Mould and damp in flat

Justme29

I moved into a studio flat which I rent from the council in February, and since then I have had no end of problems, rodents, damp, mould, leaks etc.

I first got in touch with the council in March, and it is only now when I said I would take my compaints higher that a techinical officer is coming next week to view the property.

I have asked for a transfer to another property as the level of damp/mould is so extreme, and this is just after a few months. My clothes smell of damp and some are covered in mould, that I have had to put them in carrier bags to dry and keep out some of the smell, but it's not working.

I ventilate my flat, and never dry clothes inside, but am sure that the techinical officer will say there is nothing they can do, and just to clean the mould and ventilate the flat.

I also don't have enough electrical sockets(2 in studio room, and 2 in kitchen), but according to the council to fit anymore would be an improvement, not a repair :mad:

If I didn't like what the techinical officer has to say, could I take my concerns to the environmental health department?

iluvmarmite

My daughter had the exact same problem, she was in a two bed flat with a young baby, the mould was all over the walls, there was no double glazing so the windows had condensation dripping down all the time, she only had electric radiators as heating, no central heating and to use them cost a fortune so she could only have them on a couple of hours a day even in winter, Their clothes had mould and smelt damp all the time, the housing company came round and told her that cleaning the mould off with bleach would cure it, it got rid of it for a week or so but it always came back, they wouldnt put new windows in as the budget for new windows wasnt due for another 3 years, all they told her to do was open the window, really helpful in the freezing cold.

She complained to her heath visitor who got in touch with enviromental health, the came round with a meter that they stuck in the wall to see how bad the damp was, according to them it was only mild, even though they could see and feel the walls were damp, but apparantly it has to be a really high reading before they would class it as a health hazzard.

In the end my daughter and her partner just had to move for the baby's sake and went private, they didnt want to give up a secure place with the housing, nor did they want to have more babies just to get a bigger decent place, so that was their only option. I hope your council do help as its totaly unfair that they leave their tenants in unreasonable, unlivable conditions, they wouldnt live there themselves.