mould in this rented house affecting my furniture, where do i stand?

rebs2010

Hi please can someone advise me where I stand, there is rising damp, mould, dry rot, wood worm in the house I rent this is now affecting my furniture and our health. Work has now commenced on getting these jobs sorted but the landlord seems to just do quick fixes I'm feeling stressed out and not sure what I can do any suggestions?

glubalub

Oooh that's quite a list of defects! If you are renting on an assured short hold tenancy it probably depends on the cause of the damp and mould. You say it is rising damp but it's not only rising damp that causes mould. Mould can also be caused by condensation. It isn’t possible to say for definite if damp is rising damp without the problem being inspected and possibly tested by a damp surveyor. One indication of rising damp is a horizontal tide mark of damp along a wall about a meter above the floor. If there is a triangle of mould rising to a peak in a corner this could be due to condensation. The landlord is generally responsible for putting right any structural defects such as rising damp (or penetrating damp caused by poor pointing or leaking gutters). The tenant is generally responsible for avoiding condensation by not creating too much water vapour and for keeping the property ventilated.

Are you sure the rot is dry rot and not wet rot? An experienced timber surveyor should be able to tell the difference. Dry rot can be quite serious and is usually caused by timber being damp for a prolonged period of time. Wood worm is not so serious and if you are seeing holes this is where the "worm" will have left the timber and so it may no longer be active.

rebs2010

A builder has been round and this is what they've said to me, no expert in damp has been. I can only see holes of wood worm, this may have previously been treated. There is damp in a lot of places all over the property and it's clear the problems have been patched up before or just painted over, there is condensation in the house too and the double glaze windows need to be open a jar but are still able to lock to enable air circulation. There is no cavity in the walls so no room for insulation either, I am just getting a little fed up do you know where i would stand if I just left the property given the problems? These are not the only things either I have also had proplems with mice and the chimney has a great big crack in it and is leaning this has caused more issues with damp in my bedroom and mould has attached to my drawers that are at least 2 inches away from the wall. I also had this problem in another room again affecting furniture.

ormus

look for another property to rent.

(why did you sign up for this one?)

Nirvana9

ormus wrote: »

look for another property to rent.

(why did you sign up for this one?)

Agreed. Unless you have a very good reason for having to stay then move. These problems aren't easy (or cheap) to fix and I wouldn't hold out any hope of your landlord getting them fixed any time soon.

Nirvana9

rebs2010 wrote: »

A builder has been round and this is what they've said to me, no expert in damp has been. I can only see holes of wood worm, this may have previously been treated. There is damp in a lot of places all over the property and it's clear the problems have been patched up before or just painted over, there is condensation in the house too and the double glaze windows need to be open a jar but are still able to lock to enable air circulation. There is no cavity in the walls so no room for insulation either, I am just getting a little fed up do you know where i would stand if I just left the property given the problems? These are not the only things either I have also had proplems with mice and the chimney has a great big crack in it and is leaning this has caused more issues with damp in my bedroom and mould has attached to my drawers that are at least 2 inches away from the wall. I also had this problem in another room again affecting furniture.

Sorry I didn't read through everything. Didn't know you are already thinking of leaving.

How long is left on your tenancy?

Hopefully someone can answer on your legal right to leave. I certainly think you should have a right to just leave a property that is clearly not fit to live in. Landlords should not be able to get away with allowing people to live in mouldy and damp properties; the effect it can have on people is incredible. It can even kill...