Black Mold, What can I do?

[tcharper]

Hi guys I'm a student currently in our 4th month of renting a house with 4 other students. Recently have discovered black mold in the upper right corner of the bathroom and near my window edges..Tried many attempts at cleaning it, it cleans off fine but comes back a few days later. Now I've also been ill with what I think are symptoms from this black mold as my bed is located right under one of the windows ( going to the doctors this week to check it out )

Does anyone know of what the best way of approaching my estate agent who is also my landlord about this situation, we've had minor problems before with the house and they always seem to take an aggressive stance, we've also got a case of damp in the conservatory which before we moved in we discovered they only painted over. Any advice on what the best steps to take would be great, is the landlord required to treat this damp etc?

Many Thanks

T

[Nightmare4banks]

tcharper,in reply your post and in my view:

 

1.Yes,your landlord is obligated to see that there is no damp in the property that you are renting due to the health hazards mainly breathing problems.

 

2.Normally the damp is hacked off then damp course is injected.This process is not cheap(possibly several hundred quid or even more) but effective.

Following that it is painted over with ant-mould paint which normally costs around 30 pounds per tin.

 

3.It is also useful to have an air brick and an extractor fan due to lack of ventilation in the case of the bathroom.

 

4.You should open the window slightly after having a shower or running steaming hot water.

 

5.In practice you could sue for damp conditions.However you should notify the landlord in writing and give him a chance to rectify the situation.Send him a letter outlining your concerns to the registered address by recorded delivery post.Make sure to keep a copy of the letter and recorded delivery stub for your records.

 

6.I have posted previously within the Landlord & Tenant section of this forum regarding the levels of damages/compensation that can be obtained by tenants based on a demunition of rent value i.e. you should pay less rent because you should not have to put up with damp conditions.This would be up to a maximum of the full weekly or monthly rent that is paid by the tenant depending on how bad the damp is and how prompt or not was the landlord in rectifying the situation.

 

7.There are some lawyers that may take on extreme cases on a "no win no fee basis" but because you have only lived in the property for 4 months the maximum damages for disrepair would equal to the amount of rent you paid in those 4 months - so I do not think this a very attractive proposition for a lawyer.

 

8.However you could do a small claim after you moved out of the property.The maximum claim allowed for disrepair under the small claim rules is currently only 1,000 pounds.I could give you guidance and suggestions if you want to go down this particular route.

 

Anyway,I hope you find this information useful.

 

If you have any questions,just ask.

 

Keep us posted.

 

All the best!

[Ed999]

Read this thread: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/tenants/74057-disrepairs-privately-rented-accommodation.html