To break tenancy immediately after signing

[LadyH846]

I've lived in my current place for almost 3 years. My landlady is a bully and I've always walked on eggshells around her. She refuses to maintain the place, overcharges me on the rent and the bathroom ceiling has slowly grown more mouldy over time despite me using a dehumidifier a lot in there. It wasn't that bad in the beginning but now it's covered. She's also almost got into a physical altercation with a neighbour of mine and flips out constantly sometimes in frightening ways. I need to leave.

I found another property that seems lovely and allows cats (I have 1 cat). I signed the tenancy and got the keys today however it's really clear it has some issues with damp that I didn't notice during the viewing. Under the stairs has moisture issues since it absolutely stinks of damp. The living room nearby also does, and the kitchen a little bit. During the viewing I didn't notice as they had all doors and windows open and the under the stairs cupboard was not open.

I should have opened it to check but I didn't actually see the cupboard.

I have asthma. I developed it in my 20s for the first time after living in the mouldy house. I live in a country where many houses are mouldy (one third of rental houses are) and I've health issues that mean I need to be careful about mould.

I'm not sure what to do. I have already given notice to my landlady and have 26 days to vacate. I had this new place lined up and now it's not suitable.

I could move in and shut the door on that part of the new house and live upstairs only. There are 3 bedrooms and I could turn one of them into a lounge. But it's a shame I'm not using half of a house that I'm paying for and I think I'm going to be uncomfortable wondering if the mould in the house is affecting my health.

Or I could pay a £200 to get out of the tenancy (there is a tenancy break clause) and keep paying rent until they find another tenant...it'd probably be a loss of around £1500 altogether. And hopefully find something else within 26 days.

What would you do in my situation?

I feel quite uncomfortable about what I've discovered today under the stairs. It had loads of air fresheners hanging from a metal pole in there so the owner knows it smells bad. She only moved out a week ago.

Under stairs cupboards often smell of damp because they have no air flow. Mine does! There is no damp.

They are cold with no air flow.

Thanks for the reply.

It isn't just the cupboard under the stairs that smells of damp, but also the areas near the cupboard - the entrance, kitchen and part of the living room. I'd say the problem is more than just no airflow, for the damp smell to be elsewhere too.

And it's not a slight musty smell, but a really strong smell of damp, both in and out of the cupboard.

Do you live in Wales? I ask because you probably have a few avenues you could go down if you do.

I'd give a dehumidifier a go first to sort out the dampness.

No, I'm in the Southern hemisphere.

Thanks everyone. I am going to use a dehumidifier and air purifier in that area of the house. If the smell doesn't go, I will do some mould testing and hire someone with an infrared camera to find moisture damage. If they find something the landlord will have to remediate by law. And if they don't it's all good.