Mould and damp in property rented from housing association due to cavity wall insulation

Bloom22

Hi 
Hoping I can get some guidance on the following.
Been renting from a housing association for many years. Around 1-2 years years ago cavity wall insulation was fitted by the housing association via drilling into wall method, since then the outer wall has caused nothing but problems. Every time it rains and the outside wall gets wet the inside wall gets soaking wet (box room bedroom), you can literally see the water seeping through when it rains. Mould is also now rapidly growing and despite attempting to resolve this nothing has been done. Have lots of pictures for proof and still nothing. The occupant of this room also has asthma and has caused health issues

Anyone had this problem or able to advise on actions to take. 

HampshireH

Have you followed the HA complaint process?

Bloom22

Sorry when I said nothing has happened I should have been specific, I meant no resolution as of yet.
Followed the complaints process and they have sent a few contractors out who at first said nothing was wrong. The third contractor sent did admit there was a problem and attempted to coat the house with a substance to stop the water getting in. This has not resolved the issue and with the recent bad weather it is now becoming unbearable  

HampshireH

Back through complaint process.

Exhaust it and take it to ombudsman if not resolved. Do it in a timely manner though. The HA complaint policy will give timescales they have to respond. 

You could get some repair recommendations from a kind volunteer in the trade and present this to the HA. But only do this if the person you use isn't a salesman. I.e. someone offering genuine help

Bloom22

@RelievedSheff sorry there seems to be two posts - not sure why or how that happened. In answer to your question if is definitely rain coming in, when it rains it looks as if buckets of water have be thrown u the wall!

AnotherJoe

I had this many years ago and it was due to a block of wood and other debris bridging the gap. I have read that poorly installed cavity insulation can have the same effect.  Here's something from a google search that seems to fit your situation

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/insulation/article/cavity-wall-insulation/cavity-wall-insulation-damp-problems-a5QkW7q4Hi8f

tacpot12

In theory, wall insulation should allow moisture that gets into the cavity to drain out though the weep holes at the bottom of the cavity. If the cavity is bridged by anything other than the insulation, it can cause moisture to transfer to the inner leaf of the wall. 

Coating the walls should reduce the amount of moisture getting into the cavity, but it isn't a permanent solution, and it hasn't worked, so you need to go back to the HA and confirm that it hasn't worked and that the situation is becoming intolerable.
As per HampshireH's advice, take it to the Housing Ombudsman as soon as you are able to. 

You might need the asthma sufferer to move out of the room and into a dry one. 

It might be worth asking around the other properties that have had the same work done to understand if it is just your property or all properties that have the issue. It might not make a great deal of difference, but if more than one of you is having the problem, you might get more action if you work together on the problem. 

Bloom22

Thank you for the advice and suggestions I’m going to work on a letter to the housing ombudsman this week and seek their advice/guidance on how to resolve this matter. Will keep the thread updated