House issue and landlord

[Central]

Firstly just a bit of a back ground.

Me, my partner, my partners daughter and my son (Who stops every other weekend) moved into this property in July 2013. We have paid fully and on time every month and we have made small improvements to the house.

About 6-7 months ago we noticed in our cupboard in the bedroom there was some damp coming through. We had rang and texted the landlord to get this fixed and eventually he did. Then about a month the damp started to come through.

Again we rang and we got told to buy a heater to keep it warm in the cupboard and he would contact the company who fixed it before. We heard nothing for two weeks so I called again. This time he came to visit the property and had a look and again said he would contact the company.

I had to call again on Saturday to find out what was going on. He told me that the company did not get back to him and he would get something sorted this week.

But the mould is getting worse. We have had to empty the cupboard and we cant use it.

Also our tenancy was up in Feb and we have not had a new one yet.

Is there any advice anyone can give regarding the mould and the tenancy?

Many thanks

[Stephen]

In regards to the tenancy, depending on the lease type and how long you have been there you may not get a new one. Your existing one should mention that.

As for the mould, if he is not fixing it then you could call the councils environmental health department to get them to look in to it. The may deem it a risk to health and you may have to move out? You can probably go to your local council or housing office in this situation and get put on the housing list with them due to being made homeless.

Sounds a bit extreme but I recently had a similar situation with a dodgy landlord.

[Central]

We have looked at going to the council but we dont want to pee off the landlord and suddenly he wants us out.

[Osem]

Mould is due to damp/humidity. The mould in the bedroom cupboard is probably due to condensation but there could be an external cause if it's on an outside wall. for example. Condensation will obviously be worse during the winter months when we tend to keep windows shut and moisture in the atmosphere builds up in our houses. Ventilation will help as would using a dehumidifier but to get the full benefit the cupboard will need to be left open and kept empty until it's dried out properly. If there is no possibility of the damp coming from an exterior source then the long term solution is to improve the ventilation in the bedroom to reduce humidity levels. Heating the space would work but, without a dehumidifier or ventilation, will only result in the condensation appearing and causing issues somewhere else.

[Central]

We have looked at the roof and part of the wood where the eaves are )Sorr I dont know the right word) looks like its bowing.

And yes the damp/mould is on a exterior wall

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by Central

We have looked at going to the council but we dont want to pee off the landlord and suddenly he wants us out.

He wouldn't be able to do that. He would still have to give you the notice as stated in your lease agreement.

[Central]

Which would be 2 months as I am told i am on a rolling contract

[nomadking]

For a wall with a condensation problem, use a bathroom paint with anti-mould agent in it. A quick fix is to use a strong bleach solution.

[Osem]

Whatever the cause, ventilation and drying is going to help, however, if the damp is coming from outside it won't go away for good until the problem is fixed whether it be a leaking roof, overflowing gutter, defective pointing or whatever.

Once dried out, bleach can be used to kill the mould in situ but we prefer to use vinegar which works just as well and is great if you like having chips in bed.

[Central]

I have been reading a site where if we write to the landlord and he still does nothing we can then move forward by getting 3 estimates and sending them.

If he still doesn't repair it then we can use the rent to pay for the cheapest ones.

http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/201...work-yourself/

Is there any truth in this?

[Osem]

Can't answer the above but if it is condensation, then the warmer weather ought to see it improve. If it's damp from outside, depending on the cause, it will either reappear when it rains a lot or remain pretty much the same. Heaters don't remove humidity, only good ventilation or a dehumidifier will do that. Bedroom cupboards are cool places with little airflow and after a night during which 2 adults have been breathing, there's bound to be a build up of warm moist air which will condense on cool surfaces, especially if all the windows are closed. The problem's also going to be worse if damp washing is being dried in the room for example, or if it's adjacent to a bathroom which isn't properly ventilated at bath/shower time. If you have lots of condensation on your windows every morning that's a good indicator of the problem.

If it were me I'd try to work out what's likely to be causing it and then approach the landlord with the possible solution. A dehumidifier won't cost much and will be easy to install so he may agree to provide one as a cheap and quick way to alleviate the problem and work out what the best long term solution is.

Just one other thing, condensation tends to cause black mildew on surfaces like walls, wallpaper etc. rather than serious fungus, rotting wood or blowing plaster. A few pictures of what the problem actually looks like would help with establishing the likely cause.

[Central]

I have some pics which I will show you what I mean.

This is where I think the water is getting in







And this is the cupboard which in the roof space of the above picture.





I have cleaned the mould.

This is what it looked like 3 days ago


Hope this helps

[Osem]

I'm no builder but to me that looks more like a typical condensation problem and if the other factors I mentioned apply then I'd probably bet on it. The brickwork outside doesn't look damp/green and I reckon if significant water was getting inside from the roof, the damage in your cupboard would be far worse. The flashing under the gutter looks a bit poor and there is a gap in the woodwork but all that is under the soffit so unless there's a leak from the gutter/roof above it I don't see much water getting in that way.

Presuming your room is on an upper floor, any idea what's directly below your cupboard and whether there's a similar damp problem there? If there isn't it adds weight to the condensation theory I'd have thought.