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?

If the mould is caused by condensation (rather than a leak for example) then heating the house will help but only if the tenants also take steps to reduce the amount of moisture in the air. There are lots of tips for this online. Such as here: www.jrht.org.uk/resources-residents/home-garden-and-estate-maintenance/condensation-black-mould

You really can't make them turn the heating up but generally there is an obligation or something written in the contract to say the healing needs to be used to an extent to prevent frozen pipes etc. Having said that, we've limited our heating use to an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening and we have a nightmare with damp. I was cleaning skirting with bleached water the other day and it was getting bad. I have also bought dehumidifier bags to help too as a dehumidifier is too expensive for us at the moment.

I wouldn't be surprised if the OP doesn't have a written contract with her tenants.

OP, what does your written contract say about the tenants' ongoing maintenance of the property?

OP, what does your written contract say about the tenants' ongoing maintenance of the property?

Thinking about it, 22 pages in, it's very instructive that we've no information from the OP on this subject. It's almost like she doesn't know what she's doing.

Get a mold expert in for advice. Act on this advice be it having the leak repaired if there is one or showing the tenants their advice re heating and ventilation if it is condensation. Job done. If tenants are still not happy give notice ASAP and make sure new tenant is aware if what needs to be done in order to keep this house in good condition.

I doubt it hon but keep hoping - just sold a cottage in Devon to a local though so that was a win win

That is complete rubbish. The tenant would be responsible for garden maintenance , unless specifically agreed otherwise. So unless the ivy was already out of control before the tenants moved it it would be down to the tenants to maintain the ivy

see this guidance

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

there is a real misunderstanding on this thread. And why all the landlords bashing. Rents are rising hugely due to lack of supply as many private landlords are leaving the market. Many people aren’t in the position to buy or don’t want to buy properties. There is a real need for good quality rental stock. If private landlords exit the market where will people live…….

there is a real misunderstanding on this thread. And why all the landlords bashing. Rents are rising hugely due to lack of supply as many private landlords are leaving the market. Many people aren’t in the position to buy or don’t want to buy properties. There is a real need for good quality rental stock. If private landlords exit the market where will people live…….

Well said.
The OP is not looking to sell her property; she just wanted it occupied while she's on a secondment elsewhere.

To all the anti-landlord folks, would it be better for the "housing crisis" if she just let it sit empty, with a caretaker looking in periodically?

It's unrealistic to believe that everyone can, will or wants to own their home. Landlords are providing a valuable service by making their properties available for rent.

I rented my mother's cottage out after she died, to a former colleague who divorced and needed a furnished place for a few years. He of course did the garden upkeep, mowed, cleared leaves, and otherwise kept the place in good repair.

Ivy at the roof line is out of control Ivy. We were talking about cases where tenants have only been in a rental “for a few weeks”, not the 10 years it would take Ivy to get from the ground to the roof of a two story home.

No where has there said to be penetrating damp. The survey noted some damp in the bays. This is entirely normal as the bays in old houses are usually the coldest part of the home so condensation can occur creating dampness.

I know because I had this in my first house. As a ftb I thought omg whole buildings going to fall down. My mum just laughed at me. Got the bleach. Scrubbed it off and said right make sure you don’t put furniture or anything against that and now heat and ventilate your home. Never came back!

I also had a completely wet wall for a year where we did have a leak and an actual issue. No it didn’t cause mould. Same as in our current house where one of the drainpipes was blocked. That area of the wall is sodden and has been for a year. The paints bubbled off and the plaster blown. Is their mould no! Because mould needs lack of air movement as well as water.

No, bay windows do not get damp patches in their walls due to condensation. They are prone to penetrating damp because of the nature of their design. You have to keep up on their roof sealant, especially an older bay window which usually has a flat roof. Also anywhere two walls join at an angle is prone to penetrating damp as the pointing wears away quicker. One bay window alone has four of these joins. Also a surveyor would not out condensation damp in a formal report because that’s lifestyle caused. A surveyor only writes in damp caused by structural faults- ie penetrating damp.

Your mum obviously taught you benign neglect which only works for so long.

Yes, it’s possible to have a wet wall for one year with no mould growth. But the OPs situation is damp that has been left to trickle along and get worse for over 8yrs. If you had neglected that leak and blockage as long as the OP has neglected her damp, you’d most probably have mould, and a lot of it, by now.

Because mould needs lack of air movement as well as water. not really. In air con systems, where the air is constantly pushed through air ducts into rooms, it is still quite common for mould to grow inside the air ducts. Lack of air movement increases the risk of mould, that’s it.

People will live in the houses the landlords have vacated. A widespread sale of BTL stock would cause a huge shift in the balance between demand and supply. Prices would drop and more people would be able to afford their own homes.

I mean, this is not going to happen, so it's a stupid question. But you asked, so I explained.

The government are deliberately making BTLs inaccessible to a private person. The days of having a few rentals as pension income and an inheritance are over.
The reason the government is doing this isn’t the stated reason “for the tenants” as every “tenant reform” they do doesn’t actually benefit tenants. For example, banning fees charged to tenants resulted in rents going up to a level that more than offset what tenants were paying in fees. The same with the “abolish no fault evictions” propaganda because the new law is still allowing no fault evictions for various reasons like repossession or selling the property. And a LL can evict the tenant saying they plan to sell. Put the property on the market for one day, and then “change their mind” and rent it out again. This same law abolished fixed tenancies and puts all tenants on rolling tenancies so where currently you cannot serve an eviction notice unless you are within 60days of the end of the fixed tenancy, you can now serve one anytime after the tenant has been in the property for 6 months. So the usual fixed tenancy was 1yr, so the tenant could not be no fault evicted until the end of the full 12months (if notice is served at 10months). Under this new proposed law, a tenant can be evicted at 8 months after they first move in. And with no renewal of fixed terms, they are now under constant threat of eviction. Anytime they could get the 60day notice to vacate.

Anyway, back to main point. The government is pushing out private landlords as fast as they can because they want all our landlords to be corporate landlords. Businesses. Lots of profit for their investment portfolios.

Yes, this. My parents are landlords, though they don't call themselves that as they only own one house, my grandmother's (non damp) house and have rented that out for a while now. OP has allegedly only been a landlord for a few weeks.

Also OP hasn't returned and wouldn't provide specific information from the contract, about maintenance as a pp mentioned.

The Landlord has certain legal obligations. The presence of any mould in a rented property is a contravention of their licence obligations.

There is no "licence obligation" in England and no licence to be a landlord. However some countries might have that.

If mould is caused by not having heating on then this is why this thread is so long.

I see today the Uk has a record 504,000 net immigtration up from 240,000 and we have 18m more people here than when I was born. The state has legislated to ensure many landlords are currently leaving the market as they do not make any profits so I do not know where was going to house the 500,000 never mind the people already here (although of cousre we are apparenlty happy as tax payers to pay £7m a day to house asylum seekers in luxury hotels many of us could never afford)!

A house has mould.

Bloody immigrants

😂fuckssake

@Xenia as well as the extra millions of people, single person and single parent households have increased too. Far more children nowadays live with one parent, or in blended families. More pressure on housing.

Some people can get their racism into any subject.

I think she was referencing the person's post below her rather than being racist herself.

@angharadsgoat I know it was not @BosaNova being racist. She was pointing out the racism.

@Xenia , you should be ashamed.

Sorry! @antelopevalley

The pp obviously hasn't heard about the severely poor and overcrowded conditions the asylum seekers were kept in at the Manston asylum centre recently, and the diphtheria outbreak.

I'm sure she has, she clearly just doesn't give a fuck.