Damp in my rented home

kcwild

I was wondering if anyone could give us any advice...
Myself and my partner moved into a newly renovated house in august and the house has now been affected by damp and mould. The first month of living in the house the weather was warm so we didnt need the radiators on etc... however upon trying the heating when the weather got colder, they didnt work... After pestering our letting agency about the problem for a few weeks they sent their plumber round but he failed to fix the problem untill the 3rd visit, meanwhile we had noticed damp and mould starting to form on all the external walls of the house, which we thought was due to the lack of heating, Our letting agency sent some one round to look at it, he said it was a common thing in most households and to just keep it ventilated/heated. which we couldnt because the heating wasnt working till around 2 and a half months into the tenancy.

Since the cold weather started in October, the plasterboard near the door has crumbled away due to it being so damp, rain seems to be getting through the door frame, and feel this could be the same with the windows, nothing being sealed. When we moved in a relative said the windows looked like they weren't sealed, so we put this in the itinary and have mentioned it several times to the landlord but they subconciously avoid discussing it

Now the heating is fixed the radiators do get hot but the room still doesnt seem to be getting any warmer to a point where some times in the house you can see your breath, even with the radiators on! And the mould is getting out of control, destroying my bed mostly resulting in the bed needing to be reupholstered due to it being wet through and having visible tide lines on. In the 3 months we have been living there we have been through 2 brand new memory foam mattresses as they have became filled with water and started going mouldy...

Through it all we have also felt like we keep being lied to about the problems that keep happening with the house, for example when we asked about the damp, the man from the agency told us no way could it be damp as the radiators were on 24/7 through out the renovation of the house, however the plumber told up no way could the radiators have been on because it was the person that installed in and there was no electricity in the property, and further more the boiler was full of air, which is why the radiators were not working when we moved in.

After all this the landlord is bringing round a de-humidifier... but if the windows arnt sealed, the boiler and radiators were not working properly is it me that should have to pay for all my ruined belongings?

Jowo_2

Problems with damp, mould and condensation in rental property are posted here on a daily basis now winter is upon us so if you perform a search of this forum you will dig up many posts with identical advice on its cause, how to treat it and how to take action against a landlord for damaged belongings (though the small claims court if the landlord won't pay compensation).

The Shelter website provides excellent information how to deal with a landlord who is not dealing with repairs and recommends you report all problems in writing, keeping a copy. One option for dealing with health/safety issues if the landlord wont, is to contact the local council environmental health/private tenancy relations officer who can inspect the property and force the landlord to undertake repairs if there are any health hazards.

theartfullodger

Jowo is right..

Write the landlord (& copy agent, and keep a copy) a polite, calm letter describing the problem & inviting his to fix it. Any sensible landlord won't want damp in the place... If you get no sensible response follow the advice from shelter of contact your local council

Cheers!

Lodger

David_Aldred

Hi Kcwild,
The problems of properties that have been recently renovated and then put up for rent by private Landlords are notorious I am afraid. Typically a building that has a million and one defects is overhauled for the least amount of money possible and many of the original defects are either not addressed adequately or simply covered up.

One trade follows another in quick succession without any time for the fabric of the building to be allowed to dry down even where attempts are made to resolve defects. Not only that, a massive amount of water is introduced by way of new plastering which invloves buckets and buckets of water. Plasterboard is fixed to walls with 'drywall' adhesive the latter of which is like a big sponge causing circles of dampness to appear on newly decorated walls. The place gets new windows / doors, a fresh lick of paint, new kitchen and bathroom suite, with new boiler and radiators and the project is all turned round in a matter of weeks.

Then along comes some unsuspecting potential tenant who looks at the place and says this is immaculate and moves in. Within a short period of time especially with the onset of winter the place becomes riddled with chronic damp, mould and decay because of the issues named above that have not been resolved and bottom dollar workmanship.

The tenant in no time at all is coughing with mould / damp symptons, their belongings are ruined and the Landlord doesn't want to know because they have just paid what they consider a fortune out on the renovations.

The Landlord even blames you for the problems apparent and may claim against you!

Common sense suggests you need somebody to fight your corner and who can distinguish between any occupancy induced condensation issues that may be attributed to yourself and seperate these from those issues which are far more structural and beyond your control.

The products of significant mould will certainly make you and those living with you very poorly. Take date stamped digitial photographs, keep copies of everything sent and received from the Landlord. Once photographed if you do nothing else keep the mould cleaned down as it is this which will effect the occupants health more than anything else.

If you want to stay and work in partnership with your Landlord then suggest you both jointly fund an inspection by a specialist in dampness who is not looking to sell a treatment and that you both will abide by their findings and recommendations. Details of such people are available upon the Property Care Association (PCA) website. On there please select search for a member and within that choose either a Freelance or Consultant because these are truly independent and the rest are contractors.

If you just have your own inspection done the Landlord may dispute the findings especially if they are from a contractor as opposed to a specialist surveyor and in any case any opening up they would want to do in order to see what was really going on you would need permission from the Landlord for, so you might as well have the Landlord on board from the start for such investigation. The Landlord may even go back to the contractor who did the work and use that report to have defects put right.

If the Landlord fails to comply with the recommendations of the specialist survey to the extent that the proeprty remains unfit for habitation then you have a document that can be presented in court as evidence for your claim. A contractors report would not normally be allowed to be used for court evidence as they would be seen to have a conflict of interest.

If you do not wish to stay in such an unhealthy property (which is only likely to become worse the deeper we get into winter) then you can aways leave detailing the reasons for doing so and demand a rent rebate due to failure of the Landlord to comply with the Fitness Standards within the Housing Act. If you choose this option you may wish to gather as much factual supporting evidence as you can prior to leaving and remember a date stamped photo says a thousand words.

Hope this helps, kindest regards David Aldred independent damp and timber surveyor.

tbs624

Make sure that you don't add to the problem by cooking without lids on pans, failing to ventilate rooms after steamy showers, or having wet washing steaming racks or on radiators etc.

Gather all your paperwork together, plus photos and notes on what has happened between you and the LA to date.Note temperatures in different rooms at different times of the day.

Contact the local Council - ask for either the EHO (Environmental Health Officer) or the private sector TRO (Tenancy Relations Officer. Ask them to formally assess the house under HHSRS ( Housing Health and Safety Rating System) - damp & mould are recognised as one of 29 housing "hazards" and if remedial work is necessary they can enforce its completion by the LL.

It is not acceptable for any T to have no heating for 2 and a half months - the LL is legally obliged to keep the equipment for space and water heating in good safe working order, and to effect repairs within a reasonable time scale. (S11 of the LL & T Act 1985) Have you been show a current gas safety certificate btw?

kcwild

Hi, Thanks for all the replies they were really helpful.
I've now had an official from my letting agency come round with a dehumidifier. He took pictures of the damp and confirmed to us that he didn't think it was condensation and would be cutting the rent by £20 to pay for the running of the dehumidifer.

While he was round I also showed him the windows and informed him that I had told the letting agencies project manager that I didn't think they were sealed several times. He also confirmed that the windows were infact not sealed and would be sending someone round to fix them asap.

However he didn't mention anything about compensation for all the damages to our belongings that we have had to rectify... What are my rights on this? and should I be chasing them up about this since they have admited that the property is damp with unsealed windows?

BitterAndTwisted

Confirm everything the agent said in your meeting in writing and send it by Recorded Delivery.

I'm not certain about any rights you may have to compensation regarding damage to you possessions but it won't do any harm to mention that in your letter as well but just mention the damage and cost of replacement without demanding compensation in the first instance. I think it is always in your best interests to APPEAR to be being reasonable even if you don't feel it.