problems with damp in flat

[Boff]

my friend has serious problems with her housing association flat and so far has got no where (well unless you count being THREATENED by them to drop it. but we will get to that in a bit.)

so a single woman living in ground floor housing association flat in Telford.
the flat has problems with damp. to the extent that furniture and clothes have been affected by mold, carpets get soggy underfoot even with heating left on on an almost permanent basis, or windows left open to air the place, moisture collects to a significant level (i have witnessed this myself).
also my friend has suffered almost constant health issues (chest infections etc) resulting in many many trips to the doctor.

She has spoken to the housing association on numerous occasions, most of which accompanied by doctors letters, had envionmental health people out to the flat, kept records and photos, and even all the damaged clothes and yet the housing people not only will not do anything about the problem but REFUSE TO EVEN ADMIT THERE IS A PROBLEM. and have even gone so far as to send peole to the flat to threaten her to drop the matter!!!!
Her solicitor also seems to be getting nowhere with any action.

also the housing association are dragging their feet about moving her to another place (not to sure of the exact details of what is going on in that matter)

would appreciate any help anyone can suggest on what action could be taken.

[Nightmare4banks]

Hi all!

Boff,I am very sorry to read about your friend's problems.

The Housing Association is clearly in breach of its statutory "landlord" obligations to your friend as a tenant.

Your friend should be able to:

1.See that the repair work is carried out by the Housing Association or probably a better option to be rehoused.

2.Obtain damages/compensation for the health problems as a result of living in damp conditions.

In order to possibly assist further:

1.Provide more information regarding the content of the feedback from your friend's solicitor.

2.Provide more information regarding the rehousing issue.

3.Also,please give more details if possible regarding the threats - that is absolutely
disgusting!(Sorry,but I am really appalled!)

Also answers to the following questions:

4.How long has your friend lived in the flat?

5.How long has your friend suffered the damp conditions?

[daniel_r_clarke]

PLEASE!! make sure your friend gets this sorted asap. My friend and i stayed in a flat and the front of the building had major problems with damp. his bedroom especially. It turns out the mold spores in the air were very very dangerous and caused him to get chest infections on an almost weekly basis. His only saving grace was he is a fit and active swimmer so he could recover quickly.

So please, for the sake of your friend, either get it checked out or move out and pursue for some sort of compensation from a safe and clean home.

[Boff]

Originally Posted by Nightmare4banks

The Housing Association is clearly in breach of its statutory "landlord" obligations to your friend as a tenant.

1.Provide more information regarding the content of the feedback from your friend's solicitor.

2.Provide more information regarding the rehousing issue.

3.Also,please give more details if possible regarding the threats - that is absolutely
disgusting!(Sorry,but I am really appalled!)

Also answers to the following questions:

4.How long has your friend lived in the flat?

5.How long has your friend suffered the damp conditions?

well after a little bit of research in the local library we have now discovered that the estate is built downhill from a (now flooded) quarry, that used to quarry sand and gravel.
there are also several other large bodies of water in the area all apparently linked by underground systems and one (the closest one) even has a tourist info. board saying that it leaks!!!!!
also the whole area seems to be sitting on a geology of sand and gravel beds which have been heavily quarried in the past.

but of course all that is purely circumstantial without evidnece from the building company to see exactly what work they did to dampproof and drain off any excess groundwater.
also looking at her medical records it can clearly be seen that she has been significantly less healthy since moving into that flat.

letters have even been written to the local MP.
however since she now uses one of those moisture collector things and such things to try to keep the damp away; whenever the council comes out to look at the problem they just say what damp?
so unless she lets all her clothes and furniture get moldy and ruined a secont time (despite still having photos and actually still got the ruined clothes from last time) everybody just thinks she is just causing trouble.
one leter from the council even suggests that 'she does too much ironing inside' and that 'she switches the heating off when she goes away for a few days'.

oh and the threat apparently was something along the lines of 'accidents can happen to women living on their own'
unfortunately i dont think she actually managed to record it or anything.

she has arranged a meeting with the solicitor next week to discuss the latest circumstantial evidence of the geology etc and see if anything can be done with it, so will see what happens after that.

[Boff]

well some decent progress at last.

after the recent meeting with the solicitor an appointment was made for the Environmental Health to come back out to the flat and she would switch off the dehumidifier thing so they could see that the problem is still there.
So thee guy from the EH now comes every couple of days to take readings, and guess what. Yep. the damp levels in the air have gone up 4% in just a week without the dehumidifier she bought being switched on.
She still has this rather useless device (i thinki it is supposed to be some kind of air circulator or something) that the council fitted last year claiming it would sort the problem out. Which quite clearly it hasnt done. in fact the only thing it has done is increase her electricity bill by about 400 pounds!!!!!! (just over the winter)

but finally some good news and before long hopefully this Housing Association is going to get its comeuppance.

[Nightmare4banks]

Hi all!

Boff,sorry to read about the useless expensive gadget from the council!

Blasted typical!

If you do sue,you should make an additional claim under "excessive bill costs".

Nobody should have to put up with such terrible living conditions.

However,it is really good the Housing Association is going to get a proper sorting out!

If you have any questions,just ask.

Keep us posted!

All the best!