Tenants want €280 for dry cleaning due to mould

breaking_free

Hi there.

The tenants in my Irish cottage (which is managed by a property manager) complained about mould last month. I responded the very same day, instructing the property manager to hire a tradesman to put in air vents. This work was promptly carried out.

The tenants are now claiming that they spend €280 dry cleaning clothes which had gone mouldy in their wardrobe. €280! I've told the property manager not to take any money off this month's rent until the tenants have provided an itemised receipt for each item that they dry cleaned.

I've also said that I won't compensate them for the entire amount because they have to take some responsibility.

Part of my argument is that they should have immediately put in some cheap wardrobe dehumidifiers to reduce the problem before it got so bad. I didn't provide a wardrobe as I had 4 free standing clothes rails in the cottage. They say that the mould got into their wardrobe from the back and they didn't notice it until it was too late.

I am really struggling to accept that they didn't notice this problem until their clothes were so mouldy. I also find it hard to believe that anybody has €280 of clothes that require dry cleaning - do they have several dozen Armani suits each? I also bought them a brand new washing machine just two months ago so why the clothes required dry cleaning is a mystery to me.

How do you all think I should approach this? Do you think I should meet them half way with compensation? I'm certainly not paying a bean until I see a complete itemised list of every piece of clothing they are claiming for. What counter arguments do you believe I can make as regards their portion of the responsibility?

G_M

My questions revolve around the damp. Why was the property so damp as to cause mould in a cupboard?

I can't believe frankly that air vents will solve this completely.

How many air vents? Where? What kind?

Is the problem related to
* internal condensation caused by tenants (eg drying clothes indoors)?
* poor heating? Or parafin heaters (which give off damp)?
* a structural issue (eg leaking gutter causing penentrating damp through walls)?

If the cause is structural, then
a) you are responsible, so yes, get /check receipts and then pay
b) fix the issue properly

If the problem is life-style, tenants are responsible

breaking_free

Thanks for the response.

Well the repair cost (I believe it was some sort of venting system) was €400 so I'm assuming it will fix the situation - I haven't received the receipt yet.

As I'm not on the ground in Ireland I can't check if the tenants are drying stuff indoors but I'll put this to the property manager.

The cottage comes with GCH but the tenants may have their own heaters.

I'll ask the property manager for more details regarding potential lifestyle contributors.

jonathanrolande

Condensation is usually caused by lifestyle. You may choose to make a small goodwill payment in full and final settlement but 280 Euros is ridiculous. Haven’t they heard of Fabreeze?!!

breaking_free

Thanks JohnathanRolande, that's the way I'm thinking too.

I would have paid up on a €30 bill, say, without a second thought but I just reckon they're taking the mick. Speaking for myself, I cannot imagine "not noticing" that volume of clothing going mouldy inside a wardrobe.

For the record, the cottage is situated in the Irish countryside - I don't believe my tenants are commuting to high paying jobs in the city where expensive designer suits are everyday wear, hence my disbelief at the size of the dry cleaning bill.

My own wardrobe is made up of clothes that go in the washing machine so how these two country folk have so much gear that requires dry cleaning is *slightly* unbelievable to me.

Any other comments will be gladly received including from people who can justify the tenants' bill to me (I'm prepared to be open minded but not ingenuous).

solchain

Having had damage to items due to mould, I can understand them wanting compensation, but €280 is I think over the top, i think they are just trying it on seeing as you were so quick to sort out the vents.

We had a Envirovent fitted by our landlords and for us it has been fantastic, we don't really get condensation anymore.

Leo2020

Unless the mold is not their fault I wouldn't give them anything. Found out the cause first.

I have known someone run a tumble dryer without a vent to the outside, result was black mould on windows/window sills. So much water it was gathering pools and you could see marks on wallpaper where it had dripped off the sill. There was nothing wrong with the house itself, just the people living in it.

Tim_Bisley

Just on the question of whether anyone would have enough clothes to warrant spending that amount on dry cleaning - if we had to dry clean a load of stuff from our wardrobe we would easily spend that much. Morrisons charge £16 for 4 items, which is pretty reasonable (UK). Mrs TB has about 20 suits, so just half that would be £160. An Armani suit costs the same to be dry cleaned as one from Tesco... Add in coats, shirts etc and you'd get to that figure pretty quickly.

pineapple123

If going mouldy you would notice the damp smell first and remove your clothing to somewhere else why would you just leave it to get mouldy. Why wouldnt you then wash the ones smelling in a washing machine or if delicate a handwash. I have never ever taken anything for dry cleaning ever. I think your tenants need to take some responsibilty for themeselves. Check reciepts for dates etc as should be all taken in roughly at the same time.

justme111

Bill could be accrued easily - one leather jacket would be about £40 to Dry clean. I would not have paid them though as it is their problem if they did not notice it promptly. Never been a landlord , as a tenant I would not even dreamt of requesting my dry cleaning paid due to damp.

G_M

the repair cost (I believe it was some sort of venting system) was €400 so I'm assuming it will fix the situation

I'm still dubious. I woul be asking my letting agents, and their contractor or whoever 'fixed' the problem, some leading questions.

* what exactly caused the damp?
* since the property has gch, is the damp penetrating? rising? a leak? If any of these, the solution is not to ventilate, it is to fix the problem!
* if the damp originates inside, then it is lifestyle. In that case ventilation will help, but so would modifying the lifestyle, so it is the tenant's fault.