Gas safety certificate & damp pri rented.

PleaseHelpMe_2

Hey there. I'm private renting, I don't have my contract with me with now but if my memory serves me right it is an assured short hold tenancy (6 months initially). When I took the tenancy (27th of June) I notified the EA that there was damp in the dining room and this was added to the inventory. At this time I also took photographs of the whole property and got them added to my inventory with the EA. Since my 7 day period to notify them of anything wrong with the inventory ended I have since noticed damp in my sons bedroom and in my bedroom. I only came across this when painting the rooms. It is my first tenancy and I must say I didn't really know what I was looking for, I'm silly I know, but we live and learn I guess. Looking now it seems blindingly obvious. My 7 month old son is asthmatic and the damp in his room worries me. Here goes with the few questions I have now.

I only have an address for my EA not my landlord, though they verbally advised me they would contact him about the damp in the dining room (in June) I have heard nothing since. Should I write a letter to the EA asking for the address of the LL, or advising them of the repairs that need doing?

How do I go about notifying them about the damp in both the upstairs bedrooms? Should I notify them now or wait until I have been in the property a few months, I think they'll be unhappy with me sending them a long letter of 'this is wrong' etc having only been in the property less than a month. That being said, is damp a problem the LL is responsible for or me?

I have not yet received a gas safety certificate for the property. Do I contact the EA or Landlord about this?

I'm sorry, I must seem really stupid, I was in a position where I needed to get a property fast for very difficult family reasons and I guess my head was a bit away. Apart from the damp and no gas certificate there isn't really that much wrong with the property and I'm very happy with everything else. :T I do want to stay in this property after the 6 months is up, they offered me a 6 month 12 month or 24 month initial period when I took it out, but as it was my first one I went for 6 month just in case things went badly wrong, so I wasn't tied into anything longer, but I guess I'm worried that if I bug them with a load of repairs that they wont want to offer me another tenancy.

Thank you for any help you can give me. :A

Jowo_2

Your agent is obliged to give you the landlords address within 21 days of a written request. Your landlord is ultimately responsible for everything as though the agent manages the property for them, the primary legal relationship is between landlord and tenant (the agent is a mere intermediary).

The lack of a gas safety certificate is extremely serious. It is a criminal offence not to have it in place. It's a statutory obligation of the landlord to supply it. This was introduced following the deaths of tenants in private property. Insist this is sorted asap and report it to your local council private tenancy relations officer or environmental health department if you wish. They undertake health and safety assessments of properties and can order the landlord to do repairs, though obviously its much better not to antagonise them this way in case they don't do the repairs and just ask you to leave at the end of the tenancy.

As a tenant you are obliged to report all defects promptly. Have a look at the Shelter website about this, plus the landlords obligation to undertake repairs and how to escalate them if tardy. Always keep good written records - keep a copy of every letter you send. Shelter give advice on how to do this.

If the damp is caused by a defect, such as a burst pipe, then it is the landlords responsibility. If the damp is caused by tenant behaviour, then it is your responsibility (for example, failure to adequately heat or ventilate the place, not putting lids on pans, drying washing in the house, using calor gas heaters, not opening windows after steamy baths or using fans, and so on, basically anyway in which your creation of steam is the origin of the damp). There's plenty of info on the internet to advise how to prevent condensation which is the primary cause of damp.

clutton_2

report all repairs needed in writing and keep a copy so that they cannot this as "new" damage when you leave

Absinthe_Fairy

Jowo wrote: »

If the damp is caused by a defect, such as a burst pipe, then it is the landlords responsibility. If the damp is caused by tenant behaviour, then it is your responsibility (for example, failure to adequately heat or ventilate the place, not putting lids on pans, drying washing in the house, using calor gas heaters, not opening windows after steamy baths or using fans, and so on, basically anyway in which your creation of steam is the origin of the damp). There's plenty of info on the internet to advise how to prevent condensation which is the primary cause of damp.

Out of interest, where else are you supposed to dry washing if it's raining / snowing outside?

Sorry if that sounded confrontational - it wasn't meant to - just curious!

Jowo_2

Absinthe_Fairy wrote: »

Out of interest, where else are you supposed to dry washing if it's raining / snowing outside?

Sorry if that sounded confrontational - it wasn't meant to - just curious!

No offence taken - in a drier with an extractor fan to the outside, in a drier at the local launderette, plus the occasional bit of drying inside shouldn't do much harm.

Problems around mould, condensation and damp often come up on forums and leaks, dodgy guttering, failed damp courses and the like can be causes, plus some building designs exacerbate it.

But there are some posts on landlord forums where a landlord has sent in a damp specialist who have confirmed that it's the tenants lifestyle that has caused it and found that the tenant has decided not to use the heating or open windows, hang their wet washing around the place, etc. The condensation then settles on cold spots and causes damp patches.

Contracts for tenancies often make clear that tenants have a responsibility to keep the place adequately heated and ventilated, plus housing law makes clear that tenants are responsible for any damage they cause through negligence or by accident. Obviously, landlord is responsible where damp is caused by a defect.

One flat that I lived in was plagued by mould. The inspector found the previous tenant had stuffed a towel behind the ventilation shaft in the bathroom. Everytime I had a bath, I was unwitting sending round litres of wet air round the property.

This leaflet is aimed at landlords but is fairly helpful for tenants, too

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/pdf/Mould.pdf