Help....Renting advice?

andrewb4709

Hi,

I am after some advice please.

We are renting at the moment, been here over 1 year. We have had a problem since we came here with damp/condensation, which LL sadi had been sorted, in April last year I reported there were more damp patches appearing and LL advised would be out within 4 weeks, they never came, and problem has got worse till mould patches apparing in bedrooms, not small patches but 3/4 wall patches.

Trying to sort it ourselves we had the loft insulated but this did not help. Told the LL about that to but nothing happened.

We managed to get the landlords out end of Jan, and they arranged for work to be done to roof where damp/condensation problem was being caused.

On sunday my partner went into our "going out" wardrobe to get some clothes(we dont goign in there often-money is tight etc, lol) anyway she got a top which was soaked and had mould on it, we then stripped all clothes out of wardrobe to find everything was soaking and about 95% of clothing had mould on it, we have tried washing clothes but hasnt helped really, so alot of the clothes have been chucked away(stinking the house out) also the wardrobe has got mould on it which we cannot get rid off either, we then checked the other wardrobe and found this was exactly the same.

Damages to the new wardrobe only approx 6mnths old and clothing is around £1000 mark.

The questions I have, if anyone could help are:

Is Landlord responsible for damages bill as the fault was reported to them last april and they choose not to investigate? If they had looked into problem when reported, things would never had got to the point as they are now.(Not covered under insurance already checked).

We are currently £475 in arrears, would this effect our rights for recovering the cost of our damaged propertly?

Any advice, would be greatly appreaciated.

Andy

BitterAndTwisted

Any compensation would need to be claimed from your contents insurance, I reckon. have you put your observations about the damp and mould to your landlord in writing? There are processes to get your landlord to give this issue their urgent attention and putting everything in writing is the first step. Have a look at the Shelter website for information about how to go about this.

Why are you in rent-arrears?

andrewb4709

Hi B&T,
have checked contents insurance and no cover fro damp.

Not in april, but have sent letters after, spoke to shelter about them getting into do work, that was what actually got them to come and have a look at problem in the end.

In rent areear because, i got made redundant, and when claimed HB the council told us we would get full benifit but we didnt, so didnt budget for the shortfall.

Fire_Fox

If you have discarded the clothing you are going to have job proving it existed never mind was damaged. Usually mould is down to condensation damp not rising or penetrating damp, have you had any professionals in to diagnose the issue? Loft insulation may make the property warmer which will hold more water in the air but it will not remove the source of the problem in fact if ventilation in the loft space is blocked, loft insulation can make condensation worse. What have you been advised to do as regards ventilating the property manually (open windows daily, use extractor fans), using a dehumidifier, amending your lifestyle (not drying laundry indoors)?

andrewb4709

Fire_Fox wrote: »

If you have discarded the clothing you are going to have job proving it existed never mind was damaged. Usually mould is down to condensation damp not rising or penetrating damp, have you had any professionals in to diagnose the issue? Loft insulation may make the property warmer which will hold more water in the air but it will not remove the source of the problem in fact if ventilation in the loft space is blocked, loft insulation can make condensation worse. What have you been advised to do as regards ventilating the property manually (open windows daily, use extractor fans), using a dehumidifier, amending your lifestyle (not drying laundry indoors)?

Hi,

We have got a main photo with all the cloths from the wardrobes on the bed, with 1/2 close ups off the mould on some itmems, got some off the clothes bagged up for skips too.

with the damp, we had a patch when we moved in and was told it was a dodgy gutter and had been fixed, how wrong. The problem was reported to LL last april and they never came out and problem got worse. We asked for a damp pro to come in but LL got their friend builder in to sort out, after we got tennacy support involved, (10mths to late), he has found some ridge tiles were loose and water was getting in and also most of pointing/flashing was damaged, so have replaced this etc, they had a spray roof insulation done this week to sort the roof out as it was on the verge of coming down,(words of builder). I think imo, that the damp has effectivley caused the condensation, we cannot do anymore to prevent it as we open kitchen window when cooking, open batroom windows when showering, have no wardrobes close to the wall, dont dry clothes on rads etc.

The builder said that we need a dehumidfier but LL is reluctant to cover the cost, wants us to pay mojority of elec for it, which we cannot afford.

Its just got to the point also where our familys health is getting affected, been to Docs today and me and my son have been diagnosed with Chronic Sinusitus, which is caused by the spores of mould/fungai in damp houses.

LL just seem to be happy taking the money and do as little as poss, even though it is damaging our health. House is also cold constantly, must put about £30 in gas evry week, but as you say soon as the heat gets theough the ceiling upsatirs, it just turns to water vapour and adds to the problem. Ahhh!

Hope this helps a little more.

andrewb4709

Just bumping it up incase anyone can help. ta.

Fire_Fox

You need to report this to Environmental Health: if there are repairs they can enforce the landlord's obligations to house you in safety and repair any leaks. Also continue to report the damp to the landlord regularly in writing by recorded delivery as you need to form a paper trail. Do not get rid of any clothing until EH or the landlord have had the opportunity to inspect it. A dehumidifier will not cost as much to run as you think and it will potentially save money on the heating bill as a damp house will not feel warm.