Many Issues with a rented house

[SMC1989]

Hi,

 

We currently are renting a house where the tenancy expires either oct/nov 2013.

 

I have no intention of renewing and will be purchasing a house instead. Even if I need to rent a few months longer it will not be this property.

 

For the last 12 months I have raised issues to the landlord via the estate agents. Nothing has been sorted at all.

 

Issues raised:

 

- the house is very damp. As a result there is reoccurring mold in the front room, living room, upstairs landing area. In the downstairs front room the plaster has started crumbling away as a result. The landlord on one occasion sent his Dad (yes his dad) who cleaned the mold off the wall in the front room and fillered and painted a little bit. The mold reappeared within about 2 weeks and the filler is still soft due to the damp.

 

- the electrics have tripped out a few times. Landlords friend (an electrician) said its more down to the fuse box being old. States it's safe though. However he had to blank off one socket as there was damp in it.......

 

- side gate, still not repaired after 12 months.

 

- paint peeling off external walls in rear living room. Someone I know has looked and said its been replastered and not fully dryed before being painted... A mix of human error and damp.

 

- cellar floor always quite wet.

 

More little issues but these are my main bugbears.

 

 

 

What I want to know is where I stand... Can I walk out this tenancy based on the landlord not meeting obligations?

 

Im unsure but do need to get out as my eldest daughter (8) has asthma and I read its made worse by damp and mold.

 

 

Hope someone can advise

 

 

 

Kind regards

[adridude]

The damp, mould and electricity are all Environmental Health Factors. Your local council will have a department called Environmental Health.

 

Give them a call, list the issues and get them in.

 

Ideally I would write to the letting agent giving them max 28 days to resolve this or you will contact EH and get them involved. LL's are fined heavily for problems such as this. Another way around it is to contact the local Fire & Rescue. If they see ANY fire hazards i.e. electrical issue due to damp, they are OBLIGED to contact the letting agent / LL and have it resolved. They are strict about this and follow up this kind of hazard.

 

*edit* Just to add, take her to your GP's and try and get a letter confirming whether or not the asthma is worsened by the damp and/or the mould. Once this is done you have grounds to go to the council for them to intervene in the Housing Options team.

 

They have an obligation to help you to get out of harms way.

[Steve__M]

Damp walls could be due to damp or due to condensation.

 

Damp means moisture coming into the house from outside.

 

Condensation means the moisture you are producing by breathing and cooking condensing on cold walls.

 

If there is mould upstairs then you might be able to see whether there is a leaky gutter or pile outside.

 

Whether it's damp or condensation, it's important to reduce the moisture in the house by putting lids on pans when cooking, drying clothes outdoors, heating and ventilating the house.

 

For the electrics, it depends what you mean by tripping. Is it just one circuit that is tripping, or the whole board. It could be that one of the circuit breakers is a bit sensitive - does it occur in relation to a particular appliance - usually high power items are a possibility such as showers or cookers.

 

The idea of "blanking off" a socket due to damp sounds a bit odd, I have to say! Did the guy do tests - testing sockets and so forth?

[SMC1989]

Hi,thanks both for the replies.

 

I like the idea of having a chat with EH and Fire. (Or at least the threat of it)

 

I have a few friends in the fire too.

 

In relation to the electrics, no tests at all. Just blanked it off which in itself was annoying as its a socket I cannot use.

 

The sparky did say the fuse board has too few MCBs for the size of the house.

 

Another tactic I will try is when I have a date to move out (mortgage completion) I will discuss all of this with the estate agent and suggest co-operation and honesty for visits of prospective tenants.

 

If they agree and are reasonable I will make myself scarce for any viewings and leave the agent to it (on their conscience). If they don't I will be present for all viewings and will be honest about my experience. It will make financial sense to be reasonable then wont it.

[SMC1989]

Oh yeah, it's not condensation. It's from external. The damp/mold marks are rising from the base of the wall which indicates rising damp to me

[adridude]

Mould is the LL's problem. No 2 ways about it. This is why they should hav e'Landlord insurance'

[mariner51]

Mould is not LLs problem unless caused by penetrating or rising damp.

Most LL buildings Ins does not cover mould.

[adridude]

@mariner: agreed about the LL's problem if its penetrating from outside. Also LL insurance DOES cover damp penetration repairs such a repointing and 'blackjacking' and replastering of the walls. It doesn't cover painting of those walls though.

[Steve__M]

Also LL insurance DOES cover damp penetration repairs

 

I'd imagine you'd be covered if the cause of damp was related to some insured peril such as a drain damaged by someone or unnoticed storm damage to a roof. But most causes of damp will be down to maintenance issues I imagine which would not be covered.

[adridude]

Good point.

[altafica]

Why have you left it for 12 month? This should have been reported immediately.

[altafica]

Mould is the LL's problem. No 2 ways about it. This is why they should hav e'Landlord insurance'

 

Landlord ins does not cover for if there is no external causes. Mould is caused by lack of ventilation. You must ventilate the property. kitchens and bathroom should ideally have extractor fans, and windows should be opened after use to let the moisture out.

 

[SMC1989]

Hi all,

 

Another question.

 

The estate agent has said to combat the issues they want to fully replaster both rooms downstairs.

 

This obviously puts the rooms out of commission for a few days. I have 3 children and am an ofsted childminder. Obviously this isn't good enough.

 

Can they enforce taking 2 rooms out of commission for a few days whilst I'm living there and cannot have this.

 

I wouldn't mind but I chased throughout 2012 and they wouldn't do anything. I started childminding from Feb and they were fully aware.

 

I'm in contract until 30th November and am in the process of buying a house so hopefully won't need to remain......

[adridude]

In short yes, normally in AST's there's a clause that says that they only have to give you 24 hours notice to show up to complete repairs. if you aren't present, they will enter (in some contracts too).

 

Mine have clauses about alternative accommodation.. You might want to hunt through your contract about that. My LL offered to pay for a hotel whilst doing my bathroom up, but I declined and stayed with family (preferred mums cooking)

 

If there isn't a clause, I don't know what the legalities behind that are, but it's worth talking to the local housing / housing options team at the council as they might be able to sort out temp accom in a B&B

[SMC1989]

Hi, thanks for the reply. Basically the issue is damp.... Plastering isn't repairing its masking the issue.

 

I think ill just contact the estate agent and shout a little.

[adridude]

Shout in writing and keep copies of everything I had EXACTLY the same issue in my bathroom and when I confronted them with ALOT of paperwork (historical letters), they eventually caved in and ended up stripping the walls, sealing them with a funky black paint, plastering and repainting. They also needed to repoint outside too. Problem was more or less solved then.

 

I'd give Health Services a call at the council first as they know alot more about things like this, especially when it comes to damp, toxic black mould and people with breathing ailments. From what I understand, at a certain point the council can intervene, but I'm not sure how.

[SMC1989]

I'm looking to move anyway. Purchasing a house, just waiting to complete. It's possibly going to be a few months before the tenancy ends.

 

I have to give 1 months notice but tied in until the end of November.

 

I think ill just wait and wait and when I have a date give 2 options:

 

1.) let me out of tenancy early and ill give as much notice as possible and show as many people around as they like whilst being positive about the house. Obviously for no financial penalty or negative effect on my deposit.

 

2.) if they insist on me keeping the tenancy ill give them the 1 month notice and be very honest with any prospective new tenants. I will guarantee its not let by the time I leave.

 

Hopefully they'll take a sensible option

[adridude]

Speak to shelter and see if the LL is in breach of the agreement in any way i.e. not keeping up with repairs, or not offering alternative accommodation during repairs.

 

If they breach, I'm pretty sure that deems the contract void as they've breached it. COnfirm this with shelter tho! Their num is 08088004444. Be prepared to redial a few times as there's rarely a queue, it just says its busy and hangs up lol..But its still a free call

 

Your options seem reasonable.

 

*on the side something funny!* - Reminds me of my brother in law. He was working as a project leader for a construction firm that was abusing him something terrible. Anyway, he found anew job at a bigger firm, a senior position, good salary etc... The company he was at refused to let him go due to a 6 month notice period due to his position. Despite writing letters and being nice, all he was getting in return was rude and suggestive remarks from his superiors. So he went to plan B.. LOL, we all pre-planned this. Night before we all went out, got him absolutely paralytic, stayed up all night.. Next day we took him to work, waited in the car as he went in with a bottle of beer in his hand staggering all over the place.. Fro what he told us when he came back, he went in, told the boss he was a xy and z, poured the remainder of his beer all over the bosses desk and was told to leave or security would escort him out. So he left...

 

lol, I dunno where he found the balls to do that, but we had to pull over as we couldn't drive due to laughing Ah well, he has that new job now Luck has it that he AlALREADY had the reference from them before he went AWOL on them lol

[SMC1989]

Hi All

 

I've finally moved out and bought a house. Since my last post I realised the "loft conversion" hadn't gone through building regs and there was a 4 inch diameter hole in the corner. I had to move my kids out of the room immediately.

 

Given the lack of building regs and the fact it was let as a 3 bed property which was only 2 bed given the inadequate loft conversion is there anything I can do.....

 

Is there anything I can do re the mould, damp, broken back gate and everything listed in earlier posts?

 

The landlord and letting agent are being arsy over the deposit return now so I'm furious.

 

Other issues are:

the house is very damp. As a result there is reoccurring mold in the front room, living room, upstairs landing area. In the downstairs front room the plaster has started crumbling away as a result. The landlord on one occasion sent his Dad (yes his dad) who cleaned the mold off the wall in the front room and fillered and painted a little bit. The mold reappeared within about 2 weeks and the filler is still soft due to the damp.

 

- the electrics have tripped out a few times. Landlords friend (an electrician) said its more down to the fuse box being old. States it's safe though. However he had to blank off one socket as there was damp in it.......

 

- side gate, still not repaired after 12 months.

 

- paint peeling off external walls in rear living room. Someone I know has looked and said its been replastered and not fully dryed before being painted... A mix of human error and damp.

 

- cellar floor always quite wet

 

 

 

 

 

Can I do anything ie take action due to the issues

[SMC1989]

They are being arsy about the deposit return so I'm wondering about action esp in regards to being let a 3 bed house which is really a 2 bed as the loft conversion/3rd bedroom is not safe.

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

As your new thread seems to be about the same property as your previous one, I've merged them. It usually helps the forum guys who are advising if the information is kept together.

 

My best, HB

[raydetinu]

Yes you can sue for the defects and get some rent back in SCC also for your deposit.

If the deposit is in the DPS custodial scheme , claim it back immediately on line; they will then ask LL if there any deductions and you can go from there, dispute if necessary.

They must return deposit that is not in dispute within 14 days.

Action on repairs; see below, should have been notified in writing. at the time.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/23392/ShelterGuide_GettingRepairsDone.pdf

[SMC1989]

Hi

 

Thanks for that. What does "get some rent back in SCC" mean lol.

 

Do I have any grounds to do anything re the loft conversion without building regs, (marketed as a 3 bed house but really only 2)

[raydetinu]

Sue him in Small Claims Court, after first asking him for refund, you must put a figure on it.

Did you use loft? did you write and tell them you could not use it as a bedroom.?

[SMC1989]

It's a nightmare. Ill be happy to just get my deposit back and I'd still settle on this just for a quiet life but just trying to see how much leverage I have.

 

No building regs on loft conversion, a hole in the floor in the corner, no mains powered smoke alarms and no fire door (no door at all to be fair)

 

Together with the mould and damp etc.

 

Problem is some of this is totally unquantifiable regarding putting a monetary value on it.