Mould and blocked vents in rental property. Baby on the way ... advice needed.

pinkie_90

Hi there,

Firstly, I hope that I am posting in the correct place and if not I apologise. PS this is a bit of a long 1.

My partner and myself moved in to a rental property at the end of March 2011. The property was listed as fully furnished. When we moved into the property we found the landlady had actually removed a lot of the furniture that was in the house when we viewed. Some items (such as curtains) were completely removed and others (like the table and chairs) replaced with a crap piece of furniture. This was to be the start of a nightmare property. We did complain about what happened but didn't get anywhere.

Anyway ... at the end of May we had saved up enough money to buy our own bedroom furniture so called the landlady and asked that this would be ok and once agreed we arranged delivery of the new furniture. There was already a wardrobe in the bedroom so we moved this into the second bedroom. On moving it we found that there was black mould starting from the bottom corner and along the skirting board. On a closer inspection I notice that there were smaller patches up the front wall too. In my opinion the mould must have been there before we moved in. It couldn't have got that bad in 2 months. The wardrobe was at a strange angle facing an odd direction and I believe it was put there to hide this problem. We called the estate agents as we didn't know whether this was damp or condensation or what. They were completely unhelpful, even at the fact we had a baby coming. We were advised by a family friend to call Citizens advice bureau which we did who advised us to call environmental health because I was having a baby so imminently. We called the estate agents to advise them what we were doing, the lady on the phone was very rude and still not wanting to help however it appeared that mentioning environmental health hit a nerve as we had a call later that day from the manager of the branch. He called and advised he would call out later that day to assess the damage. He came, didn't say a lot and advised he would call landlady to come out and complete the work. I wasn't happy about what he was saying as he didnt use a damp meter and really wasnt qualified to say what the problem was. Landlady came out the next day, cut the wall paper off around the bits where there was mould, washed the pieces off and then re wallpapered them on.

EH came out and tested the walls a few days later, obviously now there were no signs of mould or damp so felt a bit silly but they used a damp meter and confirmed it must have been black mould caused by condensation as the damp meter didn't show any damp in the walls. She said that because the walls had not been treated that the mould would come back but she wouldnt class it as an unsafe environment for the baby or my partner and myself.

We have now noticed the same black mould coming back but now downstairs in the living room around the areas of a vent. The vent was covered by a sofa and it has been blocked with what looks like a foamy substance.

I'm not sure what to do. The house now smells of mould. We have already advised the estate agent we will be moving at the end of our contract but just wondered if we have any sort of rights to move out early. Its so hard being pregnant and wanting everything clean and perfect for my new baby who was due yday and having to live in a house which unless I spray constantly smells of mould and dampness. We pay a lot of rent and £100 in council tax and it just doesn't seem fair. I wish we had taken a much closer look at the property before agreeing to let as so much has come to like, the paintwork is shoddy, wallpapering an absolute joke and it just seems corners have been cut in every single direction.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance and sorry to drag on,

Lucy.

phill99

This post is far too long to read. I suggest you repost and cut to the chase by cutting out all that is irrelevant.

Enterprise_1701C

Black mould can easily be removed by the spray mould remover or simply bleach on a cloth - you might be happier if you do it yourself or get a friend to do it. Using bleach does give a fresher smell too. It tends to occur where there is little or no air movement allowing damp air or condensation to hang around for longer than normal.

It may well have been covered up when you moved in, in my experience it does take longer than that to develop.

This is something we have to deal with in our house, though it has not been so bad since we had cavity wall insulation which tends to keep the walls warmer too so as to avoid condensation.

As for the smell, opening a few windows will help both this and the air movement. If it still smells of mould after a few days of constantly open windows then you must have missed some, so you need to find it and either wash it off or get your LL to do so.

Is the vent in the lounge the only one in the house? If so, it sounds like it could be a flu where a gas fire may have previously been sited. This should certainly not be blocked, and definitely not by what almost sounds like cavity wall insulation. Do you know if that has been installed (good way to find out by looking on the outside wall to see if there are some approx 2 inch holes filled by mortar.

Whilst it does sound like you have been conned by your LL to a certain extent, I certainly would not worry about the black mould, it is more a cosmetic problem than anything else, and the decorating is superficial. You have a roof over your heads while you have a good look around for something that suits you better, and you now know what to look for.

As for the council tax - that is nothing to do with your LL, and you pay only 2/3 of what we pay anyway!

macman

Mould is not necessarily an inherent defect in the structure of the house. What you need to do is improve the ventilation, which at this time of year should not be a problem.

Norman_Castle

Bleach kills germs not mould. Rentokill Tri Spot prevents regrowth although I am not sure if it is still avaliable. Damp air from cooking or the bathroom will settle on the coldest wall causing mould. Venting this damp air outside will help. Have you asked the landlord if you can move out early?

aboard_epsilon

well i don't think your message is too long

and i think maybe the expanding foam was done by the last tenants ..remember we've just had a long very cold winter ...

wouldn't be in the interest for the land lord to do this as they don't pay the heating bills

think, after you go around clearing the vents ..the problems will go .

all the best.markj

keelydaye

Hi Lucy,

I can't comment on whether you have any rights to exit your agreement early as that is a legal matter. If I were considering such a move I would take lots of photos and videos of the damp patches as evidence, I would also keep a diary.

As for the black mould, that is often seen during winter when homeowners keep windows closed, the moisture levels build up and when it comes into contact with a cold surface (such as an external wall) it turns to water and hence black mould forms.
If you are seeing this type of mould during warm weather then it may be a sign of a more serious issue with the house. It's probably caused by a lack of ventilation somewhere but could be one of many other things.

If you really want to exit the contract early then have you considered taking some photos of the damp patches and going to see your local GP and asking him to write you a letter stating that this is/isn't a suitable dwelling for a baby? I think you are much more likely to get the attention of your landlord if you have such a letter.

Many landlords don;t give a !!!! about the homes they rent out or the tenants, but if you keep nagging and you have that letter then you may be able to get out of the contract early without being hit with any penalties.

As for a short term solution to the mould you could try wiping the surface with a bathroom/kitchen type mould spray (sold in most supermarkets) but with a baby in the house you may want to avoid any such chemicals and just keeping wiping the mould away with a cloth until you can find another place to live.