Ground floor flat-damp problem

furry_tractor

Hi folks,
I live in a ground floor flat with my girlfriend and it has a serious damp and mould problem, to the extent that it has ruined numerous items of her clothing and shoes! We try to ventilate the flat as often as possible by opening the windows but this becomes difficult in on colder days (also with it being ground floor we cant leave windows slightly open when we are out). The landlord has supplied us with a dehumidifier but that normally has to live in the bathroom to remove the condensation from in there as there are no windows in there! We have bought moisture traps and strips that you put across window ledges but it doesn't seem to be doing much. Is there anything else we could try? We are students so money is an issue but we have had to throw out hundreds of pounds worth of clothing! Is there anything we can reasonably ask the landlord to do?
Cheers, any help would be appreciated!

Mrs_Imp

If you're ventilating as much as possible and not leaving wet washing lying around, maybe speak to Environmental Health. They could also advise you on whether your landlord needs to install a fan in your bathroom. The idea of an electric dehumidifier in a bathroom sounds a bit wrong to me!

When my ground floor room in a rented house went mouldy the LL assured me it was because I was hanging my washing in there and not opening the window (I didn't and I did). Once I'd left I walked past the house and looked in the window. He'd got the floorbords up and the ventilation space under the house was full of dirt, rubbish and water, which was the real reason for the damp and mould. He replaced half the floorboards and the carpet.

furry_tractor

Yea there are a number of similar things in our flat. It is mainly the bedroom and bathroom that have the problems. In the bedroom the mould surrounds the window and I have to bleach it quite often, in fact its clear that the landlord or previous tennant has painted over the mould problem (not even in the same coloured paint). As said previously I also have a moisture trap in that window and strips that colloect moisture along the ledge but it still doesn't work. When we are in we leave windows open all day despite the cold but being students some days we cant do that as we are out all day. The bathroom is terrible, the fan in it doesnt work effectively which is why the landlord supplied us with a dehumidifier, however again I have to bleach every nook and cranny to get rid of mould every month or so. We do have to dry washing in the flat as we have no garden or anything but we do try to have windows open.
Cheers for the comments though guys!

David_Aldred

Hi,
Having had some of my own children through student accomodation I can imagine what you are probably going through and a couple of points added to that of the above posts may be worth considering:

It is fair to say that a good deal of condensation / mould problems are occupancy induced, especially where there is poor management of heating regimes and ventilation to a poorly insulated property. However this is not always the case as some properties suffer these problems despite tenants doing their reasonable best, primarily due to poor construction / design / disrepair.

You could do with knowing whether there is any obvious disrepair that is contributory to the problem because the Landlord is liable for disrepair but as a general rule not for poor initial design of a building that would make it prone to damp / mould / condensation. For example is there a poorly vented flooded oversite beneath suspended timber ground floors (if applicable) such moisture might be migrating up into the rooms creating chronically high relative humidity within habitable areas?

Damp / mould is classed as prejudicial to health and where the building is in such a state it becomes prejudicial to health, there is a statutory nuisance. However before you go rushing to get the Landlord's back up, which never helps, in the first instance try and work the problem through with them but at the same time getting everything documented should you need to fight your case at a later date. For example:

1. Put in writing to the Landlord that despite reasonably opening windows when you can and behaving in a reasonable manner with regard to occupancy / heating / ventilation bearing in mind security issues, you are unable to bring under control the excessive humidity within the flat and this is causing chronic mould growth of which there is evidence that this is a longstanding problem that was present prior to you moving in (i.e. painted over previous mould growth) and place the Landlord on notice that the flat may degrade as a result if this is not resolved. Include digital date stamped photographs to support your statements including those of mould damaged items. Also photograph the outside of the flat noting any obvious disrepair.

2. State to the Landlord in writing that you want to work in partnership with them to resolve the situation and it is in their own interest to help in this respect in order to have happy tenants who recommend the flat to other students and for the flat to not degrade. Tell them that the dehumidifier the Landlord provided is of an inadequate size to control the problem within the flat as a whole and the property in your opinion needs, at the very least mechanical ventilation to kitchen and bathroom (preferably humidistat controlled - i.e. it comes on automatically) as well as controllable background ventilation in all the rooms ducted all the way through the walls to the outside or through the window heads. If the Landlord wants to know what type of fan suggest 150mm diameter 60 litre / second air exchange, humidistat controlled set to commence at say 70%RH with 15 minute overrun. Query the Landlord whether it is possible for them to improve insulation to the property to address any chronic cold spots. As you cannot dry clothes outside suggest to the Landlord they provide a condensing tumble dryer to help you dry clothes appropriately rather than evaporating over radiators.

3. State that the products of mould growth are detrimental to your health and that your clothes / furnishings etc are being damaged as a result of this problem. That all of this is costing you money, you are suffering a loss as a result and your health is suffering.

4. Ask the Landlord to respond in writing to you within a reasonable number of days to the points you have raised.

5. Request in writing a meeting at the flat with the Landlord and write down what is said at that meeting at the time of the meeting itself including any offer by the Landlord to improve the situation and what those offers are and within what time period those changes will be made. Have the Landlord sign they concur with the notes you make at the meeting. Also agree at that time in writing a further meeting with the Landlord to discuss whether the works done after the first meeting have reduced the problem to your satisfaction.

6. Have in your mind that at the end of the day you are not living there forever but that you need to live in a place that is not detrimental to your health / is causing you a loss / damage to your personal property during your stay there.

7. By putting things in writing at this stage you are not only trying to address the issues metioned above but you have something in writing to head off any claim by the Landlord seeking re-decoration costs from your bond when you move out.

Not an exhaustive list by any means but hope this helps, kindest regards David Aldred Independent damp and timber surveyor