Private renting - advice needed

Malibu83

Hi, just looking for any advice on how to tackle some problems I have with the property I'm living in.

I have recently found out the landlord should do a yearly gas safety check. The first (and last) one was done early 2020 when the estate agents were managing the property.  How should I proceed?  I have carbon monoxide alarms, fyi.

There is quite a lot of mould in the conservatory (black patches and white) and a lot of condensation on the plastic roofing that drips onto the ground and furniture beneath it.  There is also condensation dripping down the walls in the hallway and landing.  Legally, does the landlord have to fix the mould/condensation problems and redecorate affected areas?

I don't really want to bother the landlord as he can put the rent up and we can't really afford to pay more but the problem in the conservatory is getting worse every winter.

diystarter7

hi

Read

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/landlord-and-tenant-rights-and-responsibilities-in-the-private-rented-sector/landlord-and-tenant-rights-and-responsibilities-in-the-private-rented-sector

Thanks

TripleH

The lack of gas safety certificates will make it harder for you to be evicted.

I would mention the mould issues and ask how you should deal with them. Do you dry laundry inside? Keep the message you send.

You may get no response but when you do eventually leave you protect yourself from any claims of damage / remedial efforts.

RAS

A few pictures might help?

There really shouldn't be enough moisture in the air, combined with cold walls for water to drip down the hall and landing walls. Unless you are drying lots of wet clothes in there and not ventilating at all?

Otherwise, do you actually have a leak in the roof or at gutter level?

You have a duty to behave in a tenant like manners, which means reporting problems that can't be solved by simple adjustments to the LL.

Like cleaning away the mould, wiping the roofing, moving the furniture where it's safe from drips. I sometimes have to wipe my one or two of my windows after a cold night, particularly if I've done a lot of cooking or washing.

silvercar

Are you ventilating rooms? Do you heat the rooms? If you never open the windows I would expect some condensation, particularly in bedrooms.

J1one

There is a responsibility on you to report issues, so you need to do this. 

As others, I’d want to understand where the moisture in the air is coming from. 

A yearly GSC is a legal requirement and a pretty important one. I would be approaching the landlord and asking that one be carried out. 

When did you move in? 

propertyrental

Are you in a fixed term contract, or periodic (rolling eg monthy)? That affects whether rent can be increased.

Without a valid gas report you cannot be served a S21 Notice so cannot be evicted (except for rent arrears etc).

The gas report is for your safety. Write and ask the landlord to arrange an inspection, If that does not work, report to Health and Safety Executive via form LGSR1.  . For more, read

https://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/faqtenant.htm

Conservatories are not designed as living areas, so are less of a problem, but "condensation dripping down the walls in the hallway and landing" indicates either severe tenant lifestyle issues causing extreme amounts of moisture in the air (eg from cooking, bathing, drying wet clothes indoors etc),or more likely structural issues which are the LL's responsibility. Is the property properly heated and ventilated?

You can ask the council's Environmental Dept to inspect and they have the power to make the LL address any structural issues they identify

For more read:

Post 2: Repairing Obligations: the law, common misconceptions, reporting/enforcing, retaliatory eviction & the new tenant protection (2015) plus the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

The Homes (Fitness For Human Habitation Act 2018 with guidance for tenants here.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/damp_and_mould_in_rented_homes

https://www.landlordvision.co.uk/blog/damp-issues-in-property/

diystarter7

silvercar said:

Are you ventilating rooms? Do you heat the rooms? If you never open the windows I would expect some condensation, particularly in bedrooms.

Hi
I was immediately thinking of that but said nothing as its on the first page of the gov link I posted under T's responsibilities.
Thanks

propertyrental

diystarter7 said:

silvercar said:

Are you ventilating rooms? Do you heat the rooms? If you never open the windows I would expect some condensation, particularly in bedrooms.

Hi
I was immediately thinking of that but said nothing as its on the first page of the gov link I posted under T's responsibilities.
Thanks

???? Yes if the T is responsible for the condensation it is the T's responsibity to fix - but obviously the T needs to be made aware of that so why not post the link?

Not needed now as I've posted several.......

Malibu83

Thanks for the comments. Yes I've been wiping off the mould and drying windows to get rid of condensation. Obviously as it's winter, the windows aren't open often. I regularly use a dehumidifier and I dry laundry indoors for obvious reasons. There are no extractors which doesn't help. I hardly use central heating as it does hardly anything to the temperature and costs too much. Condensation problems were evident before we moved in as no redecorating had been done by the landlord. There was a leak coming from the roof which the estate agent (when they managed the property) fixed. I have been told that the conservatory hasn't been built properly - windows are blown, plastic roofing is not hardy enough and top layer is broken in places (holes), one of the walls has lumps on it from being constantly wet (there is a very slim gap between the conservatory wall and neighbour's house and I guess water collects there), it is built on a drain, the roof is covered in moss.  I know its my responsibility to protect my furniture and to clean off mould and condensation for mine and my family's health and for looking after the property but it is majorly the landlord's problem to sort as there is a structural problem but he doesn't do house inspections.  However I don't want to make things worse for me and my family by reporting the problems and then the landlord increasing the rent.  We are not in a fixed contract as the landlord is thinking of selling.  I know I need to make contact but its not an easy solution as there may be implications.

diystarter7

propertyrental said:

diystarter7 said:

silvercar said:

Are you ventilating rooms? Do you heat the rooms? If you never open the windows I would expect some condensation, particularly in bedrooms.

Hi
I was immediately thinking of that but said nothing as its on the first page of the gov link I posted under T's responsibilities.
Thanks

???? Yes if the T is responsible for the condensation it is the T's responsibity to fix - but obviously the T needs to be made aware of that so why not post the link?

Not needed now as I've posted several.......

Hi

It's all there in the link I referred to. I'm not sue what your point is and TBH, it's not making sense to me, sorry.

Thanks