landlord blaming us for moulds

[rev006]

I have a private landlord and is letting through a property agent who charged us 175 per head and £50 for contract renewal every 6months. From last 6 months I have been continuously telling them about mould in the kitchen wall were it meets the roof. A contractor they sent said the outward wall was not rendered and there was a gap were the roof met the wall, also the roof tile was broken. Till date they have not done anything.

 

The house is also poorly insulated. No amount of heating can warm It up!

 

The mould has spread to the other corners and the wallpaper there is peeling off. Once when it rained, I even saw rain water dripping inside through the wall. The agents kept telling us that the property has to be ventilated. The previous tenant told me that there was some leak on another wall in the bedroom and when I checked, there was mould in on of the bottom corners, the wallpaper had ripped and was taped with a tape.

 

We still decided to continue living here since we couldn't afford a new place deposit. We paid them £50 and mentioned repairs.

 

Today they came for an inspection when I was not around and sent us a report telling there was a large amount of condensation on the windows and the property was not ventilated, hence the mould. When I checked, I could only see condensation on bedroom window. But, how do I open it when my baby was down with cold?

 

The mould is nowhere else in the property. They have also exaggerated the inspection report stating the house was untidy throughout when I had hoovered the place in the morning and tidied it. It is impossible to maintain it perfect as I have 2 very young children.

 

I am really upset now as they are asking us to evict unless we improve the condition by next month end when they come to inspect, when they must be the ones doing it. We pay £625 monthly for this 2bedroom house without fail every month. And after all this, this is what we get?? Are they just picking on us so that they don't have to carry out repairs? I have lived in 4 houses in the past 6yrs and never even saw a mould.

 

The previous tenant said he had to file a suite to get back his deposit.

 

If the ventilation was poor, won't there be moulds in the other areas too? Please help! Is there anything we could do?

[seanamarts]

I would go and speak to the councils environmental health department, get them to come and inspect the property. If there are children especially small children in the home then the mould can be quite dangerous to their health. It can cause all sorts of breathing problems.

 

If the EHD see that the house is a problem they will give a time span for the LL to get it fixed, if they refuse then the council will carry out the repairs and bill the LL.

[mariner51]

You do not mention type & age of property. terrace or semi, pre WW2 or Victorian?

Lack of renedering can be good news. Poor rendering can make problems worse.

LAs will often say condensation/lack of ventilation is the cause of mould in the same way most Ts blame penetrating damp or lack of d/g. The truth is often a mixture of both. You have a report suggesting a gap between roof & wall and you admit you do not ventilate if baby has a cold. Do you open kitchen window a crack when cooking?

Mould can occur through lack of air circulation eg behind wardrobes, settee's and in certain corners.

3 self help suggestions - wipe away window condensation with absorbent cloth, wipe mould areas with mould/mildew spray or diluted bleach once a week and circulate warm air in affected rooms using fan heater occ.

Worth mentioning problem to LL direct, he may not be aware.

It is your duty to 'act in a T-like manner' and minimise condensation, LLs resp to effedt repair for any penetrating damp.

[rev006]

Thank you for your replies.

 

 

I am not sure how old the house is, but looks very old. It is a mid-terraced property (with attached houses on either sides). It was inherited by the landlord from an old woman who probably died in this house years ago. The carpets look very old and the vinyl flooring in the kitchen are so old that it have started to chip chip away.

 

This house was even mouldy in the summer when we always leave the kitchen ventilator open. Last day when I looked down from the 1st floor window, I could see that a few kitchen roof tiles were broken and I am sure that the water should be seeping through when it rains. The kitchen wallpaper has damp marks. We had warned the LA that the whole structure would be effected if they didn't take an action on the roof problem 6 months back.

 

I am worried they will have our deposit held back when we vacate the property because of the moulds. The EPC of this house is D66.