To ask landlord to replace expensive custom blinds

[PossiblyUpossiblyNot]

I live in a private rented flat and have been here three years.

I have continued problems with damp caused by the windows which comes back each time I treat it. You can see some of this in the picture I will attatch.

Landlord knows about it and has had the place redecorated but it comes back.

As a result of this happening constantly the white blinds look awful, not helped by the fact I have to use mould spray on them regularly which has began to weaken the fabric itself. Three years of this happening and they look shit.

Confession: I have a child with ASD who is obsessed with the blinds and keeps pulling the weights out of the bottom which is also driving me mad and contributing to me wanting to change them.. but they are shit nevertheless.

As you can see the windows are huge so the blinds will have to be custom made I assume.

I can't afford to replace them myself so would I be unreasonable to ask the landlord to?

I'm asking to gauge who's responsibility you ladies think it is before I potentially make myself look like a CF.

OP you need to get an electric dehumidifier and use it. It's worth paying for a decent one that switches itself on if the air is too humid. Also kill and clean up the mould.

If the mould then comes back when you leave the dehumidifier on all the time, you need to talk to your neighbours in your building particularly the flat above you and those next to you on the same floor to see if they have problems. If they do email your landlord as it is something he needs to notify the freeholder/property management company about.

I only use the heating in winter months, the rest of the year the place is humid and warm itself.

In spring/summer/part of autumn when it's warm the flat isn't pleasant. It has been unbearable this summer.

My kitchen and living room are one open plan space so I guess the heat from the oven and hobs don't help matters, but I do have my windows open to help with that.

It looks as though the windows are metal, so if they leak you might well be getting condensation on them. If so you need to use a *window wiper to clean and dry windows every day, also run a dehumidifier, especially if you've got damp washing. Speak to your LL about putting up a rail and buy second hand curtains. I don't know what's in the mould cleaner but one of our councillors was advising people on fb to use diluted white vinegar (55p) and not bleach based cleaners.

*Mum used to do this daily with the wooden window in our kitchen, she put an old towel to catch the drips. This was 50's and the kitchen was an original bedroom.

@PossiblyUpossiblyNot
I would like to move but I just don't have the funds at the moment. I live in London and we all know what the housing sector is like here

Have you looked at what you would be able to get if you moved? A lot of people are moving out of London at the moment and the rental market is taking quite a nosedive. Prices are a lot cheaper than they were 9 months ago - you might be surprised at what you can find (and it also might be worth pointing out to your landlord it's really in his interests to keep the property in good nick because if you do move out a slightly mouldy flat will be a lot more difficult to re-let than previously!)

If the flat is leasehold, replacement of the windows might be the responsibility of the management company, although the leaseholders will pay. Some leases put the responsibility directly onto the Leaseholder -your LL- although the specification could be down to the management company. (Been round the houses on this, including a Tribunal). It could be that the LL can't replace the windows but the whole block need to be done together.
You can ask the LL to remove the blinds, get it in writing. However depending on your agreement he may not need to replace them.

I really appreciate all of your advice it's very helpful, thank you.

I will be looking into getting an electric dehumidifier as a matter of priority. I'm also keen to change the blinds for curtains in the mean time. I'll have to measure up and have a look around, I can just see it being a PITA because the drop is massive and there are two separate blinds up (one running from the side and then another which stretches the width of the front window)

Mould is a massive problem in flats as most people are then forced to dry their washing on a relatively enclosed space. Has the landlord provided dehumidifiers that might help. Also use your tumble drier if you have one.

I've just had a lightbulb moment.

Did somebody upthread mention net curtains? I could get two sets of those and run them across from the middle of the windows. That way I could keep the blinds open (hiding the horrible mould from the view of neighbours and passers by) and still have a semblance of privacy.

It's not a permanent solution but it'll help the aesthetics in the mean time whilst I find curtains/discuss with LL.

Static opaque window film could be an answer too relatively cheap! Just take blinds down

The reason you are advised not to use bleach on walls etc is that it doesn't kill the mould and it can regrow.

I used to have huge issues with mould in a previous rental, turns out the internal (so no windows) bathroom fan wasn't connected to anywhere so it was sucking all the moisture out of the bathroom and depositing into the ceiling!! This was discovered by the next tenants, as I eventually had enough of being told it was me not ventilating it enough despite having the windows open every single day regardless of if it was cold or warm. I used an electric dehumidifier (eventually provided by the landlord) and it really helped, but by this time I was sick to death of everything I owned getting mouldy!

The blinds won't be cheap but I don't imagine they would need to be custom made they are just full length blinds?

I recently installed blinds across French doors and a four pane (average size) window and that was £500

100%percent agree that the mould problem needs to be fixed/consider moving. HOWEVER, I would also take those horrible blinds down and get my own curtains. I understand it's the landlords responsibility but as a fellow tenant it's one way you can actually decorate in a rented flat. I reckon one set of ikea curtains would cover that window, it just covers my large bay window. If they don't quite fit IKEA apparently have a service where they will sew 2 sets of curtains together. I have blackout ones and I love them, if they are too long you can hem them but mine arent too bad (old victorian house with high ceilings). I'll just stick up the landlords curtains when we leave.

Do you have an extractor fan over your cooker? If you do, leave it running as much as you can. This will reduce the humidity.

But as others have said, no point replacing blinds of the underlying issue isn’t dealt with

I bought a fixer-up with massive damp issues. No builder sorted it out with their various anti-damp solutions, so I did some research. My home is now dry, mould-free and does not smell. Cheap anti-mould sprays have bleach in them which just changes the colour of the mould spores. They will grow back where there is humidity. A safer, more effective and cheaper solution is white vinegar. You can buy 5l containers from ebay that are food grade. It does not smell too bad. I cannot see if the windows are UPVC or not. If they are, there could be a number of easy to remedy issues with them. One is that a rubber seals is built into the frame and that degrades over time. It lets heat out of the building, but also lets moisture inside. If there are no vents in the windows, then there are kits that can be bought on ebay and in similar places that a builder or handyperson could drill into the frame. I did this, and it made a difference. It may also require holes to be drilled in the brickwork. A surveyor told me to knock one room down as it was so wet. That would have cost thousands, so I drilled two small vent holes in the brickwall and added a vent. It is now dry, no mould spores and cost me less than £100 for materials including the power drill for the job.

An electric dehumidifier is your friend for dealing with moisture within the property. If you get no-where with the landlord, ask environmental health to visit and they can enforce the building works. However, only do this as a last resort because your landlord may take revenge in serving a notice to quit on you.

@Waveysnail

Static opaque window film could be an answer too relatively cheap! Just take blinds down

Yes! And more aesthetically pleasing than net curtains perhaps..

Going to look on eBay now!

Why then mention of your child having ASD? Virtually every post people just have to mention this or SN or autism! Children can be told no it's not relevant to the story!! It's getting as fashionable as ' I have mental health' or 'anxiety' lol You want you take down the blinds so do so but keep them for when you leave.the property, it's not that hard!!

That looks like condensation. You can buy a dehumidifier for a reasonable price these days. I have an Ebac one & then you can take it with you when you move. They are very cheap to run & will make a big difference.

Coincidentally, I have a windowless bathroom and the extractor fan in there does sod all as the bathroom gets damp regardless of how often I have the fan on.

Also, i do have an extractor fan above my cooker but that has packed in when my oven did. Landlord replaced the oven and sent an electrician out who said it's as good as buggered (the extractor) but no replacement in sight. I assume because LL doesn't think it's as essential as the oven.

You lot are brilliant I can't thank you enough for the sterling advice and suggestions here.

I felt down in the dumps when I posted but feeling a bit more optimistic now I've had options suggested!

Op you need to put the measurements into a site like blinds2go to see how much they cost, people can’t guess from the pics.

If the blinds came with the property it’s the landlords job to replace.

@HoppyHop

We have this problem too and on getting advice ours is a ventilation problem. Landlord bought a dehumidifier and this has solved the problem (& my washing dries much quicker!). Regarding the blinds they do need changing. Could you offer to contribute and then you could choose what you want?

Ah drying washing in the property is a major cause of damp. You need to dry washing in bathroom and close doors and leave windows open. The water in the wet washing has to go somewhere and it usually condenses on a cold surface such as window or outside wall. Similarly ventilation is essential after cooking or showering. Remedy is in your hands - open windows to let steam out. It’s not always the fault of the landlord

I was going to suggest privacy window vinyls as well, B&Q etc usually also sell it.

@PossiblyUpossiblyNot

I will bare mentholated spirt in mind, thank you.

Until now I've been using shop bought mould spray.

It's very frustrating as I do ventilate the flat.

My kitchen and living room are one room so I can't avoid cooking in here but maybe that adds to it?

The windows are def an issue though.

If there is a persistent damp issue elsewhere then it's possible there's always a lot of moisture in the air which collects on the windows but that is still condensation.

Not nice to have to live with that. Hope your landlord will help in some way.