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.

Thanks again for the continued advice and suggestions!

I'm going to hunt down my tape measure and measure the width and drop of the windows then put those into the sites reccomeded here, to see what sort of price I would be looking at for new.

I'm going to call LL next week (he's on holiday atm) and discuss the ongoing problem with the damp and ask him again to look into the issue and ask if he could supply a dehumidifier. I'll give him the quotes I get for the blinds and see what he says. If he doesn't want to pay for them then I'll go ahead with curtains and buy them myself.

In the mean time I'm going to B&Q to get some of that window privacy film, it's only £7 per roll(?) and I can cut it to fit the individual squares I think. Even if I need two rolls that's only £14.

That'll enable me to take these god awful blinds down and store them away

The landlord needs to get the problem sorted, it's not your issue whether it's his responsibility or the Freeholders - it's not yours!

I wouldn't do anything about the blinds until this has been sorted.

It's unsafe to be living as you are.

Definitely look at current rental properties & see if there are any benefits/grants/advances/loans to help you move into a new place.

You shouldn't be living like that 🌷

I'd check the guttering. If that is not maintained properly that would cause the sort of problem damp patterns that seem to be occurring from your pic... above the window

Was about to post this myself.

As PP suggested, Ebay is great for blind slats. They charge per slat not length. My old rental we did the massive bay and DD room, all 90" drop. Think I paid £35 and they included the weights, beading and clips.

Wilko is great for the frosted film stuff and also sells voile panels very cheap.

Take the blinds down. They should just unclip at the top. Gove them a wash then leave them in a box for when when/if you move out so landlord can't charge you for them.

If you can afford if, a kacher or similar, window vac is fantastic for quickly getting condensation cleaned up.

RE moving, I'm desperate to.

I spoke with the council recently for the third time and asked for advice about housing but it was completely pointless. They told me to join the housing register (which I have) but given that we live in London and I need to stay locally I would be waiting years upon years upon years as it's saturated with families in need.

I'm a carer for my son so for that reason estate agents won't touch me with a barge pole as I'm on 'DSS'

It doesn't matter that I was a professional for years prior, the fact that I'm now in receipt of universal credit makes me an undesirable tenant. I got lucky with this place or so I thought at the time.

I don't expect things to be perfect I can deal with the odd inconvenience but I'm glad others here have expressed how unacceptable my current living conditions are. It gets me down.

I forgot to add the guttering was checked as recently as last month. The front is fine apparently but the back (which caused my bedroom to flood) needed maintenance.

I'll also look into the individual blind slats and see which method is more cost effective thank you

If the guttering is ok, I’d guess the felt over the bay window is damaged. That definitely looks like water penetration, not window problems

Ummmm... More than the blinds I'd insist that they take care of the mold issue... This isn't something you should have to be treating. That's mental

You have 2 extractors in you flat, neither of which are working. That's your problem. That's what your landlord needs to sort out. Anything else is just papering over the cracks.

@nicky7654 your attitude is disgusting, there's nothing fashionable about autism, believe me, you sound very bitter and sad.

If you think that's bad you should have seen my bedroom window and surrounding.

There was fluffy white mould spreading across the window ledge that I had to remove every week. It was that bad it began to erode the paint on the window cill and into the plaster underneath the paint. It hasn't returned for a few months as the weather has been good but come winter it'll be back again.

@PossiblyUpossiblyNot I’ve just replaced the curtains and added custom made blinds to the kitchen and bathroom windows at my tenants request. Cost £1,000 in a 3 bed house.
I thought it was a cheeky request. My DH said he thought it was unreasonable to expect the tenant to pay when they may only be there a year and the existing ones had seen better days.
I’d ask if I were you.

Why are you loving in a house with damp?
I would make the landlord sort the damp out first. It is so bad for your health!!!

When I first alerted the landlord to the damp issue affecting the windows and blinds he just told me to open the windows more and wash off the mould as it appeared.

He thought the problem was due to lack of ventilation as others have said here.

I agreed to open the windows for longer periods (I was already opening them daily regardless) and watched to see whether it helped. It didn't.

After this happening constantly I complained again and said it was getting to the point that my living room looks scruffy because the walls have big dirty black marks all over them that keep coming back. He agreed to redecorate the room asked asked the person doing to job to treat the mould before he painted the walls.

The decorator came and treat the areas before painting but told me it was just going to keep coming back because it's the windows that are the problem (so he said)

The manky wall above the window you can see in the picture was freshly painted just after Christmas last year and already looks horrid.

I like my landlord he's a nice bloke but he's not very on the ball.

Saying that, he did replace the oven when that needed replacing and paid for new flooring in the living room and kitchen in a timely fashion (that was due to another problem with the flat causing another flood)

All of this is discussed and arranged over the phone as he hasn't once been to the property since handing me the keys three years ago.

I forgot to add that this was all happening long before the extractor fan in the kitchen packed in. It's most definitely a window/structural issue and nothing I'm doing. The decorator (who is also a builder) did reiterate that it's nothing I've caused.

Mind the typo's!

That mould spray itself is highly toxic too.
If landlord doing something / moving is not an immediate solution I would:

Take blinds down and put them in a plastic box with lid until you end tenancy (even 20 years later). So you can't be accused of throwing them away. Put box in loft.

Deal with condensation. Wash window with bleach solution and dry thoroughly with kitchen roll. Plenty of houses have old windows. If theyre wooden you could repaint. Try those moisture absorbing things on windowsill.

Put up voiles (modern nets) washable in machine, monthly if necessary. Voiles look lovely and are really easy to put up.

@PossiblyUpossiblyNot
You say your kitchen/living area is one - do you have an extractor hood over your hob? Do you use it every time? Is it vented to the outside?

You should have active ventilation (extractors) in the kitchen and bathroom areas. If you don't then speak to your landlord - I believe these are required under building regs and he shouldn't be renting the property without them.

Also, use a plug in dehumidifier in the living or bedroom areas if you're drying clothes there - I just got a cheap quiet one from Amazon - it's brilliant

He needs to replace both extractors as a matter of urgency. Looking again at your picture, it does look like penetrating damp, so that needs fixing too.

He really needs to fix these problems. Have a list ready and tell him you have already ventilated til your blue in the face and it is not working. You shouldn't have to live with that level of mould. It is very bad for your health.

Ask him for a timeline of when these issues will be fixed. If he doesn't do it, get environmental health to inspect it.

Also don't dry laundry as that can cause it. Use condensing tumble dryer or outside.

Condensation where i think this is the root of this problem is simply water vapour like steam, your berth even!, condensing on a cold or relativley cold surface.

If the surface isnt that cold then the condensation is either less or dosent happen or reduce the water vapour this is from the site refered to below;

However, 80-85% of mould problems are attributed to one specific type of dampness – condensation – which is man made dampness. Only 15-20% of mould problems arise from true damp.

So either warmer surfaces or less water vapour..

www.mgcltd.co.uk/about-mould/causes-of-mould/

I suspect blowing up your photo that the walls are solid ones and no insulation in them either. Have you asked other inhabitanets of the block if they have the same problem or problems?

Are the windows double glazed that can help quite a bit if possible you can secondary galze, a large sheet of plastic over the window sealed as best you can.

We did have a property where there was a solid 9 inch brick wall north facing that had condensation forming behind a wardrobe, we bonded foam backed plasterboard to the walls, wasnt that expensive no problem at all since, warm feels a bit warmer too:)

I think as to the blinds issue vertical ones a bit away from the window may work well but the underlying condensation needs fixing first.

It is a shitty attiude from rental agences re people on benefits once had a young single mum who was that way for a while no prpoblems at all with her!

I forgot to add that this was all happening long before the extractor fan in the kitchen packed in

If thats still not going be very worthile getting it going!!

I have an extraction hood above my oven and hobs yes but it no longer works and has been out of order for at least 8 months now. I will attatch a photo.

Mind the cereal boxes. I didn't keep them there when it was actually working.

As you can see it leads upstairs (where there is another flat) so no idea how it actually escapes outside.

The oven broke down and was replaced, during that time an electrician came to look at the hood/extractor and concluded it too was now useless. My landlord hasn't mentioned replacing that or indicated that he's going to. He just replaced the oven.

Although I've had these problems long before the extractor stooped working i can gather that it's certainly not helping matters not having one.

The windows are double glazed and the wall are solid yes.

I haven't spoken to the upstairs neighbours to ask if they have the same problem but I definitely will.

Sorry too jump on your post I saw it was about blinds hope you don't mind me posting I couldn't read and not write.

As a mother who's has lost her child to a tragic incident with blinds please encourage your child to stay away from blinds they are dangerous and have taken many life's off children and animals.

Please also ensure any blinds you do get are up to the new standards and ensure they have no cords loose.

Hi BLKS7, not at all infact thank you for sharing that here. You have only confirmed my feelings about them, I want them down.

My son is obsessed with these blinds and I spend every waking hour of his day when indoors redirecting him and moving him away from them. He has no concept of danger and I can see how easily accidents could happen.

I'm so very sorry for your loss x