AIBU to expect the tenants to turn the heating up?

[LadyMaine]

I've owned my 3 bed Victorian house for 7 years. There was a little bit of damp in the downstairs bay window but nothing serious.

I moved for work at end of August this year and rented it out. Within a few weeks the tenants (3 adults & dog) started complaining of damp and mould. When I went to inspect the house was very cold.
They said they are worried about high heating bills. I do understand this but have told them they really need to turn the heating up.

The boiler is in full working order as are the extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom.
I installed new double glazed windows throughout when I bought the house. It also has a damp course installed.

Now they are complaining that there is black mould and that one of the tenants' asthma is getting worse.
What can I do to get them to turn the heating up?

@Oujiawoowoo has proved my previous point beautifully In our culture the tenants still get blamed even when a fucking INQUEST says they wernt at fault.

So many strange responses when so many posters on here talk about how they refuse to put the heating on and just chuck on an electric blanket, 3 layers clothes and fingerless gloves!

If this is your reality, surely that is the same as the tenants.

From your OP, it seems like you haven't used an agency. An agent would have screened the tenants and found ones that could comfortably afford to rent that house. Being a landlord is a business and one that requires professionalism and knowledge of the industry. Thankfully you did a survey, though it may come back to bite you in the butt that you were aware of pre-existing damp.

Due to the tragic death of Awaab Ishak, tenants are more aware of their rights and the condition of the property that they are renting. The coroner in that case stated in her findings: “Remedial works to treat and remove the existing mould should have been undertaken.”

If your tenants are mentioning black mould and asthma, it is possible that they are preparing to challenge you legally. They have every right to report you to environmental health or the council. As mentioned above, if you didn't use an agent to screen your tenants, it may be that they are unable to find another property to rent (especially with a dog). This would lead you down the path of a section 21 and eviction. I would advise you to consider the cost of this both emotionally and financially.

In your situation, I would subsidise central heating (with an upper limit and until spring) and monitor this on the smart meter. The subsidy would come out of their rent. Get this written up in a contract which also stipulates ventilation and possibly minimum heat.

I have personal experience with nightmare tenants, be careful and remember your duty of care.

it's not that simple though surely, I've rented most of my adult life and knew that I needed to keep the place relatively warm and dry to prevent mould and damage. Surely competent adults understand that. Tenants shouldn't be able to wilfully damage the properly.

If they really can't afford it op then maybe a temporary rent reduction over winter? Or buy dehumidifiers and clearly explain how cheap they are to run and how much they will help. I had one for years in a leaky
Victorian rental and it worked a treat

Get them a decent dehumidifier. This will protect your property and protect their health. It's not healthy not to have the heating on and to get rid of damp warm air. The only other way to get rid of it is with a dehumidifier. You can get ones that cost very little to run.

@MilkyYay Sorry but not all renters are "poor". That's quite a generalisation. And why would there be "over crowding"? Fair enough you can have MHO's but ... come on.

I live in a Victorian house. If I dried my washing inside and didn't put heating on I'd have mould very quickly in winter. It's up to the tenants to put the heating on but I think you could point out to them that it is their responsibility to keep the house in good order and allowing mould to grow is violating the terms of their tenancy. So either they put the heating for an agreed amount of time each day and use the tumble drier/dry clothes outside or they pay for the removal of the mould and any damage incurred. You could supply them with a dehumidifier at relatively low cost and ask them to use that, especially when drying clothes. Or let them out of their agreement and put all of the above in place with new tenants. Good luck!

the Tenants should be expected to put the heating on to a normal level to make sure the house is not getting damp.

Agree with this - when I've rented in the past it's been part of my contract that I will adequately heat/ventilate property, use extractor fan etc.

Well yes op would put the heating on...

exactly, if there is a 'bit' of damp that means there's a damp problem which can easily escalate. I had the same in a period property in London years ago, it started off a 'bit' of mould that we didn't notice when we did the house viewing then it spread across a large part of the living room wall.

Looking back, I wonder if that was why I got caught pneumonia two months after moving in. We had the heating on a fair bit and did open windows but still there was mould that the landlord kicked us out for when we raised it at the end of our one year tenancy. He didn't mind the mould, he minded us asking him to sort it.

I'm a retired housing officer with a local authority, I can honestly say that 90% of the time when a tenant complained about black mould it was lifestyles issues that had caused it. Warm, moist air hitting cold walls will cause condensation, not opening windows and heating the home will cause mould which will grow rapidly. Older homes which have been turned into sealed boxes will get mould very quickly. Drying clothes indoors, over radiators, cooking and not opening windows, not using extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms will send a huge amount of moisture into the atmosphere. People also put furniture right up against walls and that traps air on the walls. I know we are all worried about heating bills but it is essential that houses are heated and ventilated. I live in a 3 storey Victorian terrace, so far no mould because I ventilate and heat the house. The chimneys are also usable and that helps the movement of air. I think the tenants need to spray the mould with bleach /water, put on the heating and ventilate. If there is no improvement after trying that then there is a structural issue, but they do need to try.We always asked the tenants if they could try some lifestyle changes first before sending a surveyor round.
OP can you get a builder to take a look and check for you? Just to make sure that nothing has been damaged or altered?

We have an 80s build house which we are renting.
It is an all electric house and the radiators not only cost about 60p per radiator per hour to run they don’t really work. I directed landlord in the summer knowing we would be here one more winter towards a grant which would have given him for free a house that had energy efficient new radiators, etc and it would have helped us out a lot. Instead the black mold is creeping across the ceiling and we can’t wait to leave. Really hoping to be out of here by March and I don’t ever want to rent anything again.I also don’t want any house that only has electric heating. It is eye wateringly expensive.

What grant was that out of interest?

I once rented a flat and the contract said I had to turn on the dehumidifier an hour a day. (Have no idea if it's standard or even legally binding).
Of course the tenants have to care for the house. Just as they are supposed to keep it clean, they're supposed to keep it reasonably dry.
(But if they can't afford it, maybe you'll have to suck it up. Reduce the rent on the winter months, and demand the heating on in exchange)

Our mould is from bad guttering and a leaky roof

The landlord has indicated through the rental agent that he is thinking of selling and would we be interested.
I have said yes but only at the right price.
I know enough about houses to know that this one has a lot fundamentally wrong with it. Especially as the repairs on it have not been kept up to date.

Why do people insist on wilfully misreading the OP and then putting the boot in?

Does it make you feel good, or clever?

The OP stated theres a small damp area by a bay window in one room - never been any mould or significant damp in the time they've lived there.

Yet posters are jumping in accusing the OP of all sorts, all completely fictional, as a reason to be as unpleasant as possible.

It is ENTIRELY possible for a house, particularly an old one, to have a small area of damp somewhere that with normal management ie ventilation and heating, is never more than that, a small patch of damp.

It was one where if you have a member of your household on UC or getting pension credits and you are renting (Ds was on UC)
Then the landlord can get stuff like energy efficient heating and solar panels etc put in for free.

Someone came to the door and gave me a leaflet and I asked about it through the rental agent but there hasn’t been any reply and now the landlord couldn’t get it even if he wanted to do anything as Ds is no longer on UC

A tenant of ours has raised numerous issues during his time in the property - all of which I have dealt with in a timely manner. The latest one is mould on the window frames and in the bathroom. It’s a modern property. He was advised it’s because he’s not ventilating. He then claimed there was a water leak… another contractor visit - no leak - it’s caused by condensation from the lack of ventilation. I requested a property visit (with appropriate notice, in line with the tenancy agreement) and the property is in a state. He suggests he has health issues which mean he can’t ventilate or clean…. The letting agent has suggested notice and withholding deposit but that will make him homeless. If he stays the condition of the property will just get worse. He isn’t happy with the property but there isn’t anything I can do to improve it because it’s his action that will make the difference…feels like no positive outcome for anyone here.

Hmm. We live in a 300 year old house and at no point has any part of the property suffered from mould. We have the heating on at 18 for four hours in the evenings. The doors are poorly insulated though, so maybe the double glazing in everything is actually creating too much of a seal on the natural ventilation you'd otherwise have (we have unbelievably expensive thin double glazing that the listing permits and the doors remain ancient).

Mould becomes a problem in any houses where they aren't heated, drying clothes etc. Student houses where I was at uni nearly all had mould issues due to not putting heating on and poor ventilation.

Victorian houses especially need heating on. My parents run theirs on low 24 hours a day to avoid mould issues.

Threads like this worry me, our landlord has been informed of the leaking windows since we moved in 3 years ago and still has not fixed them (not small leaks either - huge puddles in strong wind and rain) as well as the mould in the windowless bathroom. We rent a small 2 bed flat with 2 children - there are no cheaper properties, our work is in the area and we can't afford to move anyway. We have mould, I obviously clean it as best I can but it's under the wallpaper and in the window frames so I can't get to it all. We're struggling with the energy bills this year so the heating is only on for 1 hour a day. If the landlord decides to evict us - which seems like a common suggestion - we will be homeless. I know it's not quite the same as the OPs situation but not all tenants are irresponsible.

I'd give notice ASAP as they can't actually afford to live there. I see no other long term viable solution.

Or lower your rent, and revise your contract to include a heating clause of some kind.

You can't make them put the heating on unless something about the temperature is in the contract (and even then I'm not sure how enforceable it is).

You could tell them in writing that the mould is there because the house is too cold and you can't help unless they put the heating on .. you could also offer to let them out of the contract without penalty if they can't afford the house they've rented. They don't need to take you up on the offer.

@Cherryblossoms85 I'm similar living in a 120 year old Victorian semi. Our houses need to breathe. I understand ventilation is incredibly important as well heating it to a minimum temperature. Modern insulation methods only works to a degree before it becomes counter productive in our houses.