HELP please - damp/cold/heating issues

vch123_2

Hi everyone,
Really hoping someone can give me some advice as to my next step - i really can't take much more of this. Sorry, this is a massive post.

My Husband, 2y/o daughter and I rent a Housing Association property which we moved into November 2010. Since then, we have had non stop problems.
There is damp in both bedrooms and it spreads rapidly - the whole place smells of damp and it is freezing. I have just found more damp behind the kitchen cupboards and it has transferred onto the appliances etc that were store in the cupboard.
We have a built in wardrobe which has an awful smell (of damp too i think) and a couple of weeks ago i removed all the shoes from there and found they were covered in mould and fur. I washed everything and put them in the hallway - at the weekend I was catching up on housework and found that they were again growing fur and mould.
The property has electric heating which I know is not the best as I have lived in properties with electric heating before, but this place is absolutely freezing. With heating on the temperature settles at approx 13 degrees. We don't use the central heating now as it's pointless and use plug in fan heaters instead to keep our daughter warm. The windows all stream constantly due to the condensation and so much so that it has stripped some of the paint off of the window sills. I have to lay towels down on the sills to catch the water and they are saturated. My daughter has had a chest infection, and constant cough since we move here. At one point we were sat in the lounge and her lips were blue.

Anyway, I contacted our HA who said they were aware of the problem from a complaint made by the previous tenant and because our property is a new build (2006), they were in a debate with the builders as to who should rectify the heating issue. After another meeting they said they would resolve the heating issue and then reclaim from the builders so that the issue could be resolved quicker for us. This was in December. Then, after chasing up in Jan, they said they were still waiting for approval from Management and there was nothing more they could do.

In Feb I wrote a letter of complaint so I had written evidence, took photos of everything, and sent it to Head Office. In response to this, a couple of weeks ago they sent some Surveyors round who after inspection said it was much bigger than a heating issue and that there were a lot of building problems, and that they would need to come back, drill into the walls etc and establish the extent of all the issues. They also wanted me to keep photos of everything.

Problem is, I have now found all this extra damp in the kitchen, and the wardrobe. Everything is slowly being ruined. I have had to throw so many clothing items away because they have been growing mould. My daughters soft toys smell of damp as does her duvet and ours. Everything that has been left for a short while seems to be growing mould. I just feel like I can't take anymore. I dread coming home and can't invite anyone round because it's too embarrassing. When i'm not at work i stay out of the house all day because I can't bear it and I just want my daughter to be warm. I don't know how long their investigations and works to be completed will take but i don't imagine it will be anytime soon. Can i request that they move us somewhere else? Should they reimburse us for goods ruined?

They also surveyed my neighbours property as she has had the same issues and they said that her problems were mild compared to our property.
Please can you advise me. Thank you in advance.

societys_child

Sounds dreadful. Think I would have demanded a dehumidifier before now which might help, certainly wouldn't harm . Can't advise on the legalities but you could certainly ask to be moved.

vch123_2

Thanks for your quick reply - they say if we want a dehumidifier it is our responsibility to buy one. I can't bear this flat. It is freezing as i type - we are sleeping in the living room tonight because the smell in the bedrooms is awful. Can damp cause a cough because as well as my daughter having had one for over three months, in the past few weeks my husband and i both have one too?

G_M

Write and tell them the property in uninhabitable and you wish to be re-located till the upgrades are complete. Ask for copies of the surveyor's report.

Speak to Environmental Health at the council.

PasturesNew

A dehumidifier will give you instant relief from the damp as it'll suck it up. They're also quite good as (I believe) it's easier for your heating to heat drier air than the wet stuff.

Make sure you keep doors closed when you're cooking/drying clothes, so moisture doesn't move round the house.

What about neighbours in identical houses? Can you go and ask them if they have these issues too? Maybe a group of you/all of you, with the same problem, could get more action. Or, you might find some top tips, or that it's just you (indicating it's your lifestyle, not the house).

vch123_2

I don't think it's a lifestyle issue as these problems were here when we moved. The previous tenants were really heavy smokers so we assumed the bad smell was just stale tobacco, turns out it also masked the damp smell. We keep all vents in windows open, dry clothes in tumble dryer, open windows regularly, keep extractor on in bathroom and kitchen 24/7, keep bathroom and kitchen doors close after shower or when cooking. Is there anything else we can do? Also, neighbours are having problems and have alerted the relevant people as their flat was inspected too, straight after ours. Also, when the surveyors came round, they said "the bedrooms were the problem last time....."