Recently signed tenancy agreement for flat, moldy smell was masked up when viewing

Supernaut

I placed a thread in the In My Home forum regarding this, but a quick summarization:

Went to view a flat in a fairly modern building, all was well, no smell to suggest underlying mold problem (I have asthma so have to look out for this type of thing). Most of the flat did have a subtle pefume smell but I assumed that was the current tenant who was there at the time. Signed a tenancy agreement with a 12 month tenure, Moved in last Thursday, most of the flat smelt slightly moldy bar the bedrooms, and my chest tightens when I'm in the flat.

Haven't yet got to keep a full copy of the tenancy agreement to look for break clauses but I'd think I'd have a pretty strong case to say I was mis-lead on the property?

Was advised in the other thread that I could put pressure on the landlord/letting agent to release me from the contract if their under pressure to comply with the housing health and system rating system, which takes into account things like this, however there isn't such a system in NI.

If anyone could share their experiences on this or any advice on approaching the letting agent that would be appreciated!

stephenni1971

Supernaut wrote: »

I placed a thread in the In My Home forum regarding this, but a quick summarization:

Went to view a flat in a fairly modern building, all was well, no smell to suggest underlying mold problem (I have asthma so have to look out for this type of thing). Most of the flat did have a subtle pefume smell but I assumed that was the current tenant who was there at the time. Signed a tenancy agreement with a 12 month tenure, Moved in last Thursday, most of the flat smelt slightly moldy bar the bedrooms, and my chest tightens when I'm in the flat.

Haven't yet got to keep a full copy of the tenancy agreement to look for break clauses but I'd think I'd have a pretty strong case to say I was mis-lead on the property?

Was advised in the other thread that I could put pressure on the landlord/letting agent to release me from the contract if their under pressure to comply with the housing health and system rating system, which takes into account things like this, however there isn't such a system in NI.

If anyone could share their experiences on this or any advice on approaching the letting agent that would be appreciated!

You have a strong case of what? Is there actually mould?

jenheiffer

stephenni1971 wrote: »

You have a strong case of what? Is there actually mould?

And if you do find any why can't you just go to the leasers and demand that they clean it up?

Mistral001

Is this a case of poor ventilation? There should be sufficient ventilation in the kitchen and bathroom. In fact all rooms should have ventilation of sort.

Ticked

That must be unpleasant to live in. I doubt if you were misled if you didn't specifically ask about mould (who does?) but if you can find it and so prove it's there, the landlord should sort it. Proof is the answer. Agree with Mistral001, ventilation is vital in any property.

qwert_yuiop

It is a hard smell to get rid of though. I lived in a mouldy house where you could smell it off the cup when you had a drink of water. Cleared eventually by keeping wood fires blazing all winter.

PasturesNew

Get a dehumidifier, you'll have it for life then and it's small/portable and can also be handy for drying clothes indoors.

Most damp, especially in new houses (where they're less likely to have their own damp problems), is due to people's lifestyles - so the last tenant might've never aired the place and/or it might've been shut up for a month or so.

Once it's your lifestyle in the place it might change.

Cherryscone

It could just be Condensation from the last Tenants get your windows open and air the place if you can it may make the world off difference .

Tansy_1980

It's really difficult to get out of a contract because you're unhappy with the condition the property is in. You'd at the very least need to exploit every option open to you which means

• notifying the landlord of the problems and giving him ample time to repair same
• contacting the council if the landlord doesn't do anything to see if there are any fitness/serious disrepair issues

Have a look at this video from Housing Rights - it explains what you need to do if you want to try to get out of the contract. Even if you follow the advice in this video and have evidence to support your claim that the landlord has failed to carry out repairs that are his statutory or contractual obligation, there is still a risk that a judge at court will find in the landlord's failure.

As far as I'm aware, landlords and agents are under no obligations to disclose known faults in the property when you view it. They should provide you with an EPC (normally on the property spec flyer) but they don't have to tell you about any damp/mold problems. As said above, most moldy smells are caused by condensation, rather than penetrating or rising damp so ventilating the property fully and taking care when doing anything that causes steam might help.

Ticked

PasturesNew wrote: »

Get a dehumidifier, you'll have it for life then and it's small/portable and can also be handy for drying clothes indoors.

Excellent advice. Don't go for the very cheap ones, they tend not to be efficient or well made. Best make we've ever had was Logik.

GwylimT

If it was mouldy it would have been noticable on your chest, air freshner wouldn't remove moisture from the air. So it may just be due to the property being shut up for a few days.