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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think my landlord is an idiot?

31 replies

Ella1980 · 18/02/2019 17:02

Long story short, I rented this two-bed we are in five years ago after I left an abusive ex. I live in it with my fiance now and two boys (9 and 11) who I share 50:50 custody of with their dad. When I moved in it was liveable in but my mum and I spent a lot of time into decorating it (with landlord permission) to make it look lovely. The loud red walls were changed to a pretty mushroom and both bedrooms and hallway fully decorated more neutrally. I keep it very clean and tidy.
But I have been telling him for years that we are starting to get a mould problem. It's now got really bad. We haven't been able to open our bathroom room window for three years as it was broken-only fixed literally today. I kept asking him to get it looked at.
He says it's our fault because we have too much stuff and we must keep the heating on 24/7.
I'm really being affected by this mentally.
We cannot afford to move.
Any advice much appreciated.

OP posts:
TheRiverIsAComfort · 18/02/2019 17:10

I found a de-humidifier to be a help but, hopefully, now that the window can be opened, things will improve.

There are also some products which will remove the mould.

If you do dry very wet washing in the flat, that might be a contributor.

It's true that heating will help but I very much doubt that many of us could afford-or even want to-keep it on 24/7. That seems a silly request.

MsSquiz · 18/02/2019 17:16

Is the mould in the bathroom? If so, it will be due to lack of ventilation as you were unable to open the window (and I presume there is no extractor?)

I would get some mould cleaner, and ask him to instruct a painter to repaint the bathroom, as well as use a sealant under the paint that will prevent the mould returning.
Take photos of the mould, and email him so you have proof that you have spoken to him about this. (May be necessary when you do come to move out, if he tries to make a claim against your deposit)

I would also suggest a dehumidifier if you regularly dry very wet laundry on radiators - again, it's poor ventilation and damp air circulating

anniehm · 18/02/2019 17:21

A dehumidifier will help as will not drying washing inside, or at least running the dehumidifier when you do. Too much stuff pushed right against walls is a problem too - whilst this often cannot be helped try to ensure air can move around freely to outside walls

Original poster
Ella1980 · 18/02/2019 17:24

Aw thanks all . We have a dehumidifier we now use a lot (very expensive electricity bill!) and it does help but not significantly. Nothing is dried on rads. No extractors anywhere in the house, a flat roof and a cold conservatory and dining room (outside wall).

OP posts:
Fairenuff · 18/02/2019 17:33

The LL should have got the window fixed but as he didn't I personally would have got it fixed myself. Shouldn't have to do that but 3 years is a long time to live with mould waiting for someone else to do it.

LilQueenie · 18/02/2019 17:35

A law just passed in the uk that lets you sue your landlord if they don't fix damp and mould problems. If you can get hold someone to test for damp they can tell you if it is condensation or not. They basically test the walls with a laser thing. takes seconds.

Thesuzle · 18/02/2019 17:37

Hi
It is a criminal offence to allow mould to be in a property for which you charge rent..
Speak to your council environmental health team and get the relevant law /code and quote it to your landlord. It will put a rocket under him.
Assuming he’s a private landlord. If not and you are council renting. Still go down the same route and also complain to your housing association liaison officer..

ThreeAnkleBiters · 18/02/2019 17:37

YADNBU that he's a dick. I'd keep a record if communication with him and keep track of what you've done to mitigate the issue. Now the window is fixed it should improve. As PP suggested a dehumidifier may also be of use.

Original poster
Ella1980 · 18/02/2019 17:40

It's privately rented. He just doesn't want to put his hand in his pocket. There is a clause in contract which states as tenants we can't authorise repairs without prior consent of landlord hence why we couldn't get window fixed.

OP posts:
Merryoldgoat · 18/02/2019 17:44

Where is the mould and how warm do you keep your house? How well ventilated is it?

HalloumiGus · 18/02/2019 17:51

You need to open windows every day in all rooms keep the property adequately heated and use a dehumidifier in any room with laundry drying even if just on a rack. Check it's not a problem with roof or guttering either.

Original poster
Ella1980 · 18/02/2019 20:06

Like this in quite a few areas of the house.

To think my landlord is an idiot?
OP posts:
scaryteacher · 18/02/2019 20:44

www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/landlords-sue-cold-damp-homes-law-tenants-renting-housing-a8776671.html

I am unsure what a landlord can do about natural light as per the link above, or the internal arrangements of a house. Defective design isn't a landlord's fault either - the property I currently rent was built in 1774, and the one I rent out was built in 1837.

Sometimes damp and mould are the fault of the tenants...despite keeping the rent very low for 6 years, as I wanted the house occupied, and because we knew oil was expensive at the time; one set of tenants did not heat the house, and wanted to me to lower the rent further and pay for the oil. It cost me a fair bit to repair the damage they had done.

Original poster
Ella1980 · 18/02/2019 21:33

We have the heating on a lot but damp expert that came out last week said there were not enough radiators in the property. We can't, however, afford to keep the heating on 24/7. We put the dehumidifier on a lot but again this has added a lot to our electricity bills. No vents at all in any windows.

OP posts:
OftenHangry · 18/02/2019 21:38

Are you airing it propely? It can help a bit at least. I had mini mould issue but as soon as I got into a habbit to open doors including outside and let the draft through the room for 5 min evety morning, it dissapeared. Also keep your furniture 2 inches away from walls so air can circulate.

But yeah. Hit on lnadlord sknce an expert said it needs more radiators!

FunkySnidge · 18/02/2019 21:39

That does look like condensation caused by cold spots. However you are a bit stuck if there aren't enough rads in the property to warm things up enough to stop the problem. Putting that right will be very disruptive if you could eventually convince the landlord to carry out the work, or very expensive if you resort to electric rads.

Is there any way you can think about your options to move?

Spanglyprincess1 · 18/02/2019 21:40

Had a tenant who complained about mouod and it was assessed as their fault as 1) they were overcrowded 2) they blocked up all the trickle vents in the rooms and never ever opened windows or aired the place.
Do you ahve vents in the rooms and are they free of furniture and open? Do you regularly open the windows and air the property.
The bathroom window being broken won't helps Nd that should ahve been repaired but would only explain an issue in the bathroom really

DopeyDazy · 18/02/2019 21:41

I rinse shower with cold water squeegee then dry it with a flannel and its mint. It's a pain but the water goes into the air and causes mould,

MrsSchadenfreude · 18/02/2019 21:48

We had tenants who complained of mould. The agent said that they had taped over all of the air bricks, stuffed newspaper up the chimney, never opened any of the windows, didn’t put the heating on for more than an hour a day and dried their clothes on the radiators rather than the tumble drier. It took us years after they had gone to get rid of the mould - we’d lived in the flat for years and had never had a problem before.

Original poster
Ella1980 · 18/02/2019 22:43

We don't have any vents at all in any windows or air bricks etc. I do open windows when we are at home but then of course in the winter the house gets really cold. We have our heating on a lot too (but not 24/7). I guess the landlord could say it's because four of us are now in a two-bed although of course I did seek his permission before my partner moved in. Also, kids only live with us half of the time. We do use the tumble dryer but admittedly not frequently as it's too expensive. Clothes don't go on rads to dry.
Not sure what else we can do?

OP posts:
WhenISnappedAndFarted · 18/02/2019 22:48

My landlord did this, it got worse and worse until most of the rooms were covered from the floor to ceiling in mold. I ended up in hospital and they say that the mold had triggered asthma (which I'd never had before) and now on inhalers for the rest of my life - so don't leave it.

We gave the landlord chance after chance and eventually got enviromental health in and Shelter helped us break our contract, because he had refused to let us go and we couldn't afford to just leave.

Shelter were very helpful.

scaryteacher · 19/02/2019 07:49

I manage to keep our rental, which has no vents, trickle or otherwise, no mechanical ventilation etc free of mould. We leave the bathroom window open with the door shut after showering, even in winter, which stops any build up of mould in the bathroom.

We have ancient under floor heating here, which doesn't always reach where it should, and the radiators in the kitchen, ds's computer room, and the third bathroom, don't seem to get heat to them. There isn't much double glazing either...but we are in Belgium, where the rules of how a house should be for letting are somewhat more elastic than in the UK. The landlord's fixer was quite surprised that I required central lights in the bedrooms and sitting room when we moved in!

I find opening the windows, even for a short while in winter helps as well.

We also have plug in towel airers from Lakeland, enough to get a couple of bath towels on. These take the chill off a room, and will dry a pair of jeans overnight to boot. Very cheap to run as well.

Horsemenoftheaclopalypse · 19/02/2019 07:51

Some good advice here in the interim get jif bleach and mould spray it works a treat...

CuriousaboutSamphire · 19/02/2019 08:01

Not the Jif stuff, get HG mould spray. It is by far the most effective spray available in shops.

Unfortunatley you have a poor combination of inadequate heating and lifestyle. If your home is cluttered, overwarm and relatively unaired then you will get damp.

I'd check your dehumidifier too. Most reports on the say they cost from 48p to £1.56 per week to run. You may have another item that is using up electricitry that you have not found as you are assuming it is the dehumidifier! We run one every day, all year round. It has not added to the bill as it has saved us money in heating!

VeryFoolishFay · 19/02/2019 08:07

We live in a very old place on a stream and struggled with damp and mould. They had fitted brand new windows with no trickle vents just before we took it on, which made it worse as there were now no draughts!

Our landlords are pretty good and I complained a few months ago so they came round with a surveyor who made lots of suggestions.

They tanked one of the worst walls and installed lots of humidity controlled fans, improving the airflow. It's a much nicer place to live!

Encouraging to see the law being changed though.