Landlord issues over dampness

Willeh

Firstly, apologies for the long read below, but I'm very interested to hear your suggestions & opinions.

...so, despite it being a comment which has come from everyone that's visited our house (parents, friends), our landlord is in denial that the house is damp. It's not just a little damp, it's you-can-smell-and-feel-it damp.
After persistence and persuasion on our part, she's going to bring in the relevant authorities to confirm in black-and-white that it is damp, rather than just listen to us - this is understandable, but the worry is that she'll be coming over with the relevant people at a time convenient only to her & so we may not be in the house. I don't know if this is the result of our paranoia but we were thinking she may somehow influence the results / not do the tests in the rooms we say are damp. Could we bring the council in ourselves to do tests?

Our landlord suggested, if it is indeed damp, then getting a dehumidifier / turning the heating up would reduce it.. surely a normal house wouldn't require student tenants to use their own money to solve a problem that should be solved by the landlord?

Our landlord also bought her husband round. Everything was fine and well up until the point they were about to leave. Instead of leaving, he simply stood there and tried to threaten us ("where are you from?!" "did you not know a house this old is going to be damp?"). Our landlord had to drag him out, whilst shouting at him to not get involved, to stay quiet & to stop talking.

I don't know if our research has failed us and we decided not to mention this until we got confirmation on what to do next from the university's welfare office / citizens advice bureau .. but Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 - a house has to be free from damp to be fit for human habitation? (as well as Housing Act 2004)

We suggested some solutions.. one of them being, our landlord gets us a dehumidifier and pays for the electricity it costs to run it. If the house is indeed damp (and she did eventually admit to knowing that the living room had damp issues.. and then proceeded to blame the letting agents for not telling us) then it'd be so much easier, cheaper & will cause less disruption to the tenants than getting builders in?

Benji

I am fascinated, where in L&T 1985 or HA 2004 does it specifically say a damp house is not fit for habitation?

However....

May I ask, do you all rent individual rooms in this house, or do you have a joint tenancy for the whole house?
How many people live there, how many floors, and is there a HMO License (House In Multiple Occupation) displayed anywhere?
What laundry facilities are provided?
Is there any black mildew in the property?
Can you see any obvious defects on the outside of the property that could be letting water in?

This may be of help/interest http://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/utilities/action/act_download.cfm?mediaid=5420 and this is the guide the EHO will use to assess your situation: http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/150940.pdf. The second one has a section on damp - starting at page 22.

You should contact the EHO and I am sure they will schedule their visit when you are at home.

Willeh

Benji wrote: »

I am fascinated, where in L&T 1985 or HA 2004 does it specifically say a damp house is not fit for habitation?

However....

May I ask, do you all rent individual rooms in this house, or do you have a joint tenancy for the whole house?
How many people live there, how many floors, and is there a HMO License (House In Multiple Occupation) displayed anywhere?
What laundry facilities are provided?
Is there any black mildew in the property?
Can you see any obvious defects on the outside of the property that could be letting water in?

This may be of help/interest http://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/utilities/action/act_download.cfm?mediaid=5420 and this is the guide the EHO will use to assess your situation: http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/150940.pdf. The second one has a section on damp - starting at page 22.

You should contact the EHO and I am sure they will schedule their visit when you are at home.

Hi Benji, thanks for replying, it's section 10 of L&T 1985 & for HA - http://www.scambs.gov.uk/housing/housingadvicehousingoptionsandhomelessness/ehhousing.htm

olly300

The best thing you can do for yourselves is see if you can identify where the "damp" is coming from.

Otherwise if an outside body comes round the first thing you will get is a lecture about condensation and then you will be presented with a leaflet about how to deal with it i.e. turning heating on more, not drying clothes on clothes horses, making sure extractor fans are run for a long time.

Have a read of this article for a starters:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/mar/01/diy.homes8

Work out what areas of the walls and floor are damp. If it's the top and middle part of the walls then look outside for leaking gutters, pipes and at the roof i.e. the roof not being straight, tiles missing/broken. If it's the bottom of the walls on the ground floor and the floor then there is likely a problem with a the damp proof course of the house (or there may not be any.)

Once you have done that you can then it will help influence other bodies and even the landlord who will come and have a look. So instead of saying "I can smell damp in the house" you can say something like "I have noticed that the floor and bottom of these walls in the living room are damp. I tried to look under the carpet but I found it was wet to touch and stuck to the floor".

G_M

Benji wrote: »

I am fascinated, where in L&T 1985 or HA 2004 does it specifically say a damp house is not fit for habitation?

Landlord & Tenant Act 1985

10 Fitness for human habitation.E+W
In determining for the purposes of this Act whether a house is unfit for human habitation, regard shall be had to its condition in respect of the following matters—

• repair,
• stability,
• freedom from damp,
• internal arrangement,
• natural lighting,
• ventilation,
• water supply,
• drainage and sanitary conveniences,
• facilities for preparation and cooking of food and for the disposal of waste water;

and the house shall be regarded as unfit for human habitation if, and only if, it is so far defective in one or more of those matters that it is not reasonably suitable for occupation in that condition.

N79

G_M wrote: »

Landlord & Tenant Act 1985

10 Fitness for human habitation.E+W
In determining for the purposes of this Act whether a house is unfit for human habitation, regard shall be had to its condition in respect of the following matters—

• repair,
• stability,
• freedom from damp,
• internal arrangement,
• natural lighting,
• ventilation,
• water supply,
• drainage and sanitary conveniences,
• facilities for preparation and cooking of food and for the disposal of waste water;

and the house shall be regarded as unfit for human habitation if, and only if, it is so far defective in one or more of those matters that it is not reasonably suitable for occupation in that condition.

However, one really should bold the last sentence as well before everyone gets the idea that a bit of mold on the bathroom tiles means the home is unfit for habitation!

theartfullodger

I've always thought that any Landlord who didn't take damp seriously needed his head examined... apart from problems for tenant it can & probably is damaging his investment...

He sounds like a right plonker... Me, any tenant complains about damp & I go round/send builder round as soon as possible,,,

Advice from the experts here...

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/disrepair_in_rented_accommodation/repairs_in_private_lets/responsibility_for_repairs#3

Best regards

p00hsticks

Willeh wrote: »

Hi Benji, thanks for replying, it's section 10 of L&T 1985 & for HA - http://www.scambs.gov.uk/housing/housingadvicehousingoptionsandhomelessness/ehhousing.htm

So from that link

Who is responsible for damp?
The landlord is responsible if:

• The damp is caused by a structural defect in the property
• The property lacks damp proofing
• There is a leak (e.g. in the roof)
• There is inadequate insulation, heating or ventilation causing condensation

The landlord may not be responsible if the damp is caused by condensation due to the lifestyle of the tenant e.g. if the tenant dries clothes inside rooms, uses unventilated tumble driers, does not open windows for ventilation or does not use the heating system sufficiently. In these circumstances tenants should seek advice to establish who is responsible for repairs.

Which leads to some of the questions olly300 has asked to work out why the property is damp in the first place. If the structure is basically sound and there are adequate means of heating available but you are simply not using them, then I don't beleive the landlord is responsible.