condensation resulting in mould growth in rental property

pd001

My daughter owns a two up and two down terraced property that is rented out. Her tenants are a young family with a young child.

When she first bought the property, and during the odd occasions (including winter) that the property has been empty, there is no issue with mould growth.
However, when the property is occupied, the subject of mould growth crops up from time to time.
Her tenant raised the issue just last week. They have had to wipe mould from the window sill in the main bedroom.

The house is fully double glazed and the glazing is no more than six years old. It has gas central heating and the condensing boiler is only 3 years old

The tenant has been politely advised not to do all of the usual stuff that a tenant does, ie
dry washing on radiators (main culprit)
close the trickle vents on the windows,
use a portable gas heater in the property

However, as we all know because we have all most likely been there in the past, a tenant will do whatever he/she wants to do to keep the property warm in winter.

They will, and do dry washing on radiators.
They will not ventilate the property properly, because that means keeping it heated costs that bit more.
They will close the trickle vents, especially the ones in the bathroom.
They do use a portable gas heater, rather than the gas central heating, because they can get the gas very cheap from a friend? (hmm??).

The tenant has even been provided with a brand new dehumidifier, which they say that they do use. However we are unsure if they use it at all?

So, the long and the short of it is that, yet again, there is mould growth appearing which the tenant is complaining about.

My daughter thinks that the property is therefore suffering from condensation problems, which may indeed be helped by fitting a Drimaster (with the heater) system in the loft?
However, both of us are not yet totally convinced that system actually works.

We like the idea that the system can be fitted in the loft, and wired in within the loft, because it would be much harder for the tenant to switch it off.
There is no loft ladder fitted, so the tenant would have to go to some considerable effort to get up there and disconnect it.

I would point out at this point that the loft is not lagged at all. Yes, there is nothing up there.
It has never been lagged because the loft access is too small to be able to put a roll of insulation through it. Only a slim person can get up there, and even that takes some considerable effort!

Your enlightened comments please.

System

I know where you are coming from with regards to people doing what they want etc.

I rented with someone else and the bathroom never had an extractor fan. I always used to tell him, leave the vent open in the bathroom, especially when using the shower, but he always used to shut it. Every few months I ended up scrubbing the mould of the ceiling. I toyed with the idea of glueing the vent in the open position a few times.

You should consider this with the trickle vents, try and find a way to make them permanently open. I keep all of my trickle vents open at all times, I don't really understand why you would need to close them?

Drying clothes indoors is not a problem if done properly. Do they have a dryer in the property? If so, the only things they are hanging to dry are things they can't tumble dry. An airing cupboard or in the bathroom with the door closed are good places for that to take place.

GwylimT

It is perfectly easy to insulate a loft that only has an inspection hatch.

Also, can you point me towards some mates with cheap gas, it really could solve our issue of natural gas depletion.

Owain_Moneysaver

Having politely advised the tenant, the next step is to firmly advise the tenant that damage resulting from the tenant not heating and ventilating the property will result in repair bills and, ultimately, the possibility of eviction.

sniggings

pd001 wrote: »

My daughter owns a two up and two down terraced property that is rented out. Her tenants are a young family with a young child.

When she first bought the property, and during the odd occasions (including winter) that the property has been empty, there is no issue with mould growth.
However, when the property is occupied, the subject of mould growth crops up from time to time.
Her tenant raised the issue just last week. They have had to wipe mould from the window sill in the main bedroom.

The house is fully double glazed and the glazing is no more than six years old. It has gas central heating and the condensing boiler is only 3 years old

The tenant has been politely advised not to do all of the usual stuff that a tenant does, ie
dry washing on radiators (main culprit)
close the trickle vents on the windows,
use a portable gas heater in the property

However, as we all know because we have all most likely been there in the past, a tenant will do whatever he/she wants to do to keep the property warm in winter.

They will, and do dry washing on radiators.
They will not ventilate the property properly, because that means keeping it heated costs that bit more.
They will close the trickle vents, especially the ones in the bathroom.
They do use a portable gas heater, rather than the gas central heating, because they can get the gas very cheap from a friend? (hmm??).

The tenant has even been provided with a brand new dehumidifier, which they say that they do use. However we are unsure if they use it at all?

So, the long and the short of it is that, yet again, there is mould growth appearing which the tenant is complaining about.

My daughter thinks that the property is therefore suffering from condensation problems, which may indeed be helped by fitting a Drimaster (with the heater) system in the loft?
However, both of us are not yet totally convinced that system actually works.

We like the idea that the system can be fitted in the loft, and wired in within the loft, because it would be much harder for the tenant to switch it off.
There is no loft ladder fitted, so the tenant would have to go to some considerable effort to get up there and disconnect it.

I would point out at this point that the loft is not lagged at all. Yes, there is nothing up there.
It has never been lagged because the loft access is too small to be able to put a roll of insulation through it. Only a slim person can get up there, and even that takes some considerable effort!

Your enlightened comments please.

you make a tenant sound as some kind of subspecies! the fact is all kinds of people have problems with this issue, you just need to read the threads on here.

Stop thinking it's the tenants fault and just try and solve the problem would probably get better results.

Doozergirl

I would re-open any fireplaces and introduce ventilation in the way it should be there, not through expensive and ugly ways of doing the same thing, ie. the drimaster.

Have you installed a proper extractor with a good flow rate that comes on with the light in the bathroom? One in the kitchen would also be good.

I would also bite the bullet with loft insulation. Either open the roll downstairs to get it up there, or spend £200 on a chippie and a proper loft hatch. I'd also be using the cheapest form of heating if I were peeing heat out through the roof. It's quite unacceptable these days when insulation is usually free.

It's quite popular to blame it on the residents habits in these forums, but if a house is prone, especially because it has solid and/or north facing walls that cannot be insulated then you will have a potential issue.

inasnum

There are threads already here about the drimaster just search. First time I've heard it called ugly :-). Its just a white plate on your white ceiling in the hallway, hardly stands out!

buggu

I would try and work in cooperation with the tenants in trying to get it resolved. If its not rising damp then I would try encouraging them to open the windows and vents. To be honest I wouldn't blame them for not doing so with no insulation in the roof and at this time of year. To encourage them I would get some insulation in the loft asap, the amount of heat you lose without it is ridiculous. Should be able to get it done for free and increasing hatch size shouldn't cost much.

pd001

dieselpower1988 wrote: »

I know where you are coming from with regards to people doing what they want etc.

I rented with someone else and the bathroom never had an extractor fan. I always used to tell him, leave the vent open in the bathroom, especially when using the shower, but he always used to shut it. Every few months I ended up scrubbing the mould of the ceiling. I toyed with the idea of glueing the vent in the open position a few times.

You should consider this with the trickle vents, try and find a way to make them permanently open. I keep all of my trickle vents open at all times, I don't really understand why you would need to close them?

Drying clothes indoors is not a problem if done properly. Do they have a dryer in the property? If so, the only things they are hanging to dry are things they can't tumble dry. An airing cupboard or in the bathroom with the door closed are good places for that to take place.

Glueing the trickle vents open isn't a bad idea at all.

pd001

GwylimT wrote: »

It is perfectly easy to insulate a loft that only has an inspection hatch.

Also, can you point me towards some mates with cheap gas, it really could solve our issue of natural gas depletion.

How?
All the companies that are available to insulate a loft, wont touch the loft in question. The reason they give is
'the loft access is too small'
So again, how does my daughter have that loft lagged?

With regard to the cheap gas.....its cheap bottled gas that they use.
When my daughter mentioned to her tenant that they shouldn't be using a portable gas fire, they did mention that they get the refill gas bottles 'cheap' from a friend of theirs.
I will advise my daughter to press the point to the tenant that they should not be using a portable gas heater at all.

Doozergirl

inasnum wrote: »

There are threads already here about the drimaster just search. First time I've heard it called ugly :-). Its just a white plate on your white ceiling in the hallway, hardly stands out!

A thing of beauty?
http://www.nuaire.co.uk/products/catalogue/residential/positive-input-ventilation-piv/drimaster-heat/

If I have money to spend, should I have a plastic plate on my ceiling or should I put in a lovely new open fire where I can reinstate vital ventilation that should be there in the first place?

A plastic plate that costs me money or an open fire where I can burn free fuel for heat, if I want to?