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?

Did you read the OP? There is no mention of mould before the tenants moved in.

You can't 'sort it out' if by that you mean change the rules of physics, which mean that if you heat a space in damp weather, you will get an increase in the moisture in the air, and if you don't ventilate, you'll get condensation on surfaces colder than the air in the room. Hence mold.
Modern well-insulated houses have less of a problem; the walls aren't as cold. Older houses made with less insulated building materials will always need more ventilation. It sucks, yes, but that's how it is. You can get round it by opening windows for a little while at times during the day when maybe you aren't in that room, keeping window vents open when you're out of the room if it's too cold to leave them open all the time, making sure you use any extractor fans or vents when cooking or after showers, using a dehumidifier to dry laundry, etc.
If you let it get damp by stopping up all the vents, you will actually need a higher set temperature to make it feel as warm as it would in a better ventilated space.

Have you asked them if they are ventilating the house? I live in a Victorian terrace with crap drafty windows, it gets cold, but I open all windows everyday to air it. Heating goes on for 20mins and the place is warm straight after. We don’t have damp.

They don’t even need to put the heating on, get a calor gas fire to just warm up the room with the damp problem.

You can’t control what your tenants do in the house but do you really want tenants who are going to cause damage to your property if they don’t take care of it properly.

My house does not have a mould problem. I have a lifestyle problem, in that we have to dry some washing indoors, we have to shower, we can’t afford the heating on as much as we like, we breathe! Living creates moisture and I have an old house. There are literally mould spores everywhere.

I can keep on top of it because I’m motivated to. If I didn’t own the house I wouldn’t be so motivated, I’d much rather moan to the landlord and hope they do something.

We have a 1920 house lived here 21 years in all that time we’ve had VERY limited mould

this year hardly any heating it was everywhere

the blunt fact is the tenant is more than likely causing it
there no point in the tenant complaining if they are causing the problem and not sorting it

We live in a modern centrally heated bungalow but we can still get mould. If you don’t have a proper balance between heating and ventilation mould can rapidly grow in cold corners or in any cold spot. Unfortunately if your tenants won’t take responsibility for managing this there is little you can do. A dehumidifier would help but they would probably complain about the cost, although they’re relatively cheap to run. It is possible to keep on top of a small area of mould by cleaning the area regularly with a recommended cleaner, are they at least trying to keep it at bay.
I do wish you luck, having rented out accommodation over many years I know how trying tenants can be.

For those bashing the op, a reminder,

There are extractor fans in the bathroom and kitchen, there is nothing the op can do.

ALL houses need ventilation and some heat to stay mould free, this does not change whether you are a homeowner or rent, whether you can afford it or not.

I get so fed up of hearing the endless LL bashing when it is clear the LL has not neglected the property.

No. The OP says in her first post that the house had a pre-existing problem. It's not the tenants' problem if they are having difficulty controlling that. The property's not fit for use by a lettings business.

Hmm, contentious post and no sign of OP

A gas fire will tend to make it worse- they let loose a lot of moisture.

😂 What exactly do you expect her to do if they won't heat and ventilate it properly?

I'd look to get them out by using the maintain the property reasonably clause in the tenancy agreement.

I was just about to write it's a requirement to heat and ventilate.

People often mention Germany for the rights, bjt there is very much the part that it comes with strict responsibilities.

Also, I might be stupid, but I can't see where OP said they rented out with mouls. Little bit of damo is not mould.

Thanks for the responses guys .

There was no mould when the house was rented.

Tenants moved in mid Sept.

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

The house was let with a washing machine and (condenser) tumble dryer. Not sure if they are using the dryer.

Get your shit together and sort the damn mold. "there was only a bit". Fuck me.

Yep.

Note from the OP that one of the tenants has asthma. You think she's living in a mouldy house for shits and giggles, OP?

This is why I do commercial property in preference to residential. The earnings are lower, but so are the hassles.

Yes! to the plastic framed double glazing. We had terrible mould in our old flat which had them, despite having the heating on loads, running a big dehumidifier etc. Current flat has single glazed sash windows, and no mould despite having the heating on much less so far this year.

The flat the poor little boy in Rochdale lived in did have a kitchen window, but it faced out on to an outdoor communal walkway so I wonder if his parents were reluctant to open it for security reasons. The flat also had plastic window frames and the block looked to be from the 60s/70s, so possibly quite shoddily built.

Was driving, am home now and reading responses.

So the survey told you that the house had a problem but you still decided it was a suitable rental property.

And now it's turned into a bigger issue, jeopardising the health of the tenants (at least the asthmatic one), you want to turn it onto them?

Yes, OP rented it out with slight damp in a downstairs bay.

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.

All the windows have trickle vents.

I genuinely believe the problem is lack of heating in an old Victorian house.

I posted because I am trying to solve the problem not have a go at the tenants.

I have to ask which house in uk has literally no damp patch ever....

Small damp area is not a problem if house/flat is heated and ventilated as they should. I have small area which gets damp and we can't get it sorted (had tradesman in 3x). However, it never causes mould because we heat and ventilate like anyone should.

Yes, maybe I'm naive but I imagine that most tenants want to live in peace and will heat their houses as much as they can afford to. Who wants to live in a cold, damp place, or have their children do so? It's not really an enticing life choice.

But I do believe that most people, LL or tenants, lack common sense and time.

Condensation and mould would rapidly become a problem in my old house if I didn't open every window for 5/10 minutes everyday and didn't put the heating on regularly as soon as the weather turns; if I were a tenant, I'd expect the landlord to make all this very clear, and point out the there is cost to this, before I moved in.

Anyway, this is one of these baiting threads isn't it.

which would probably be fine, if the tenant kept the window cracked open a few mm.

Your question in your OP was:

What can I do to get them to turn the heating up?

You created the risk by choosing to let a house that you knew from your survey had a pre-existing damp problem. Now it's getting worse, endangering your tenants' health, and you want them to fix it at their own expense.