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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Wibu to ask for a reduction in rent so I can buy 'stuff' due to mould damage (sorry, long!)

165 replies

extremepie · 23/06/2014 09:48

I'm fully prepared to accept I may BU, just thought I'd gather some opinions.

I live in a flat that was recently renovated after being left empty for 18 months. When I moved in the landlady told me that because it had been empty for so long and with all the wet weather we had over the winter it was likely we might have a lot of moisture in the walls etc so might expect some damp issues, but that as the weather warmed up and if we were good about keeping windows open, ventilation etc it should be fine.

We've been living here about 4 months now and the damp problem is pretty bad - in my bedroom there will be pools of water on the windowsill and floor from the condensation, which doesn't seem to improve much whether I keep the windows open or not. The only time it does improve is when I have the window open constantly which, being a ground floor flat, I can't really do!

There are areas of the hallway near the bathroom where there is horrible, furry black mould growing on the walls - this also grows on the wall in my bedroom, on the windowsill in the kitchen, the living room and the kids bedrooms. Ds's bedroom has a big built in cupboard thing in his room and it grows in there too. It grows on the wall behind the sofa and on the back of the sofa itself, it grows on my tv unit and the legs of my table and chairs. It has even grown on the underside of Ds's mattress! It is everywhere!

When the flat was being renovated the landlady said I could choose my own paint for the walls, so I did and painted virtually the whole flat myself. She also let me choose the colours of carpet so I could make it feel like my own (she is lovely :) ). However, since this mould is constantly growing on the walls I have had to scrub it and bleach it so many times that every single room I took considerable expense and time to paint has now got damaged paintwork and in some of the rooms the carpets have marks on from the mould which I cant seem to remove :(

I do feel like it may be partially my fault as I have a tumble dryer, but I have no way to vent it, where the cupboard is for the dryer there is no way to access a window to vent it with a tube, the radiators are electric so I cant dry anything on them and I have no outside space at all (garden, balcony etc) to dry things so I have to use a tumble dryer.

Wibu to ask if I could have a reduction in the rent temporarily to buy a condenser for my tumble dryer and buy new paint to repaint the walls? The only room which is pretty much unscathed by the mould is Ds2's room because I indadvertedly painted his room with bathroom paint (I liked the colour :D), which has an anti mould thing in it so despite his bedroom being right next to Ds's, his room has no mould and Ds2's does. Ideally I'd like to replace Ds's mattress too as I really don't want him sleeping on a mouldy mattress!

I know it isn't her fault about the mould but I'm just getting so fed up with it now, I've gone through bottles and bottles of anti mould sprays and cleaners, keep the windows open as much as I can but it still just grows back within a few weeks!

OP posts:
extremepie · 23/06/2014 10:52

Erm, no, I haven't caused any damage to her property Chipped, once the mould has been cleaned off and repainted it will be fine! I'm not 'wanting her to foot the bill' I'm asking opinions on whether or not this is mainly caused by my dryer and therefore I should swallow the redecorating costs myself (which I will do now) or if there was an underlying issue in the flat and therefore it would be reasonable to ask for a temporary reduction in the rent so I have the money to rectify those problems.

I didn't for a judgement about my overall personality/laziness, that's why you were fucking rude!

Why can't you just answer the question, offer a opinion on the subject in hand without a free side order of judgement? No need for it, it is rude and nasty!

OP posts:
extremepie · 23/06/2014 10:57

Laurie, I don't think moving it would help as all the windows in the flat are those top opening ones so the hose still wouldn't reach - I can't put it in the kids bedrooms and there isn't the space for it in my bedroom or the living room :(

I'll try the condenser box I've bought and see if it helps at all, I have damp traps all over the flat but dehumidifiers are reeeeeally expensive :/

OP posts:
Damnautocorrect · 23/06/2014 10:58

You won't know if there's an underlying condition for a good few months of letting it dry out.
you may have damaged the plaster and woodwork. I've one wall in my house where the plaster and paint is flaking off and skirting coming away. But mines presumably years of damp. So if yours is short term you might be ok.

WooWooOwl · 23/06/2014 11:00

If there's mould on the carpets, you have caused damage to her property. If there's pools of water on the windowsills, then they are probably being damaged too. Because you haven't tried to rectify the problem as soon as it occurred, and have actively contributed to it, the ll would be within her rights to withold some or all of your deposit, at least to have the carpets replaced.

Unfortunately there's no way of knowing whether the problem would have been present if you hadn't had the tumble drier, but either way you will have undoubtably made it worse if it was.

Damnautocorrect · 23/06/2014 11:01

Dehumidifiers are expensive to run as well.
Your in the right time of year to try and dry it without, so fingers crossed, not drying inside, sunny days and open windows sort it.

Chippednailvarnish · 23/06/2014 11:03

damaged paintwork and in some of the rooms the carpets have marks on from the mould which I cant seem to remove

All of which she paid for.

I'm not being "rude and nasty" I pointing out that you have contributed toward an avoidable problem and were being completely unreasonable to ask her to pay towards your damage.

Not everyone has a tumble dryer and outside space to dry their clothes, but they would never use an unvented tumble dryer with the windows closed.

extremepie · 23/06/2014 11:04

I didn't give a deposit (they didn't ask for one) but if the carpet did need replacing then thats fine, fair enough - if I stay here long enough I would probably replace them myself anyway as they have black marks on them - only the living room and the kids bedrooms are carpeted, everything else is tiled, including the windowsills so they are fine :)

OP posts:
specialsubject · 23/06/2014 11:05

the mould is almost certainly caused by spraying humid air into the property. That needs sorting at once. If adding the condenser and a big cleanup doesn't solve it, get back to the LL for further advice. But you've made the place so damp it will take a while to dry.

you say there is no outside space; might also be worth asking the LL if there is any access to anywhere for a drying line. Is the place really straight on to the road with no surrounds at all?

as for damage to your property; that is what your tenant's insurance is for, although it may not pay in this case.

expatinscotland · 23/06/2014 11:05

Those condenser boxes are useless.

WooWooOwl · 23/06/2014 11:06

You didn't pay a deposit? Shock

You are very lucky in that your landlady sounds like a complete mug. But taking advantage of that really wouldn't make you a nice person, so I hope you don't.

extremepie · 23/06/2014 11:08

I DO OPEN THE WINDOWS CHIPPED, I HAVE SAID IT SEVERAL TIMES NOW!! Try reading the thread! Also, calling me lazy IS rude, nasty and uncalled for really. Oh, also I PAID for the paint and did the painting in almost all of he rooms so no expense to her, just the carpets. Again, try reading the thread!

I can't not dry inside Damn but will do as much as possible to dry it out over the summer!

OP posts:
extremepie · 23/06/2014 11:12

Yes special, it just leads straight out onto the pavement and has no 'back' so to speak as there is another flat at the back, I have no balcony, no garden, no outside space at all :)

No, I wont be taking advantage of her, she has been very nice, this is why I wasnt sure if it would be reasonable to ask her. Obviously now I wont I will just cover the costs myself!

OP posts:
Chippednailvarnish · 23/06/2014 11:12

I do leave the windows open whenever possible just not 100% of the time

[Shrugs]. Oh well, your DS is the one sleeping on a mattress with mould on it.

I'll leave you to enjoy your mouldy flat.

extremepie · 23/06/2014 11:14

I'm pretty sure the people in the other flats own theirs so the LL won't be able to provide me with a washing line, I also have no where to put rubbish so I just have to store them in the flat until bin day :/

OP posts:
extremepie · 23/06/2014 11:17

So you'd prefer it if I left them open 100% of the time and potentially invite burglers in? Also potentially invalidating any contents insurance I might have?

Oh an also have been advised not to by the police as a security issue since I have a rapist who knows where I live and lives close by (not really relevant as such but it is another reason I don't and can't leave all the windows open all the time!)

OP posts:
firstchoice · 23/06/2014 11:23

I briefly used a non vented tumble dryer in my own basement.
HUGE mistake. Had to chuck loads of old books etc.

Let you Landlady see the extent of the problem but she may serve you notice when she does.

The whole place will need bleaching, allowing to dry, and bleaching again.

You CANNOT use this type of dryer - as I found to my cost.

The mould is a health hazard and should not be ignored.

firstchoice · 23/06/2014 11:27

I understand as I have no outside space and am 32m from a launderette! It is not easy.

I now have a tumble upstairs in the kitchen and leave the window open.
I tumble for 10m max to get the creases out and then dry on rads.
It's not good.

I was thinking of one of those Lakeland warmed zipup jobs too.

specialsubject · 23/06/2014 11:27

ah -nix the outside space idea then.

I also detect naive landlady given she didn't take a deposit.

BitterAndOnlySlightlyTwisted · 23/06/2014 11:27

If you're using a non-condensing dryer with no venting to the outside then you are not partially contributing to the condensation and consequent mould, you are totally responsible for it.

If you don't tackle the root-cause of the mould you are creating you either wash down the walls with a dilute bleach solution and completely redecorate before leaving or fully expect your landlord to seek compensation for the damage you have caused.

Regardless of what problems you are suffering, even if they were outwith your control, you are not legally entitled to a rent-reduction. That is completely in the gift of your landlord.

SoonToBeSix · 23/06/2014 11:29

People are being ridiculous about the dryer the mould is not being caused by the dryer it won't help but it is not the main problem.

LumieresForMe · 23/06/2014 11:29

I am in two minds about it. We've had lots of problems with damp in the bathroom because ... We are line drying all out clothes there. No tumble drier.
We've had all the issues you describe, black mould, water dripping down but it has always only affected the bathroom, nit the other rooms. And we certainly haven't had any issue of mouldy carpet or mattresses, even in the bedrooms next to the bathroom.

So I would say, yes a condensing dryer us a must but u am nit convinced this us the

LumieresForMe · 23/06/2014 11:31

Sorry ...
I am not convinced this is the only issue.

Get a new drier and see how it goes. If you still gave some issues, then go and gave a word with the LL. Until you do you are likely to get the same answers than from here.

extremepie · 23/06/2014 11:31

She does know that I'm using it, she has been inside and seen the mould and stuff at times and never really mentioned it, never said it was the dryer causing the issue, never had a problem with me using it etc!

Hence my posting on here as I thought, since she knew I was using the dryer and had seen the mould, if she thought that was causing he problem she would have said! Maybe she didn't realise that it was that big a problem (as I didn't).

FWIW, in my last property not far from here we also had fairly bad damp problems but that was with the dryer being vented out of the window at all times and we still had it. Maybe the area is also quite damp in general! Will look into a dehumidifier, is there any point in getting a small one? The cheapest I can find is about £50 but its tiny, would it still help if I just empty is regularly?

OP posts:
extremepie · 23/06/2014 11:36

Also, with one of those heated airer things wouldn't that also just be putting the moisture back into the air in a similar way to the tumbledryer? Sorry, never used one so I have no idea :/

OP posts:
Tanacot · 23/06/2014 11:40

I'm sorry but that is condensation and not damp. You need to stop using your tumble dryer. Get a ceiling airer if you can, and put a Simple Ecoair with laundry function underneath it (this will be cheaper to run than the tumble anyway).

Even just drying clothes on radiators can cause quite severe black mould. A typical load of washing releases approx 2.5 litres of water into the air while drying.

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