Rented property dealing with agents and mould

cowsnhope

Hello. I am the guarantor for a friend who moved into a new flat less than two weeks ago. The flat smelled strongly of damp on the day he moved in and there was mould on the windows which he cleaned off - he also gave the whole flat a good clean and bleached where he could. The kitchen in the flat still smells strongly of damp. I have been in contact with the Letting Agents a number of times and they have not helped, I have however found out that they were aware that there was a damp problem and that they had a damp report done. I have contacted Environmental Health who visited today and said they would recommend an extractor in the kitchen. My friend believes that there is a damp and mould problem behind the kitchen units on the outside wall, I have climbed up to look behind the wall cabinets and there is black mould there but there is no way of knowing what is behind the kitchen sink without taking it out - the kitchen smells strongly and my friend says it makes him feel sick - he says he cant store food in there as it smells and does not want to cook in there.
My friend wants to take out the kitchen sink, but I'm very worried that he will be charged for damages and I'll end up having to pay. I do not know what I can do to get the letting agency who manage the property to do something. I'm going to ask to see the damp report but I don't think they'll let me see it and after that I've run out of ideas. My friend is tied into a six month tenancy and has been told that as he viewed the property before renting it that he has agreed to take it as is - i.e. nasty smell and all.
Thank you

dimbo61

Write a LETTER to the Landlord/Letting agents ( Not emails, phone calls,text messages, or smoke signals?facebook)
State the facts that the property has severe Damp problems and that the tenant has had the Environmental Health people out to inspect.
Request in writing that an extractor fan is installed, make sure the windows are open when the tenant is in the building, no drying of clothes inside the flat,
Check to see if any heating in the kitchen, lids on pans when cooking, USE the central heating, cold flat more damp!!!!!!
The letter needs to come from the tenant not YOU the guarantor.
Send from post office with proof of delivery NOT RECORDED!

dimbo61

Protect yourself by making sure the LL/LA are aware of the problems and you can prove you/tenant informed them

cowsnhope

Thank you dimbo61
I do not think an extractor fan will solve the problem, the kitchen has a window and my friend has had it open a fair amount, he also keeps the heating on and the flat is if anything too warm, he also has a window open in the other room so there is a through draft. My friend has not used the kitchen and is not drying clothes in the flat - there is no mould now on any visible walls; I'm thinking that condensation is unlikely to develop behind kitchen units first and I'm therefore thinking that the damp is coming through from outside. The smell is strongest under the sink and the back panel has warped and it looks like this might be caused by damp. My problem is how to prove there is a problem other than by taking the sink out; I can say there is a damp problem but it doesn't actually look like it - it is only the strong smell.

coolcats

I have a simular problem in my rented house. Enviromenatal health out and said the whole of the ground floor has rising damp, the bathroom above kitchen also has bad damp could be from the guttering or rising. The kichen has alvoves made into cupboards they are really bad for damp.
Have spoken to landlord regular about it, they someone out to sort guttering and said the kitchen cupboards are not damp. Have now cut my losses and moving out after 4 months. they have agreed to find someone else and I can stop paying rent as soon as they do (not holding hope on that) but other wise I pay till Dec.

cowsnhope

Thank you Coolcats. This is dreadful, Environmental Health have said you have damp so you have proof and I thought your LL had a legal duty to do something about that but nothing is being done! You shouldn't have to move and still pay. I know that the previous tenants at my friends flat left early - the LA will not tell me why but I think I can guess; this is really wrong.

coolcats

It is, they also found the loft room doesn't meet building regulations so that has to be sorted. But its clear they still plan to rent it out as it is with no work done. They said that the enviroment report will take at least a year and longer to be confirmed.
I'm just getting out while I can. I do think as agents they should make the place suitable to live in and meet building regulations. The problem is most places are rented through them. I guess the fees are the best for LL. And there are very few 3 beds that come up. So they have a good market.
I'm moving into a 2 bed, but its clear the LL wants to look after the places (very rare here) and I've rented from this agent before and they are on the ball with things. Need a 3 bed though but happy to settle for a good LL.

cowsnhope

Can anyone advise me? I have now seen the damp report from 6 months ago and it says that the previous problem was caused by condensation, however there is no condensation now and there is still a really strong smell of mould and black mould on the wall behind the cupboard that can't be accessed to clean, also there seems to be a damp and rotten bit of wood at the back of the cupboard under the sink against the external wall, this could be because the sink has leaked in the past but could also be from water coming in from outside, it is not possible to see what is behind this cupboard without taking it and half the kitchen out.
Thank you

RAS

I would suggest asking environmental health to come back and look at the specific problems you haver identified.

cowsnhope

Thank you, Environmental health have been and recommended an extractor fan in the kitchen, I do not believe this will sort out the problem as opening the window and having a through draft hasn't so far. Something is creating the smell but without taking out the kitchen sink I do not know how it can be found.

DragonQ

This is kind of interesting because my tenancy agreement specifically states that I have to let the letting agent know if I notice any damp or mould. Looks like yours doesn't want to know.