Please help - mould damage in rental property our fault??

bananacakes

00ec25 wrote: »

Tenant
are you seriopusly saying that you do not think there is a connection betwen the fact you are pumping out huge quantities of moisture laden air into the bedroom and the fact the room then developed condensation and mould?????? Even if you kept the bedroom door shut the moisture would still spread throughout the house given how much comes from tuumble drying


there are 2 sides to this story, at least some of it very easily is your fault

The tumble dryer is a brand new CONDENSER dryer, not a vented one. The moisture is NOT released into the room, it is collected into a tank which is emptied regularly. The air which comes out is dry air. These dryers are designed to be suitable for use in any room of the house without the hassle of finding a window to place the vent out of....but thank you for your comments about the possible problems with the building.

sooz

bananacakes wrote: »

The tumble dryer is a brand new CONDENSER dryer, not a vented one. The moisture is NOT released into the room, it is collected into a tank which is emptied regularly. The air which comes out is dry air. These dryers are designed to be suitable for use in any room of the house without the hassle of finding a window to place the vent out of....but thank you for your comments about the possible problems with the building.

Not all the water is condensed though, some are more efficient than others. I have a condensing model that we bought with the house. The utility could double as a turkish bath when it's on, and the condensing tray fills too (so it's not broken)

bananacakes

I highly doubt the dryer is the problem...we spent several hundred pounds on it and its less than a year old. Surely there would be condensation on the windows/walls if this was the problem?? The reason we bought the tumble dryer was because it took about 5 days for clothes to dry on the rack inside the house...with the heating on...and the windows open...and when we dried clothes on the radiator we'd have water dripping down from the ceiling! I thought there was a hole in the roof the first time it happened....

sooz

Did you have an inventory when you moved in?

And is your deposit protected?

Do you have anything in writing from the LL about the previous leak in the roof, the damp in the wardrobe or the need to use dehumidifying crystals?

If your deposit is protected, you need to provide some proof that the damp & mould were a pre-existing problem, and that you did what you could to prevent any further mould growth.

If it's not protected, she will have great trouble trying to keep any of it for any purpose.

Ideally you should have spoken to Enviromental Health whilst you still lived there & couldn't get the temperature of the main bedroom above 11oC. As they say, it's a little late to ask them for help as you move out.

JimmyTheWig

Jeffrey_Shaw wrote: »

So, no- L cannot bill T [tenant] for any damage caused to L's possessions- it's L's own fault, of course.

Nothing more to add, other than from my experience Jeffrey Shaw knows what he's talking about in these matters.
So if he says you can't be billed I personally would believe him.

bananacakes

sooz wrote: »

Did you have an inventory when you moved in?

Yes, but it doesn't mention condition of anything, just room contents. Lesson learned :embarasse

sooz wrote: »

And is your deposit protected?

We did not pay a deposit. The landlady said she "didn't agree" with how the deposit protection scheme worked as it had prevented her from accessing money owed to her in the past, therefore she didn't ask for one. Instead there was just a clause in the contract that said we would be billed for damages when we left and that we would pay them.

sooz wrote: »

Do you have anything in writing from the LL about the previous leak in the roof, the damp in the wardrobe or the need to use dehumidifying crystals?

Nope, nothing. It was just what she told us when we moved in.

sooz wrote: »

Ideally you should have spoken to Enviromental Health whilst you still lived there & couldn't get the temperature of the main bedroom above 11oC. As they say, it's a little late to ask them for help as you move out.

I know, hindsight is a wonderful thing, we were worried that if we caused a fuss she would just evict us as she kept going on about how she "didn't need the money" and we knew she was planning on selling both houses anyway. To be honest I didn't even know Environmental health dealt with things like that...until yesterday

aliasojo

bananacakes wrote: »

I highly doubt the dryer is the problem...we spent several hundred pounds on it and its less than a year old. Surely there would be condensation on the windows/walls if this was the problem?? The reason we bought the tumble dryer was because it took about 5 days for clothes to dry on the rack inside the house...with the heating on...and the windows open...and when we dried clothes on the radiator we'd have water dripping down from the ceiling! I thought there was a hole in the roof the first time it happened....

Just for the record, price goes for nothing according to Which. I've spent the last couple of weeks researching washing machines and dryers as I needed to buy these for the rental place we've recently moved into, and I was shocked at how bad some of the 'better' and more expensive dryers were. One condensing model in particular had such a poor condenser that most of the damp air was just being discharged into the room. :undecided Not saying yours does that btw, just that it might not be as efficient as you hoped.

My son had similar issues in a rented flat, the ceiling was constantly black with mould. Horrible thing to be living with. I have every sympathy for you.