Damp in Flat - Storage heaters

Damptenant

Hello! I'm currently living in a house-share with 4 other tenants (all working professionals). The house is an end-terrace house built originally in the early 19th century in a former slum area near the canals. This means the house suffers from poor insulation and solid walls. We've been dealing with damp issues since the weather started taking a turn for the colder in September and have been trying to get help from the Letting Agents with no luck. As tenants, I am aware that we are responsible for cleaning, wiping down surfaces, heating the property and ventilating it. The issues are mainly in the kitchen and bathroom (areas with a high likelihood for condensation, I know) and are predominately caused by inadequate heating and ventilation. However, the inadequate heating and ventilation is not caused by us as tenants. I'll explain the issues below:

The bathroom is on the 1st floor and is a 10x10ft room with two external walls and two windows. The only heater in the room is an electric towel rack and there is a 6in extractor fan with no sensor. We leave both windows open when we shower and always close the door for privacy (we're not that kind of household!!). When we're finished showering the windows stay open and the door is closed to ensure the rest of the house isn't freezing. I work from home so I wipe down the bathroom daily and use mould cleaning products every-other-day. We've also hired a cleaner to come weekly to scrub mould between the tiles, etc. However, even with all of this hard work there is A LOT of black mould growing in the bathroom. It covers parts of the ceiling, walls, pipes along the floor, the far corner of the room opposite the bath, etc.

The kitchen is not as affected by mould as the bathroom but it has become a major issue as it is where we prepare food, etc. There is mould growing along the ground on an exterior wall, as well as above the counters on the wall. I've also found mould covering the tops of wooden storage containers. The kitchen is about 12x10ft with 3 exterior walls and is heated by a small 6inch storage heater. The storage heaters in the house dates from the 1980s. If you're unclear on how storage heaters work, basically they input a certain amount of heat (usually controlled by a dial from 1-6) overnight and then output a certain amount of heat (usually controlled by a dial from 1-6) during the day. Once the heat is gone it is absolutely gone meaning you can't just switch them on during the middle of the day like a gas radiator. Generally you leave your output at 1 or 2 in the morning and increase in the afternoon/evening. The heater in the kitchen, however, is so small that it doesn't even have a control panel for us to control how much heat is going into the room-- the room is so cold at the moment that you can see your breath. We leave this heater switched on (have since JUNE) but it is far too small to be heating a room of that size. Furthermore, being unable to control the heat settings on it prevent us from being able to actually put more heat in the room. We do ventilate the room by opening the door/window but honestly it is counterproductive because once the heat from the storage heater dissipates we are unable to heat the room again. So basically when we open a window to ventilate the room, we lose the heat from the storage heater meaning the room stays damp and we stay cold.

We also have mould growing in my built-in closet (in a room heated adequately to the point where it is too warm!) despite me heating and ventilating the room everyday.

We've arranged for the EHO to pay a visit to the property to inspect the mould growth but we expect he'll say its due to condensation. He's already advised us that they can do very little to require the LL to update the heating, etc. as the house meets the bare minimum for an HMO. In his defense, he was very sympathetic and agreed that we don't have the tools in place to prevent condensation but explained that they must follow a strict set of guidelines that basically just asks for the minimum.
The letting agency is pushing-back (in a very unprofessional manner, i'll add) and saying that because it is condensation-based mould, we will be responsible for all repairs/painting, etc. Despite our protestations that we are doing everything in our power to prevent it. The agency constantly asserts that we aren't heating the property, which is completely absurd-- we've even offered to provide our electricity bills to prove how much heat we do use!

As I mentioned before, this property is very old, has little insulation, is located two minutes from the canal and is in a former workers' slum. I believe that the mould has been a persistent issue and is something that we weren't informed about before moving into the property. Furthermore, we're the very first tenants to live at the property under the current landlord so we've informed the letting agency of these issues so he can fix them in order to help with the longevity of his property. I should also add that we've all decided to move out in May so we don't really have any ulterior motives apart from not wanting to live in damp???

Any thoughts/advice on where we should go next? It is really terrible living with mould-- I've even been diagnosed with a chest infection due to dampness. I am fully recognisant of the fact that condensation is usually due to lifestyle but I really feel that we haven't been provided the tools necessary to prevent it! We've all been really upfront about this with the letting agency but haven't had any positive responses from them. Also, we've been good tenants-- nothing we've done is unusual or abnormal. I really don't believe its the tenants responsibility to wipe down condensation on an hourly basis if adequate heating/ventilation hasn't been provided..

I'm very disappointed that the HEO doesn't believe they can do anything for us so i'm really hopeful that someone on here will be able to point me in the right direction to get this issue solved! If not for us, then for future tenants at the property!

Thanks xoxo

AdrianC

What score did the property get on the EPC?

Damptenant

41 so barely an E..

theartfullodger

Move:..........................

AdrianC

Damptenant wrote: »

41 so barely an E..

But into E...

Doozergirl

I agree. Move house.

If the EHO can't get them to do anything then no one can and it sounds like what is in place is woefully inadequate and mould is absolutely inevitable.

The fact that you leave the windows open doesn't really help as the walls are cold and this just helps that. You're stuck between a rock and a hard place with a rubbish landlord who almost certainly knew there was a problem before you moved in.

Freshly painted, was it?

Damptenant

Yeah, we're all moving out by May-- my partner and I have actually just bought a place and will be able to go in March but the others are stuck until then. Are there any sort of tenancy advocacy groups that could help us? We also don't want them to slap a big bill for mould removal/painting, which will eat into our deposits!

The letting agency (unsurprisingly) have been big bullies. They constantly enter the property without 24 hours notice, etc. When we had the HEO here for an HMO inspection in Dec 2019 they talked over us/lied directly to the inspector about heating issues. They're also refusing references for the other tenants because we called them out on the 24hr rule and the mould..

I guess I'm looking to find a group that could advocate for us to either move out early or to ensure we don't lose our deposits!

Damptenant

Yeah, into an E but even the HEO was sympathetic on how terrible that means living conditions probably are..

princeofpounds

I feel for you. A lot of British houses are very poorly-designed with regards to damp. People are sometimes very quick to blame it on 'lifestyle', but the fact is that breathing and washing yourself are parts of a lifestyle it's remarkably hard to get rid of!

There isn't really a group that can advocate for you, not at least one with any teeth. It's a big shame if the EHO isn't that helpful; this is really supposed to be their role.

Your best bet is/was probably to make frequent, documented complaints that detail all the remedial measures you are taking. Evidence that you are using the heating, evidence that the heating is inadequate, evidence that you are ventilating, evidence that the walls are single-skin. You might have to argue this out in deposit arbitration and/or court. Reading a bunch of deposit arbitration case studies may help you prepare, such as:

https://www.safedepositsscotland.com/resources/files/Adjudication%20digest1.pdf
(Your specific scheme will probably publish some)

You have a chance to see some measure of justice, but you'll probably have to mentally prepare yourself to lose some or all of your case. Believe me, this stings at the time but you will be much better off out of there, leaving the landlord with a void and a new tenant finding fee from the agents for karma. The money is a pain but it's not the most important thing compared to finding better long-term accommodation.

The other thing you can do is go by the book in other areas where possible. Deny the agents viewings in the parts of the house that are exclusively occupied, until you leave. Make them work for any deposit deductions they try to make, don't just acquiesce. Check your deposit is actually properly protected etc.

Edit to add:

Use proper fungicidal cleaners. Detergent and bleach don't cut it.

Also, I have seen suggestions online (from a barrister on a radio show) that a report from a properly-credentialled damp expert (not a salesman) detailing the structural contribution to damp can be used as evidence. But it may not be worth the cost.

Damptenant

Thank you! I guess this isn't the answer that I was hoping for in terms of lack of advocacy groups, etc. However, it is also somewhat of a relief to know that reporting these issues to letting agency and HEO are on the right track. Because we've had a slew of other issues with the letting agents, I'm hoping that if we have to take them to court we'll be successful.

HampshireH

Probably worth getting a dehumidifier but the harder it works the more it costs to run.