Being kicked out of flat because we reported mould, needed repairs. Advice?

AnotherJoe

Where do you think all that moisture from wet clothes goes when they dry? In the air. And then condenses on the walls.
Get a dehumidifier. Put it in the room you dry your clothes.

ognum

I used to have a BTL flat that previously belonged to my daughter, she lived there happily for four years without the slightest sign of damp or mould.

She moved out and we got a tenant and within a short time the flat had black mould on one wall and on the bathroom ceiling. This was entirely due to the tenants lifestyle. Cooking and washing without ventilation.

Once the tenant had left we repaired and repainted and sold the property. In the months during the sale and awaiting for completion the flat was empty with no heating on and there’s was no evidence of the mould returning. The mortgage survey showed no evidence of damp.

Our current home is 120 years old in a conservation area and has the origional single glazed windows, we have no damp or mould!

This may not be true of every property if poorly built but can you buy a tumble dryer or take your washing to a laundrette.

onwards&upwards

AnotherJoe wrote: »

Where do you think all that moisture from wet clothes goes when they dry? In the air. And then condenses on the walls.
Get a dehumidifier. Put it in the room you dry your clothes.

The room where they dry clothes doesn’t have mould.

It’s entirely possible to dry clothes indoors without causing mould, loads of homeowners do it, I don’t why some people think renters are somehow incapable of managing it.

Jumblebumble

Guavalava wrote: »

I was just concerned that if we send a letter to the landlord he could easily say he never received it. With emails we know they are backed up and can't print them out as evidence.

Assuming you mean can and not can't I am sorry to tell you that having proof that you sent an email is meaningless ( There are some third party systems that claim to be able to prove that emails were delivered but I am not convinced as spam filtering might well remove it and the recipient could argue they never knew of it's existance).
If you are not using one of these systems you have no chance

JumbleBumble

sheramber

Guavalava wrote: »

No, there is literally no where for it to go as the kitchen is tiny and so is the bathroom.
The kitchen and living area (where we dry our clothes) has not a sign of mould. It is because of the external walls, and insufficient insulation on that side of the property where the mould is occurring.

The kitchen and living room are warm ,so no mould. But the air will move to other areas

Where the damp air meets the cold walls you have mould.

The damp air will come from many sources apart from drying clothes- baths, showers, cooking boiling kettle, even breathing out all put moisture into the air.

Different lifestyles will produce differing levels of damp. Taking steps to reduce it as much as possible would be prudent.

There must be at least one other flat with the external walls- do they have a damp problem?

If the eviction notice is not legal, but the landlord does not do the work, what then?

Maybe, he cannot afford to do the work.

Guavalava

Sorry I did mean can in that previous post. If the agency have been using email themselves to get in contact with us, about any orhe reissues and responding to the emails about the mould, surely by resoonding to them in the first place that means they have received them?

Guavalava

I don't drive to be able to take clothes to a laundrette, there isn't even a local laundrette. Also as I have mentioned before there is no space for a dryer. I will mention again, the kitchen bathroom and living room where we dry our clothes has NO mould whatsoever.

hazyjo

Guavalava wrote: »

I will mention again, the kitchen bathroom and living room where we dry our clothes has NO mould whatsoever.

As sheramber says, it will travel to the coldest points in the flat. Not necessarily in the rooms you actually dry them in.


Have you tried a dehumidifier? Already suggested by AnotherJoe, I know, but not sure if you've tried one before.

AnotherJoe

Guavalava wrote: »

I don't drive to be able to take clothes to a laundrette, there isn't even a local laundrette. Also as I have mentioned before there is no space for a dryer. I will mention again, the kitchen bathroom and living room where we dry our clothes has NO mould whatsoever.

If you haven't got room to put something that's the size of a pull along cabin luggage bag in your fiat I suggest you move anyway.

sheramber

Guavalava wrote: »

I don't drive to be able to take clothes to a laundrette, there isn't even a local laundrette. Also as I have mentioned before there is no space for a dryer. I will mention again, the kitchen bathroom and living room where we dry our clothes has NO mould whatsoever.

That's because the kitchen and living room are warm enough to dry the air in there. But some air will also move around the house to other areas and it is these colder areas that are causing the mould.

When I open the shoer room door the warm air from the shower room condenses on the window in the bedroom . Air doesn't circulate only in one room. It moves throughout the house.

Yes, the cold wall is because is lack of insulation but drying the washing is compounding the problem. Would there be mould if you were not drying clothes.?

Can you not get an electric airer?I used one for years before tumble driers were the norm. The warm air was contained by a cover over the airer while the clothes dried. It was very efficient.