Rental disrepair enviromental health

BitterAndTwisted

It's all completely academic, I reckon. The reason why the LL hasn't carried out repairs is most probably because they don't have the money set aside to do it, they can't raise the finance and I doubt they ever will. Some landlords would rather pop a Section 21 in the post than deal with reality and I suspect that you'll be receiving one yourself quite soon

lynzpower

At some point if the property is as bad as you report that it is, the landlord is going to have to do something about this rising damp issue. Out of interest did you see last nights "help my house is falling down" where they showed what was needed to rectify rising damp?

There are potentially 2 options if the LL has to repair:

1) the LL has to do the work and terminates your contract with 2 months notice in this point then you will be given extra points with the local authority.
2) the LL does not give notice, but gets you somewhere else to stay, for example a hotel, serviced apartment while the works are carried out and EHO is satisfied. They should claim the cost of this temp accomodation for you from thier landlords insurance policy

There may well be finance available for the landlord to borrow from the LA ( various schemes) to undertake this essential work.

the fact your childrens health is so badly effected, ( and this WONT have been actually assessed under HHSRS, it is the potential for illness not the actuality of that illness that is assessed) would be the point where I would be moving out HOWEVER as soon as you get your notice to quit you will be in a stronger position with the homelessness team as youll get more points.

In terms of the falling between levels issue it may be that there is not a cost effective solution to this. Without seeing it its difficult to say. Did your EHO assess falling between levels or is the primary issue damp and mould. It should have been at least assessed but whether any actions is expected/forced/negotiated, is a different issue entirely.

Is your EHO giving you a copy of the report?

wrightk

i think by the sounds of the EHO that even if she were to give us notice the repairs to the property would render the property uninhabitable until the repairs were done as a lot of the problems are classed as class 1 under the hhsrs,
Unless she habited the property herself...

lynzpower

Is the damp issue category one then,i thought you said it was medium risk?

If it is category 1 then the EHO MUST take action

wrightk

the property classes as a medium state of disrepair but thats a seperate issue and relates to our application to social housing.
However some of the problems are classed as class 1 under hhsrs, the damp,the top floor windows loose and at floor level with no centre lock etc i think she has asked for a humidistat? to be installed in kitchen
I believe sometime next week the EHO will serve a notice under the housing act 2004 to the landlord stating the work that is required to be done and some suggestions of work which they recommend doing.

Is she likely to kick us out even after receiving the notice?

NEH

We've had damp and mould problems in this house...My advice would be to get out....It's affected both of us health wise and my hubby isn't the sickly type at all....

The environmental officer that came to our house wasn't the best...He tested the walls which were fine but the mould that is all over our lounge carpet at one end, he didn't even feel it or take a sample, as a scientist my hubby was horrified....He also told us to use diluted bleach on the carpet and that there was probably a leak behind the bath panel which is the reason for the damp....(the mould that is now present and the fact that water was seeping through the wall gave it away a little while after, we had to fix the seals ourselves but the water is still seeping under it)

Turns out our other landlord (we have 2) mentioned last week that the property next door (they own as well) had to be treated for mould and dry rot when renovated but they didn't do this one...We weren't impressed as the other landlord hadn't a clue what the mould that was present in this house was and yet his other property had it so we feel that we've been strung along...

We've had sinus problems, headaches, fatigue, coughs and it's not helped my asthma....

I sympathise with you as we had months worth of drainage problems, doorframes falling off and plaster falling off parts of the ceiling...

Don't put your health on the line....Our landlord is selling this place but even if he hadn't we would have been finding somewhere else to live...

lynzpower

Once the notice is served the LL has the option of basically naffing around and ignoring it with some cajoling going on for a while ( I expect) It will the the rounds of quotes, estimates and people coming and going from the property.

I wish you had seen it last night on "help my house is falling down" as rising damp ( plus water coming in through the roof) was causing some serious issues in a house. You might be able to find it online? It showed the amount of work that could be needed to protect the property from further rising damp, lining the walls, removing flooring and a host of other inconveniences. You wouldnt be able to reside at the property IMO whilst this work is being carried out.

If there are finance issues and this work could be strung out over some months while the money is found= untenable situa where you need to move out.

I am not sure what can happen to notice periods if a category 1 hazard to health is found.

Out of interest, are the electrics ok?

wrightk

thanks for all your replies.
I think the landlord has 6 weeks to make the changes otherwise its in the hands of EH.. whatever that means.
The electrics are ok but the house is very old and there is a lot of interference in electrical devices when you plug/unplug etc.

One of the children in the house is 1 year old and was in intensive care as a baby he has had damage to lungs and heart with his lung being tied.
If we could jump into sheltered housing etc we would but its all such a long process, noone seems to care that we have young children in the house breathing in all this mould and damp

lynzpower

I think the natural question I would be asking of either shelter, or a private sector housing officer at your council- unless anyone here knows:

If the property is a category 1 hazard, how far does this increase our points for homelessness/LA housing.

Do the "homeless at home regulations" regulations apply here

At what point is your family homeless.

I find it very interesting that a category 1 hazard is also classed as a medium risk in housing terms. Do you have any further explanation on this?

wrightk

the EHO told me that she has only ever served a notice once on a visit which required the tenant to vacate immediately.

As far as the hazards are concerned i think the EHO do the classing based on 12 months more with the hazard present and what result of the hazard would be on individuals. for example the low windows on the top floor which are loose are class one- if a child were to fall from the window the likelihood is death.

Im as confused as everyone else. If the walls are as sodden as the EHO says (the damp meter reading was off the scale for all walls she tested) why are they continuing to let us live there