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.

Unfortunately it is unlikely to be rising damp in A flat - a leaky gutter will have contributed though.
I just refurbed a bungalow & the blinds were approximately £1-£1:50 per drop (no more expensive for moisture resistant ones). I used blinds direct did whole bungalow for less than £130 & this included 6x£3:50 for the express delivery.
You can ask your landlord to install a moisture extraction vent they remove a litre of water per day. I have just done this & it really helps - they look just like a wall vent but specially designed to not let in a draught. Cost less than £100 to install 2 in a 1 bed flat
Ask them to fix or replace the 2 extractors & the cooker hood -These will all be making the situation much worse & at the end of the day it is his property that is being affected.
Most importantly tell them it’s affecting your health & ask for timeframes - if you have a good relationship hopefully they will act

It's illegal to refuse housing to someone who is in receipt of benefits. I would suggest you speak to an adviser at Shelter. They'll help you out with that and the damp.

If you’re acting in a “tenant like manner”, in other words taking sensible precautions to ventilate/heat appropriately then beyond that your landlord has an obligation to sort out problems like damp in a timely manner. england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/damp_and_mould_in_rented_homes

Don’t worry about @nicky7654 OP, she obviously doesn’t understand that things exist outside her experience. Let’s hope she never experiences any of the problems she so easily dismisses as fashionable or trivial.

Thank you Uggy, I'll make a note of both of your suggestions and will mention a moisture extractor when I speak to my landlord next week.

I thought that too, tickerty.

Some landlords are saying it's due to their insurance not allowing them to rent to people in receipt of DSS, but the estate agents I've enquired with are just giving me a blanket "no DSS" with no explanation or reasoning.

I had a thread on here the other month under a different username discussing this. I can't find it but some of you may remember the details. It's humiliating being turned down time and time again.

I will definitely contact shelter and see what they suggest. If I had the option I would jump at the chance of moving, not only is the damp an issue but as my DS gets bigger this flat just isn't sufficient.

Thank you, YouOk.

Yes the ignorance was outstanding with that one. I feel as though DS' autism is relevant to the topic as it's not as simple as telling him "no" when he needs redirecting multiple times an hour and has no understanding.

I agree about taking the blinds down as they are a strangulation risk. The windows film is easy to put up, we have it on external doors for privacy. Watch a couple of youtube videos on how to make a good job of it.

For any custom blinds (just for future reference) Blinds2go are fantastic, instant quote, from Roman blinds, roller, Venetians etc. You just have to install them yourself of get a friend or handy person in to do it.

Re the mould, your landlord isn't addressing the issue of the cause of the mould. I would contact Shelter with a plan to contact Environmental Health, it is seriously bad to live with mould spores.

There was a ruling in court recently that said LLs could no longer refuse to rent to someone in receipt of benefits as it contravened the Equalities Act, it discriminates against single parents and people in receipt of disability benefits. Again Shelter may be able to advise you. After all, this person took you on.

Cross posts, here is the article from Shelter about the No DSS ruling. And there are plenty of insurance companies out there who do not have this clause. I listened to it on Womans Hour podcast when it was decided.

Shelter

The landmark ruling against DSS discrimination is brilliant indeed, but how would I use that in my favour? (Genuine question)

If you were me would you quote that ruling the next time I'm rejected by an estate agent? Would it make a difference?

The amount of times I've been turned away due to being on benefits is in double figures and every time it happens it's humiliating.

I can provide great landlord references, my credit history is good and I have no CCJ's, despite that the shutters come down as soon as I mention universal credit.

OP I think you need to speak to the environmental health dept at the council and ask them to come round to assess the problem as you have been told it is structural not simply condensation.

They can act to compel LLs to make repairs or other remedies if necessary , and you are protected from revenge evictions once you have mad an environmental health complaint under the recent legislation and also under the Covid legislation.

It is great that you are doing what you can, but if it is structural its not your responsibility. This is a health hazard and it needs fixing at the LL's expense. And your new curtains would get extremely mouldy :(

Heating under the windows is a big help if its only condensation from a cold spot, but it won't be enough to combat water from leaks, and it would cost a fortune.

If it can't be fixed or LL wont comply, it might give you added points on your housing application.

It would be a good idea to do this before winter too.

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/complain_to_environmental_health_about_rented_housing

more info

I spoke to a particularly uppity lady from an estate agents last month who made me feel very small, she said they've never had an applicant on benefits before (hard to believe) and that they would rather let the place to somebody in employment who can guarantee the rent will be paid.

If I were to tell her that she's discriminating and quote the shelter article I don't think she would then change her mind and give me the flat iykwim.

also Health and safety standards for rented homes

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/health_and_safety_standards_for_rented_homes_hhsrs

Crossed posts Maxi

Yes that's an option too and a good idea. If my landlord won't address the issue I would be prepared to contact environmental health if needs be.

With 2 million newly unemployed, I think LL will have to start taking DSS tenants. You are right, even if you question them and say it is illegal they will just say another excuse to not rent to you. In the real world that ruling doesn't mean much unfortunately.

The problem with housing is you are not homeless it just needs some things sorting (Quickly) - some people go through the eviction process with their landlords to get social housing as if you are being evicted you become a priority as you will be ‘homeless’. As a landlord I hate that this is sometimes the only way to resolve this as it feels inherently wrong. However the eviction ban has just been extended & there will be huge backlog in the courts as well as the notice period being increased to 6 months.
Unfortunately a landlord cannot overrule their mortgage company - conversely the landlord does not specifically see things about your income as long as it meets the criteria on sites like open rent rent of £650 can be achieved with an income of £18k & housing benefit is paid to the individual now

You could replace them using blinds2go with faux wooden Venetian blinds (they are
Plastic but look decent, I have them in my living room ) which would mean you could wipe them clean.

My living room window is enormous- probably the same size as your two windows combined- and they cost me around £200 and that's made to measure

Hope it helps OP.

Private renting is the pits IME so it helps to have as much info as possible and don't back down.

The banning of revenge evictions for health and safety complaints is a godsend.

Shelter and the EASS www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/ will be able to advise you bit more on the law and to hopefully on how to challenge LL and agents before any court action. I need to work out how to challenge this myself as we are in a similar boat.

Unfortunately a landlord cannot overrule their mortgage company

Thankfully UggyPow unfair terms in contracts are unenforceable, so especially in light of the recent case, I think a mortgage company would find it very hard to take measures against a LL who allowed a tenant in similar circs to the tenant in the case. eg disabled/ single mother where blanket bans disproportionately and punitively affect groups with protected characteristics.

So LLs and tenants can work together on this issue if LL's want to.

I know it's gone off subject a little but just to let you know you can replace the slats really quite cheaply. I just did a quick estimate going by eye on your photo and it came out at £58. That's using the existing track.

www.blindsdirect.co.uk/product/tbd-deluxe-plain-white-vertical-blind?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiemah6S56wIVArDtCh0cLQ3zEAQYASABEgIRT_D_BwE

Shelter will lodge a claim on your behalf if you come up against the 'No DSS' practice.

Here's the link to BBC You and Yours which deals with this problem. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000ltrx

He needs to fix it. Have a read of this From Shelter. It is his responsibility to make necessary repairs.
england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/damp_and_mould_in_rented_homes

If you do decide to replace check out ikea. We have very large windows and managed to get blinds to fit a couple of years ago! The best part is that they were also very cheap - think £20-£30 or similar.

Just googled "waterproof anti mould blind slats" and a whole load came up. Might be worth a try just keeping the existing blind mechanism and weights, washing the whole lot in bleach and then replacing the slats with waterproof/anti fungal ones, as you will just be able to wipe them over with a bleachy cloth.
I've replaced slats loads of times, its really easy.

I can't thank you all enough for the advice and suggestions, you've saved my sanity today as I now have a lot of options that I didn't realise before posting.

Sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees can you.

I've always had curtains in previous places and assumed these blinds would be v expensive (in the upper hundreds). I didn't know you could replace the slats individually nor did I know about window film or the best places to go for huge blinds/curtains.

It seems a bit daft to have gotten so het up about blinds but it was really starting to get me down. They look disgusting from outside and give the impression that the place is a shit hole.

I'm definitely going to be raising all of this with my landlord and will push harder for the damp issue to be rectified properly. I'm also going to push for the extractor hood to be sorted.

If he refuses or doesn't do anything then I'll go down the environmental health route, but hopefully it won't come to that. He's a good bloke in general.

I'll be going to B&Q in the morning to get some window film and take down these scruffy blinds. What I do next depends on how receptive my landlord is but I'm feeling alot less overwhelmed by the whole thing.

I'm definitely going to speak to shelter too

Have you tried HGmould spray to try and keep up the mould battle while you still have to live there?