Advice please, terrible damp in rented house

In_a_Mess_3

Not sure if this the right place so sorry if not, anyway we have been renting this bungalow for 9 months now.

When we moved in we noticed a bit of mould in the outside corners of the bedrooms, which we mentioned to the LL, who denied all knowledge.

So we cleaned it up with bleach and it never came back, I am guessing because it was a dry summer.

We have had some torrential rain here over the last few days, and when I got up this morning I noticed a small wet patch halfway up our wall, I went out came back and it has grown to being the whole of the corner of the wall, the water is literally running down the wall, at the bottom by our chest of drawers the wall is sodden, and has turned black, and the emulsion is blistering. I am waiting for my dad to come round and pull the drawers out to let the air circulate.

Went into my eldest boys room and it is the same there, the outside corner again, oh and there is a line of wet at roof/ceiling height.

I can already smell the damp in the air. I have put on the heating and opened the windows to try and dry it a bit.

I phoned the LL, and he said oh dear that is strange, I'll get back to you, anyway he has phoned back and says he is seeing a builder he knows tonight and will call us tonight to let us know when the guy will come round to have a look at it.

Is there anything else I can do? I can't afford to fall out with him over this as we are facing bankruptcy and he is letting us stay here, and there isn't any council houses available at the moment.

Any ideas please?

Thanks

Jowo_2

Perform a search of this forum using terms like mould, condensation and damp.

This because as autumn progresses there are very many recent similar posts which provides good info for how to deal with the symptoms and remove the origin, the probable causes, the landlord's and tenants responsibilities, etc.

theartfullodger

Sorry to hear your story

Follow this advice:
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets

In particular WRITE (calm, polite, keep copy) to the Landlord to follow up your 'phone call (Dear Mr Landlord: As I said on xxNov @ 12:34 there are damp problems,,,,,, You said builder would.....)

What about dampness?

It isn't always easy to work out who is responsible for sorting out problems with damp, because it's often difficult to identify the cause. However, landlords are usually responsible for getting repairs done if the dampness is the result of:

• leaking pipes
• a structural defect (such as leaking roof or cracked wall)
• an existing damp proof course that is no longer working (if there wasn't one to begin with, your landlord is not liable).

Some dampness is a result of condensation caused by lack of ventilation, lack of insulation, and inadequate heating. Where this is the case, sometimes a tenancy agreement will mean that the landlord must to take steps to remedy the problem. Sometimes the council's environmental health department may be able to take action. Sometimes due to the design of the building there may be little that you can do.
Bear in mind that condensation can also be caused by drying clothes indoors or not using heating systems properly. If this is the case, your landlord is probably not liable.

Don't fix it yourself, get the Ll to do it (it is his responsibility).

If things don't get sorted contact council environmental health dept.

Cheers!

Lodger

BitterAndTwisted

Is there anything obvious outside like broken down-pipes or guttering? In the first instance I'd let your landlord's builder take a look and see what solutions they come up with. Meanwhile, heat and ventilate as you are presently doing. And to protect yourself, in future I'd put all correspondence with your LL in writing, even if it's just a written confirmation of any verbal discussions. If you treat this in a detached and professional way there's no reason why your relationship with the LL should be impaired. Just depends on how keen your LL is to address and fix the problem if it's externally caused, rather than lack of ventilation. Are you drying laundry indoors at all?

In_a_Mess_3

Hi all, thanks for the replies.

We don't dry clothes indoors, I either use the outside line or the tumble dryer in the garage, the place is quite small so there isn't room for an airer in here!!

My dad came round and thinks it may be due to the roof, he said there were a few tiles that looked like they were lifting, there used to be an ivy or something climbing up the wall and it looks like it may have caused a hole in the soffits.

There isn't any ventilation, ie trickle vents, there isn't an extractor fan in the bathroom either, so we always open the window when we shower, and I open the windows all the time, so I would have thought it was ventilated ok.

It does look as though todays problem has been caused by something external, we do get condensation from the lack of vents in the morning but I wipe it off with a cloth first thing.

Jowo, I will do a search tonight when I get a spare minute, I should have thought about that, I just panicked!!

Fire_Fox

You must start dealing with your landlord in writing, if the water is running down the walls it sounds more like penetrating damp BUT it could be condensation due to you not ventilating properly or it could be a combination of both.

Don't underestimate the amount of water even one person breathes out overnight: if you get condensation you need to start airing the room properly on a daily basis or using a dehumidifier. Any mould caused by condensation can be charged from your deposit. How do you dry the cloth you wipe the windows with?

C_Mababejive

I think youve done all you can and should do at this stage. Your landlord sounds responsive,just give him some time to take it on board and deal with it.

In_a_Mess_3

Fire Fox, I hang it on the line! (the cloth)

My parents are going tomorrow to buy us a dehumidifier, which should help, I don't tend to leave the windows open overnight as it is a bungalow and I am concerned about the security aspect.

I do keep them open when I am home during the day, and I keep the heating on to try and dry it out.

I should maybe add that I have had at least 6 houses before this and never ever had this problem, so don't really think our lifestyle can be to blame otherwise it would have surely happened before?

Fire_Fox

In_a_Mess wrote: »

Fire Fox, I hang it on the line! (the cloth)

My parents are going tomorrow to buy us a dehumidifier, which should help, I don't tend to leave the windows open overnight as it is a bungalow and I am concerned about the security aspect.

I do keep them open when I am home during the day, and I keep the heating on to try and dry it out.

I should maybe add that I have had at least 6 houses before this and never ever had this problem, so don't really think our lifestyle can be to blame otherwise it would have surely happened before?

Condensation is usually a combination of property and people: flats are dreadful as there is usually a bathroom and hall with no windows, so getting air circulation can be a challenge. My block is particularly bad as we have metal-framed windows which act as a cold bridge. I am not trying to blame you but rather to make you aware that you may be contributing; unfortunately the landlord may try to blame you. But if you air the place daily, there is little else you can do.