hetti Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 hi, is anyone able to give me advice on what i should do about a severe damp problem in our privately rented flat. it's so bad that our clothes and wall hanging are going mouldy and its making myself and my partner ill. we have contacted our landlady who says there isn't much she can do other than scrub the walls down and she says shes never had this problem before although i'm fairly certain that she was already aware of the problem as there are dehumidifiers all over the place and the flat was freshly painted before we arrived (possibly to cover up damp patches). she also says its most likely due to condensation from the bathroom but i am certain thats not the case as we always use an extractor fan when in the shower or cooking, and the damp is actually causing the paint on the walls to bubble up as its coming from inside the walls. if anybody could help i'd just like to know what our landladys responsibilities are in terms of possible compensation for all our things we've had to throw away or more importantly to rehouse us for the remainder of our contract. I have enquired about this but she says she has no other properties available to put us in. Is this legal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
never wrong Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 The landlady is duty bound to provide premises that are free from the conditions you describe and can be forced to rectify the situation. Your first port of call is enviromental health who will investigate and suggest the remedy and I am almost sure enforce action to alleviate the problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sTaGeWaLkEr Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Is this legal? This is not acceptable practice. Your landlady has a responsibility to provide you with an acceptable standard of accommodation. This clearly isn't acceptable. I would talk to the Enviromental Health Department and take guidance from them. Also, you could talk to the Citizens Advice Bureaux. The fact that your Landlord would rehouse you if she had any other property available suggests that she acknowledges the damp is an issue. I doubt she would like to live in it, therefore it's not really fair she should expect others to. Particularly when money is exchanging hands. Hope you get sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musey Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Just out of interest have you had a look at the exterior of the property, if it is water penetration causing the problem you might be able to spot what the cause is. For example a broken gutter or damaged fall pipe. Do you dry clothes in the property? If so that can be a common cause of condensation issues. Do you keep the window in the bedroom slightly open? This will help where condensation is an issue. How much water do the dehumidifiers pull out a day? And do they pull more out when it's been raining? If so this would indicate a problem with the exterior. Is there evidence of a damp proof course. The previous posters are quite right in saying that it is unacceptable to be expected to live with mould, however washing the walls with a mild bleach solution could provide some temporary relief for you whilst the issues are being sorted out. Often (not saying this is the case for you) the problems can be caused by tenant lifestyle. Call Sheffield City Council's private rented standards dept they will advise you much better than we can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hetti Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share Posted September 26, 2006 Thanks everyone for your help! I've contacted environmental health to get some advice and we're hopefully moving out as soon as possible with our deposit in tact. My partner is busy scrubbing down the walls today as suggested (thanks Musey) but I'm pretty certain its a general damp problem in the building as the other tenant of the ground floor is having similar problems and we never dry clothes indoors as they simply wouldn't dry in the damp atmosphere. The dehumidifier is hard at work pulling out up to a full bucket of water a day and we've taken all our mouldy clothes to the laundrette, so I think we're just going to try and make things as comfortable as we can until we can get out of there. We've decided we would like to make the environmental health department aware of the problem just so that the next tenant doesn't have to suffer the same problem. Thanks again everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medusa Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 If there is a chronic damp problem with the building then I think you're taking the best course of action in removing as much mould as possible and then getting yourselves to a place that's got a healthier atmosphere as soon as possible. Arm yourself with as much ammunition in the form of photographs and evidence as you can, and see the issue about money and leases with your landlady as a separate problem- your health matters far more than the money issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musey Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 I think you are taking the best course of action, again I would recommend calling Private Rented Standards, so they can be aware of an issue with this property/landlord. I would also recommend sending your concerns in a letter (recorded delivery) to your landlady this will pre-empt any possibility of her claiming ignorance and that you didn't make her aware of the problem. Are there any potential prolems outside such as gutters/downpipes that are in a poor state of repair, sometimes something as simple as that left over a long period will cause water penetration, I appreciate you chouldn't need to do this but if it makes your current situation any better then probably worth the effort. I'm not suggesting getting ladders out or anything like that just have a look around what you can see from the ground. It may well be an issue with poor roof repair also that is allowing water to penetrate. Perhaps start making a attempt to look for other accommodation, it is likely if internal works are recommended then you will not want to stay in the property. Out of interest, is the property a HMO? See this link for info on what is/isn't a HMO http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1151996 This is another reason why Private Rented Standards could be helpful, the property may require other works to make it suitable for this sort of use. I ask this as you mention a tenant in a ground floor flat. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coops Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 We had the exact same problem in a flat we rented in Leeds. We had a bedroom with an ensuite and even though it has an extractor fan all the clothes in the wardrobe used to go mouldy.It turned out to be a broken pipe under the bathroom floor. It us that diagnosed it,the landlady was extremely unhelpful offering us no compensation and simply supplying dehuimidiers that cost a fortune to run Good luck hope it all works out. A letter sent recorded deliver may scare them into action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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