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?

What are the tenant's legal obligations re having the heating on from September to mitigate the pre-existing damp problem?

Here's a hint: unless she's specifically agreed something with the tenants before they moved in (and she hasn't, otherwise she would've said), there are none.

Letting houses is a business, not an easy way for people with a spare few quid to make more money for nothing. The OP doesn't know what she's doing, and now she's got a problem and a potential claim against her. It's tough titties, I'm afraid.

Over simplification won't help

But that's precisely what you've been doing, Midge.

I’m not sure we’re reading the same thread. Here are a few direct quotes from various updates the op has posted below.

There was no mould when the house was rented.

My survey (when I bought it) said a small amount of damp in bay windows was normal in older houses.

I lived there for seven years before I rented it out in Sept. I had no mold and I mentioned the tiny damp spot in one corner of the bay window for full disclosure.

I fully renovated when I bought it in 2015, Inc new, boiler, windows, bathroom and kitchen.

I also have asthma and had no problems when I lived there, in the same bedroom as the tenant who has asthma. But I kept the house warm.

The op hasn’t caused this and certainly hasn’t left the house in a state of disrepair. Whatever their reasons, if the tenant is choosing to leave the house unheated, they are causing the issue. Until the actually try putting the heating on, which is a ridiculously simple thing to do, they are categorically not doing everything they reasonably can. Landlord or not, op isn’t responsible for that.

She HAS done something; she's told them to run the heat.

Yes she needs to sort the damp but that doesn't mean that the situation has not been made significantly worse by the tenant actions

Always, always keep in mind that tenants are mould growing scum, right?
How significantly better do you think OP's house would have been if left empty all this time? Have you even ever seen what happens when a house with a damp problem is left empty?

She HAS done something; she's told them to run the heat.

She hasn't said they're not running the heat, only that they need to turn it up

It's in the OP and thread title.

The anti-landlord sentiments on every thread about rentals lately are really tiresome, childish and petulant. Particularly when aimed at individuals like the OP.

Some people own property and let it out. Always have, always will. Get over it.

@Onnabugeisha Environmental officers blaming the tenants as the default setting
www.theguardian.com/society/2022/nov/19/uk-tenants-face-blame-for-causing-toxic-mould-and-deadly-hazards-under-new-rules?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Good grief there are some overly sensitive people on this thread

Sometimes things are the tenants fault

Somethings are the LL fault

Sometimes both are at fault

But saying "the tenants have made the situation worse" is equivalent to saying "tenants are skum" is not ok. And not helpful to anyone except the Russians who like a squabbling divided stupid society

get some (proper) damp specialists in, if they aren’t able to heat then ventilation is going to be the answer.
E.g Air bricks, positive ventilation etc.

if nothing else you can prove you did everything YOU can.

this is going to be a real issue if people cannot heat their homes.

But if I owned an empty house, @MartineàlaMaison, I'd run the heating at a low setting and leave a window open a hair. Also if empty, wet washing and people breathing wouldn't be making it damper.

I've lived in various houses, some rented some owned. You have to take basic steps to manage a house- new build, hot country, cold wet country. Houses can be ruined by people treating them badly.

I lived in a house where I had to have the bed in the middle of the room because of mould creeping off the walls, and the sash cord was broken so the window didn't close. That was a landlord issue.

I lived in one where my clothes got mouldy in the wardrobe. That was a me issue. They were packed in too tightly and in that tropical climate it was a problem. I learned to do it differently.

The best house in the world will get mould if windows are kept closed, washing dried indoors, and there's no dehumidifier or inadequate heating.

OP, your fastest cheapest option might be to supply a dehumidifier and encourage the tenants to share responsibility for keeping the property correctly. Discuss with them how they manage heating, windows and laundry, and find a mutually beneficial solution. They don't want to move.

I’d get someone to take a look, a specialist. It’s your asset you want to protect so do that to ensure you take the right steps.

Really? I think people have pointed out a few solutions for OP to sort out her damp problem, but some posters take it upon themselves to say, no, no need for it, just make the tenant responsible.
No, tenants are responsible for heating and airing the property, not for creeping damp.
Letting a property comes with both problems and advantages, get over it.

Well, I had a house that was left empty with low heating on and windows a little open all winter and I can tell you that it's not enough. A house is always better off if people live in it.
As long as they air and heat.
And as long as the damp problems are sorted. No amount of heating will solve a damp infiltration problem.

Totally landlords fault you know🙈

Cover your back and find someone do a report to see if there is mould issues and why . If come back that is due to poor ventilation and no heating you can at least know it’s not on you . If it comes back with a way to improve from your part then at least you know what to do .
of the report shows it’s their fault you can evict them and make sure any future contract says the house must be maintained above a certain temperature to keep damp away

This is why some people shouldn't become landlords. It's a tightly-regulated business - for good reasons - and people like the PP, and the OP, have no knowledge of the business, and the surrounding regulation.

it would only be the tenants' fault if (a) they were breaking some kind of statutory obligation to have the heating turned up from September (or whatever) or (b) there was something in the contract to the same effect. But your post recognises that the OP doesn't have that in place.

So it's not the tenants' fault in any meaningful respect, and you and the OP have no idea what you're muttering about.

Totally the climate's fault. Singapore, you know.

It's the lowest common denominator. For people who wouldn't have a clue how to make money it seems like a good idea.

We really don't have that different humidity. According to weather app London is now 64% and Singapore 69%. Averages appear that UK has higher humidity at 85% to Singapore at 84%.
Llandudno has 74% atm.

Now I learned something new😂
And apparently humidity can cause bad moods!

You don't think the difference in temperatures makes them, in fact, not quite comparable?

Probably a lot more idea that what you think . Put yourself in the tenants shoes for a minute and imagine your home being damaged possibly by the lack of heating or ventilation , and I cannot say if the op has anything in her contract or not as I haven’t seen it .
I also don’t say it’s the tenants fault I say she needs to have a report done so she can either address the issue if something can be done by her or get acknowledgement the tenants are not ventilation or heating up the house enough .
I have owned , been a LL and currently rent while waiting to self build . My contract actually mentions heating , damp and condensation . Some Agents are getting wiser it seems .

I rent
I’m not lazy. I ventilate, I use a dehumidifier. In my old house with single glazing and no heating, my first job every morning was window vacuuming the windows. Every single day.

please think about how you say things it’s not nice being lumped as lazy and not giving a shit. I give more of a shit as it’s not mine.

Moving forward this is going to be a huge issue as people cannot hear homes as they did.
everyone is going to be pointing fingers at each other.
When the reality is it takes a bit of common sense and understanding on both sides

I’ve bought and renovated houses and an issue in the surveyors report for 200yr old home that is said to be ‘normal’ simply means the sort of minor repairs that are to be expected. Not, that’s the way things should be and no repairs are needed.

She has let a house in a state of disrepair as it has an ongoing damp problem that she has neglected.

And the OP didn’t say there was no heat on, but rather that she told them to turn the heat up.