Tenants have caused damp.... Help!!!!

liz543

Well this is my first post ever on here so i hope somebody can help me. .

My husband and i are a year into our first year of renting out our house. Our 1st year is actually up in 2 weeks. However we had a call last week from the e/a that we were to pay £1300 to fix a damp problem. Shocked i went to have a look and there is thick black damp all on the walls all throughout the house.:mad:

We had never had a problem in the 2 years we were there and in the 60 years since the house was built according to the survey there was no damp.

To cut a long story short! they said the damp has only been there about a month, they havent been having the heating on, nor the tumble dryer theyve been drying clothes around the house! theyve had all the furniture pushed up against the walls .. :exclamatibasically all the things they shouldnt.:exclamati

The house has not been looked after i asked if there was anything else he said well there is this..............
under the sink was sodden.. turns out they havent plumbed the washing machine in properly only finger tight. hence it has flooded underneath the house... now theres rising damp!.:wall:

I told them they need to dry it out but they are going on holiday on tuesday and wont be leaving the heating on as they dont have the money.

The e/a has been less than helpful and am wondering why i pay my fees, they think its highly unlikely they have caused this!!! and i need it sorted out NOW!
when i told them about the leak they said they coulnt do anything!:wall::wall::wall:

i know its a long one but really need some help as to what i should do??? do i call the insurance?
will it devalue the house thats already at the bottom?
nearly everyroom needs redecorating what the hell am i going to do as they dont think they should pay for it.

PasturesNew

There's a lot in your post to digest/answer, so I'll stick with one small bit: I don't think the leak from their washing machine will be causing rising damp. Once it's tightened up and dried out that'll be the end. Rising damp draws water up from below the property, from the ground, through the brickwork. What your tenants have done is to cause damp from their leak ... not rising damp.

If they can't afford to heat the place you can't really force them to.

All you can really do is give them 2 months' notice to leave, then sort it all out and take it off their deposit ... or get that nut tightened on the machine and get them a dehumidifier (whiich they might not be able to afford to run either) ... or wait for them to leave and sort it all out.

It might all scrub up fine, with a new coat of paint, once they've gone.

Jowo_2

Here's a helpful post on this subject

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2096513

Did your agent produce a comprehensive inventory/schedule of condition at the outset of the tenancy, signed by the tenants? This is a key piece of documentation that protects a landlord in the event of a tenant disputing deposit deductions.

How often did your agent inspect the property?

here's how to select a good agent

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/agents.htm

bagginslover

They can afford to go on holiday, but not basics like heating?!

HellsGranny

Sound like skewed priorities, somehow!

Cheers, HG

Fire_Fox

Why does the letting agent not think the tenants have caused the damp problems? Have you had an expert look at the property? Have you read and understood the agreement you signed with the letting agent? If the agent sorts out the leak they will charge the cost to you, probably plus an admin fee. Have you read your landlord's insurance policy to see if you are covered for this?

Heating will not dry the property out without adequate ventilation: you will need to use a dehumidifier. You can't just decorate over mould or damp, you must dry out the damp thoroughly, then kill the fungus (thin bleach might do it or better still mould killer solution) - this might be sufficient to remove most visible traces, if not you may need to apply stain block and/ or an anti-fungal paint. I would suggest you get the tenants written permission to enter the property whilst they are on holiday as you should not do this without serving notice, unless an emergency.

You need to get a professional in to look at the issues - even if only your trusted builder - get a quote/ advice on fixing the damage, and then write to your tenants by recorded delivery. If you are not a member of a landlord's association you should do this now, as you will no doubt need help in writing your letter and even giving the tenants notice (if you so choose) in the prescribed manner. Keep a copy of the letter and any quotes as you will need this if you are hoping to make a claim on the tenants' damage deposit.

Jowo_2

Usually, there is a clause in the AST that reminds the tenants of their legal obligation to adequately heat and ventilate the property.

The tenants need to be educated about their requirement to live in a tenant like manner and given guidance on how to avoid creating condensation/vapour which leads to mould, that they are responsible for costs associated with damage caused by accident or negligence (including lifestyle and behaviour which encourages damp/mould) and advice how to prepare for winter living (i.e. keeping the heating on when away from the property to prevent frozen pipes and pipes bursting, so that the frost detector kicks in and protects the entire heating/water system!).

But to be honest, they sound so negligent, you are better off getting rid of them and finding a new agent once you've ventilated, heated the property, redecorated and treated the mould.

Here's some handy info on mould

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

bobby-boy_2

Leaking washing machine = water
lots of water = Damp/Mould
Step 1) Fix leak
Step 2) Write to the letting agent and Tenant stating this and that the cost of any repairs due to water damage will be coming out of the deposit.

The second step is on condition thats it is the tenants washing machine and they plumbed it in. If your machine and you plumbed it in then its your fault.

PasturesNew

bagginslover wrote: »

They can afford to go on holiday, but not basics like heating?!

We don't know what sort of holiday.
Might be being picked up in their dad's car and taken back to their parents' house. "holiday" might just mean "not here".

liz543

Thankyou for your help,

thankfully the leak was sorted out straight away by tightening the connection.... sorted.

however there i ALOT of damage. Looks like it has been leaking since they connected it 12 months ago.

the entire house feels damp and cold. The builder i was with told them not to move the washing machine back (their washing machine that they plumbed in) but to leave it out as to let it dry out.

The only thing is their deposit of £700 is nowhere near enough to cover the damage, especially as seeing the condition of the rest of the house, (granted they havent moved out yet and its their choice to live like that) its going to take alot more that £700 to fix it!!!!


The e/a, are politely GITS. they called me ordering me to pay this to have it fixed immediately. I questioned this ..... the reason i went to check it out, and a bloody good job i didnt as it would have done nothing doing what the professionals wanted to do!! paying £1300 to fix rising damp when they only checked one room said it was rising damp and £1300!!!

(sounded like cowboys to me)

e/a didnt like the fact i pointed out that they werent doing all the things they should and to sort out his priorites about who he works for. - so after a massive argument with the e/a on friday about how i thought they were useless theyre not willing to even look at it until they get backoff holiday.

i think i will call head office tomorrow, do you think i should contact my insurance??? or see how it goes? i am very worried as its discusting and the damp is throughout the house. the wallpaper is falling off everywhere!!!!

thanks for all your replies im noting everything your all telling me!!!

liz

liz543

No, they are going abroad, i think it was canaries they said?