Damp walls causing mould problem

Stu666

I am renting a really old building which has very damp walls. It is supposedly an inherent problem for which not much can be done about. There has supposedly been some attempt in the past to address the problem, which by the looks of things hasn't worked. I am no expert, but one of the things that has been done is the erection of wood panelling around the perimeter of the lower inside walls with breather holes.

Anyway, we had a major problem painting the walls because the old paint kept peeling off with the application of fresh paint. In the end we used a special Ronseal anti-damp paint, which seemed to work a treat.

The problem is, we now have a problem with what looks like white mould coming through certain parts of the ground walls. It seems to be little clusters of the stuff bubbling out, which leaves a hard circular imprint on the wall when cleaned off, almost like the texture of a barnacle. It grows back pretty quick, within weeks of being cleaned with antibacterial spray and wipes.

The landlord, predictably, doesn't want to know, so I was wondering if there is anything I can do to keep the stuff at bay?

iamcornholio

If you are sure that this is not condenstion dampness, then serve a Statutory Nuisance claim on the landlord (via your local council) and he will have 21 days to rectify the problem, or else be up in the Magistrates Court in the fourth week. Councils are currently having a bit of a crackdown on private landlords and substandard properties

Don't put up with landlords taking your rent and not fulfilling their obligations

Then (or in addition) make a claim of disrepair against your landlord in which you claim compensation for your losses - including devaluation of the tenancy not just physical losses. You need a Solicitor for this, but you could do it under a no win-no fee (no cost to you) arrangement if you don't qualify for legal aid. This can take a while though to get through the court, but if found liable the landlord has to compensate from the start of the tenancy or first notification of the probelm. If you fix the probelm yourself because the landlord refuses, then you claim back the costs of this too

The alternaives will be costly for you - in basic terms you need to remove the source of damp, or insert a physical barrier on the inside or outside. You need to be sure of the cause though

But it is not up to a tenant to have to sort out structural dampness

Stu666

I understand where you are coming from, but I don't want to fall out with my landlord and he did warn me beforehand about the problems.

I am very aware that eradicating the problem would be rather expensive, so I am looking for tips for keeping the mould at bay, rather than completely getting rid of it.

In an ideal world I would have the landlord sort it, but right now I can't afford to rock the boat.

LittleMissAspie

How old is the building? Here's some good info on damp in historic buildings:
http://www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/sebc/live/pdf/planning/helpdesk/conservation-Damp.pdf

Fire_Fox

Are you sure the white stuff is mould not salts from the plaster?

Stu666

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Are you sure the white stuff is mould not salts from the plaster?

Was wondering this myself at one point, but different people tell me different things. How can you tell?

iamcornholio

The you are a bad landlords dream tenant

Why can't you 'rock the boat', and get the landlord to sort this out. You presumably have a tenancy agreement, which provides you with all the protection you need

As long as you pay your rent, then there is little he can do about your complaints.

Why oh why tenants think that they should not demand that landlords maintain their properties I will never know. If you found a beetlle in your salad at the restaurant whould you eat it and keep quite? If your £1k TV breaks down after one week , do you ignore it and go out and buy another one?

The only way that poor landlords become better ones is by taking them to task and tenants standing up for themelves

As for the walls, blistering paint and white fluff/salts in a random pattern is just damp. But if these areas are all similar and circular, then it is fungus and more likley to be penetrating damp and not condensation

sarahemily

I had white fluffy looking mold in my cellar which I was told was harmless salt coming from the brick. However I have heard before that white mold can be a sign of dry rot, which is a lot worse, and your landlord needs to know about it if that's the case. So you might not be doing him a favor by not telling him.

I live in an old house and have had endless problems with damp, a lot of it seems to be put down to condensation, which is obviously worse in the winter when you have the heating on and less windows open. We bought a de-humidifier (no idea how to spell that!!!) which does seem to help a lot.

Stu666

iamcornholio wrote: »

The you are a bad landlords dream tenant

Why can't you 'rock the boat', and get the landlord to sort this out. You presumably have a tenancy agreement, which provides you with all the protection you need

As long as you pay your rent, then there is little he can do about your complaints.

Why oh why tenants think that they should not demand that landlords maintain their properties I will never know. If you found a beetlle in your salad at the restaurant whould you eat it and keep quite? If your £1k TV breaks down after one week , do you ignore it and go out and buy another one?

The only way that poor landlords become better ones is by taking them to task and tenants standing up for themelves

As for the walls, blistering paint and white fluff/salts in a random pattern is just damp. But if these areas are all similar and circular, then it is fungus and more likley to be penetrating damp and not condensation

Basically we rent the place to run a business from - great location at a nice price. If I start rocking the boat about the damp the landlord could well figure that it would be cheaper not to renew my tenancy than address the issue. If that were to happen than it could possibly ruin my livelihood and cause no end of problems, not to mention the headache of moving.

Yes I will continue to broach the issue with my landlord, but I'm not about to throw a hissy fit and have him served with a court order or similar.

I'm still unsure as to whether the problem is mould or salt. It is certainly not the fluffy stuff, more hard and raised, little circular white deposits, that when cleaned, look like the surface of a barnacle.

Swipe

I could easily live with a little damp at my business premises. before you know it, it'll be Spring and it will disappear. hardly worth rocking the boat IMO.

iamcornholio

Then if a business lease, then you would be most likley responsible for the repairs. If a residential tenancy, then I can see your point.

You'll need to describe the wall construction and location of this damp. An image of the external elevation may help