Living in council house that's making me & my family ill

C_Mababejive

Surely it would be better to try vand sort this out amicably with the council. Solicitors can be expensive.

iamcornholio

stebiz wrote: »

.... owned my own surveying practice, carrying out hundreds of valuations/surveys for banks and building societies, ...

I am also a landlord too ............., and 'some' tenants are so quick to blame others, rather than look a little closer to home.

Valuations for lenders are very far removed from proper building surveys, and specialist L&T work

If you are a landlord then you should be fully aware of contract law, the LTA 1985 and the EPA 1990 and how this impacts on landlord's and tenant's rights and responsibilities

Contrary to your comments, I tend to find that it is landlords who are quick to blame tenants for issues which the landlord is obligated to address, and love for tenants to spend their own money on the property to make it habitable

olly300

MamaMoo wrote: »

When the damp inspector came out, he said he couldn't attribute the mould to condensation, as the only wetness on any of the windows was pouring through the leaky seals. As I said before, we've tried everything that the council would suggest to stop damp, and all to no avail.

Condensation if left can cause black mould to grow.

I've seen it more than once particularly in bathrooms which aren't ventilated properly, and also under and to the side of the sills of single-glazed windows with metal frames.

However I suspect in your property there are also issues with the roof i.e. guttering, lead flashing, broken tiles plus drain pipes.

BTW do you know where all the water pipes and sewage pipes coming in and out of the property are and where they run? As there may be a leak. I've seen this before where a leak in a water pipe caused pink fungi to grow through the walls.

olly300

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Surely it would be better to try vand sort this out amicably with the council. Solicitors can be expensive.

It would be but some councils do not act unless they are forced to by an outside body.

MamaMoo_2

I'm just going for the free half hour with a solicitor to find out my rights re temporary accommodation, as technically, according to the council's own website, a house with damp or mould that is detrimental to the health of the occupants is classed as "uninhabitable". So why am I paying to stay here!
I know where the "stack" (?) is, but not sure where everything runs from and to.
I'm not sure about roof tiles etc, I'm fairly sure our roof is flat and untiled. We have no loft etc.
The council are coming to do work, but not until January 31st, my main issue is just my rights to temporary, safe accommodation until then?

boogiemaster

Also check your attic because our attic roof is full of water dropping off onto the plaster and our ceilings in the bathroom and some bedrooms have black mould.

Get in touch with environmental health and ask them to come and look at it as some spores can be dangerous and they can have it examined by a lab and I its is dangerous you might get moved

When they came to my house the council jumped and did some work

budgetdiyer

No need for a solicitor.

You just need to phone your local councils environmental health department (they are impartial whether you have a 'council house' or a housing association house or even rent privately). They will come out and inspect the house, and if a defect is found they will FORCE the landlord to repair the defects.

Meanwhile, if you are getting black mould growth you should be cleaning it (daily if neccessary!) with at least a bleachy water solution.

olly300

If the landlord (in this case the council) are going to fix the problem soon then Environmental Health will not come out as they have no reason to.

iamcornholio

budgetdiyer wrote: »

No need for a solicitor.

You just need to phone your local councils environmental health department (they are impartial whether you have a 'council house' or a housing association house or even rent privately). They will come out and inspect the house, and if a defect is found they will FORCE the landlord to repair the defects.

A councils EH dept are prevent by law from taking action against a councils Housing dept .... ie it can't take enforcement action against itself

stebiz

iamcornholio wrote: »

Valuations for lenders are very far removed from proper building surveys

Oh you must have missed the bit where I said valuations/surveys. This included Home Buyers Reports. I was a qualified Valuer/Surveyor - or should I say am. But I decided to pursue another career.