a fine balance between heating and ventilation, but it can be done. A dehumidifier will help the situation, but you're better to deal with the cause rather than the effect.