Just flippin' miserable

coinxoperated

....................

0^0

You could maybe put a few more lines on the lottery to increase your chances of winning the jackpot.:D

Apart from that theres not much more advice I can offer.:o

moneypuddle

You say you took it on then mention a landlord? Do you own it or is it rented? If rented, why not move? If owned, why not put it up for sale? Life is too short to be somewhere that makes you miserable

Yorkie1

You can get plug-in anti-creepy crawly things; don't know if they work against the bugs you're getting though.

(Can't remember the proper name for them, I've had a glass of wine and a long week!)

peachyprice

You need to contact your council housing department and ask them to assess your home to see if it's considered fit to live in. If they deem the repairs are necessary your LL will have to do them to a standard, or face being fined. It doesn't matter that it's a private rental, it should still meet the minimum standards.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Planning/GrantsFundsAndStandards/DG_10020842

Fire_Fox

Where exactly is the damp/ what type of damp is it? Is the flat rented or owned? How are you ventilating the bathroom and kitchen and how often?

Tiddlywinks

Why can't you move? Is it because you don't have a new deposit?

Do contact your local council as they will have someone who can come and have a look at your living conditions and make representations to your LL.

Post over on the House Buying, Renting & Selling board - there are some really helpful peeps over there.

In the meantime, have you got enough ventilation? Do you know anyone with a dehumidifier that you could borrow? Or ask your LL to hire one for you?

Sorry, I don't know anything about getting rid of bugs... maybe Google might be able to help with a few ideas?

Good luck.

j.e.j.

I feel your pain. I used to rent a grotty one-bed flat. We didn't know before we moved in that it had damp because the landlord had painted over the damp patches so when we viewed it it wasn't noticeable..

For those of you not used to renting, well, yes the landlord SHOULD maintain the property and keep it to a reasonable standard. If it's a housing association the council do have some pull on them, but if (as in this case) it's a private landlord there's little they can do unless the property is actually deemed to be unfit to live in.

Also, OP probably doesn't want to pee the landlord off too much, or they might decide to get another tenant in instead.

I'm afraid landlords really are in the driving seat at the moment.

OP I wasn't sure what a DRO is, - is it to do with your contract rolling over, or is it a debt-related thing. The best thing would obviously be to move, which you say you can't at the moment. The good thing about renting is that it's FAR less hassle to move than if you have a mortgage. Just give a month's notice and you're off!

coinxoperated

Hi all thanks for your replies!

It's a privately rented flat - council have quite clearly stated they have no powers and won't even come and see the flat.

I'm in a Debt Relief Order, so finances are tight anyway, moving house to somewhere even a little bit more expensive just isn't feasible yet. I'm due a pay rise in April next year do it looks like I'll be waiting around until then.

I will be buying the plug in thing. I've found one for £20 which hopefully will work.

I sprayed the bathroom with an entire bottle of bug killer yesterday. Left it for a few hours, went back in and it looks like a massacre.

I would say there was 150+ woodlice, 30/40 beetles, 10/15 spiders, and easily over 1000+ clover mites. It's just disgusting. I've hoovered up and emptied the Hoover, and have sprayed the Hoover with bug killer too do hopefully it will slow them down a bit.

Because I'm in the DRO and have a small dog, I seem to just have too much against me for anyone to rent to me. It seems too many things are making landlords say no as they obviously have a lot of choice of tenants.

I'm planning on borrowing £150/£200 off my dad to have a 4 day decorating spree to try to make it a bit nicer.

It's all well an good complaining to the landlord, but he could just kick me out, so I need to tread carefully. There is no point in threatening him or kicking up a fuss as it's likely to leave me with know here to live.

When I first viewed / moved in there was no damp! All painted over. It's caused by no ventilation as the back of the flat is entirely under ground. It's a canal flat an the road is 1st floor level, so the kitchen and bathroom have no windows and are constantly freezing cold walls, causing a ridiculous amount of condensation.

I have 4 vent fan things across the bathroom and kitchen, but it does little to ease the damp.

The mould is very mixed.

I have mould from condensation
I have black spore mould which I wash down every week with baby wipes & mould killer (before, I was doing this monthly an had various chest infections, being in hospital for two days!)
The mould that grows on clothes/material of its left for any significant period of time (leather handbag in bottom of wardrobe, GREEN!)

It always reeks of damp. plug-ins, sprays etc work for a very short period of time, and they cost me a fortune.

It's a horrible place to live :-(

littlesnuggy

Sounds like a dehumidifier might help - I know they can be expensive to run, but you must be spending loads on bug spray etc, so it might be a good investment. You could try asking on your local Freecycle, even.

And I think the Council are fobbing you off - the Housing Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS) applies to all tenanted properties and it is the local authority's responsibility to inspect/enforce. Read page 14 here http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/150940.pdf
then get back in touch with the Council!

*max*

The Environmental Health Services do deal with private rentals, I had to have them come and inspect my flat once because of damp problems. I can't see it being different where you are. Contact your council again!