Mould

singingkettle

A few questions here. Landlord is generally a nice bloke but our home is very mouldy. When we moved in all looked lovely but soon problems occured.

Does a landlord have an obligation to damp proof course a property?
Due to mould the standard of decoration has deteriorated e.g. lining paper hanging off, paint has come off window frames when we have "de-moulded". Can he charge us for this when we come to leave? Our deposit is protected.

want2bmortgage3

Ask him to buy a dehumidifier, a decent one £100+ this will help stop mould appearing. Also air the house once a week, open all windows for half hour, and don't let the house get too cold overnight.

sandsni

The LL has an obligation to prevent damp if it's due to structural issues with the house. But if it's actually condensation due to your lifestyle then you could be liable to pay for the damage to the decor.

Have you any reason to believe the problem is structural (blocked or damaged guttering, damaged walls outside, faulty seals around the window frames etc.)? Is the problem at ground-floor level? Leaves, muck and moss left to gather around outer walls can lead to damp penetrating from outside so if you can clear stuff like that it will help a lot. If you believe it is a structural issue then contact your LL and ask him to check it out. If he's a halfway decent LL he'll know it's in his own interest to fix the problem sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, do you heat/ventilate the house adequately, avoid drying clothes on radiators, use extractor fans if available? People and animals (if you have any) create a surprising amount of moisture just by breathing, never mind cooking, bathing, laundry etc. You can minimise the amount of condensation inside the house which should reduce the risk of any further mould growth.

martinsurrey

singingkettle wrote: »

paint has come off window frames when we have "de-moulded".

sandsni wrote: »

But if it's actually condensation due to your lifestyle then you could be liable to pay for the damage to the decor.

I agree with sandsni, I would be suprised if its the house (as the decoration was good when you moved in, and most LL wouldnt redecorate the whole house for each tenant, like they would have to if it was the fabric of the building), more than likely lifestyle.

Have you been drying clothes indoors while keeping the windows closed?

theartfullodger

Which country? England, Wales, Scotland?

singingkettle

Sorry for delayed response, life got in the way of MSE!

Thanks for posts.

When we moved in he told us survey recommended a damp proof course but he hadn't bothered.

House is in Northumberland so window opening for long periods has not been an option over the winter, but improving now.

I have raised this multiple times but to be fobbed off. Extractor fan was fitted to bathroom (by a farmer!), proper building regs not followed (no switch outside of bathroom to turn it off).

We have dried clothes inside, but there is really no option not to do this, I cannot tumble dry a lot of my stuff plus I dont want to spend £XXX on leccy. No animals.

I wouldnt be surprised if guttering was shot as well.

All the lining paper in the bedroom is peeling off. I can barely ventilate this room as windows are stuck shut. Just typing this is making me realise we need to move...

singingkettle

PS when we moved in he had just bought house and all the lining paper and decoration was new.

sandsni

Surveys often recommend damp proof courses as it's the standard response, but if it's an old stone house this probably wouldn't be the right course of action anyway. You say the gutters are "probably shot", but have you actually looked and seen any evidence of water pouring out of them down the walls etc.?

Regarding the windows stuck shut, that is something the LL should be dealing with.

As far as the extractor fan goes, as long as it was installed safely it doesn't really matter if it was "a farmer" who did it. He may know a lot more about electrics than you think. Do you have any reason to believe it's not safe? If so then ask the LL to get an electrician to check it.

Put your concerns in writing to the LL (and keep a copy).

Unfortunately, trying to save yourself money on electric bills is not a sufficient reason not to ventilate the house or to dry clothes indoors. You are exacerbating the problem by introducing extra moisture into the atmosphere and not allowing it to escape. This could be considered not acting in a tenant-like manner.

tbs624

sandsni wrote: »

As far as the extractor fan goes, as long as it was installed safely it doesn't really matter if it was "a farmer" who did it. He may know a lot more about electrics than you think. Do you have any reason to believe it's not safe? If so then ask the LL to get an electrician to check it.

my bolding. Let's hope that the LL and his farmer mate understand the requirements for working on electrics in bathrooms under Part P of the Building Regs

OP - *write* to the LL requesting that windows are sorted so that they open properly. Keep a copy. Google Haringey Council and "damp and condensation" for a useful pdf on how you can improve matters as the T.

Airing the property "once a week", as suggested by one of the early reponses above, is not sufficient - it needs to be done on a daily basis.

Werdnal

tbs624 wrote: »

Airing the property "once a week", as suggested by one of the early reponses above, is not sufficient - it needs to be done on a daily basis.

And "airing" is not just opening 1 window for a few minutes. You need to allow the property to breathe, and this means creating a air flow throughout it. Open a window front and back upstairs and the same downstairs - not wide, half an inch or so will do, and leave the doors between open too. Maybe do this every morning for 10-15 minutes to change the air in the house. I know this may seem crazy especially in the cold months, but dry air also heats up quicker, so getting a "blow through" to rid the house of some humidity can actually help all 'round!

princeofpounds

What type of damp is it?

If it is penetrating damp, coming from a leak around places like the window frames, cracks or the like, then that is the LL's issue but you must report it in writing ASAP. That's your duty.

If it is rising damp, the same applies. But rising damp is much rarer than people think even without a damp-proof course.

If it is condensation damp (and your talk of generalised mould make me think this is most likely), you are at risk of getting your deposit nailed.

The typical attitude to this is that it is 'lifestyle-based'. And the sad fact is that it is. Although sometimes buildings are designed and constructed so badly that this 'unreasonable lifestyle' can mean something as simple as breathing overnight while you sleep.

But proving the balance of cause is very hard and generally you are much more at risk as a tenant in any dispute.

In your case though, given what you have told us about ventilation and clothes drying, you are likely to be considerably at fault. That's not a criticism, I know it's painful to let in cold air in winter if the house is not properly ventiliated, and spending more money on heating and electricity is a pain, but you could be in for a bigger bill if you don't tackle the issue.

Report the situation to the LL. State everything you are doing to tackle the issue (opening windows daily, no clothes drying etc). Ask for a dehumidifier (or even buy one yourself). They are cheap to run, just like a fridge. Clean off condensation every day. Keep the heating on more, and keep the windows open regularly.

Then move when you can, if this doesn't fix things. For all the disapproving chat about lifestyles, an equally important issue is often poor house design/specifications and this will not be fixed any time soon.