Landlord ignoring me

[NotAllowed]

I’m about to lose it with my landlord and need a sounding board to see if my anger is justified.

I moved into this property since June. The garage, a major selling point, has an old roof which is leaking badly. I did not know this when I viewed and took on the property as it was early summer. It’s been a very wet year as we all know and my belongings in the garage are soaked, so much so that I’ve had to cover everything with tarp. I reported this as soon as I noticed it back in July. A roofer has been out to try and fix the issue on two occasions, which has only made things worse. It needs a new roof. There’s been no progress and it’s only getting worse, despite being reported 6 months ago. I call and text and largely get ignored.

The chimney breast is also leaking, there is a stream of water now pouring down one of the bedroom walls inside. There’s mould on all the windows and in the bathroom, and bad condensations for which I have requested a dehumidifier and been ignored. I open the windows and ventilate the house as much as possible given it’s winter and wet outside.

I’ve tried to call and text with other questions and concerns, as is understandable when moving into a new property. Lots of empty promises upon moving in such as replacing broken fencing panels which at this point I’m not even bothered about. I am constantly ignored. Calls go unreturned. Texts don’t get replied to. He replies on occasion. If he does pick up the phone there’s no acknowledgement of that fact I’m ignored, I find it weird and awkward. I’m 9 months pregnant and due any moment. I’m tired and irritable. The room that the water is now pouring in through is my baby’s nursery. I know that when I do eventually get through to him, I’m going to explode. Would an explosion be justified? I’m so angry. I’ve never experienced this level of rudeness and ignorance with a landlord.

Going through similar situation with my landlord for over a year. You should find your local council environmental health email and send them your complaint attached with pictures. They’ve managed to be able to force my landlord to do many repairs or have his license revoked

I'm a landlord and do everything I can to maintain my property. However I did have tenants who refused to use the bathroom fan and never opened the windows when drying clothes - which I gather you do anyway, so it shouldn't be that.
I went to Argos and got two small dehumidfiers for them, they don't cost much to run and it seemed to deal with the problem. But you definitely shouldn't have water running down the chimney breast and it does sound as though there is a problem with the window seals.
The garage roof problem is ridiculous, it sounds as though it was one of the reasons why you rented the place and it should be usable.
I've not read all the posts, but has anybody suggested you go to see a lawyer at the Citizens Advice Bureau?

Can you start a savings account and send him c copy of the deposit slip showing the money is available as soon as he fixes the problem?

Is it an old house OP? Mine is (we own it) and the damp and mould are par for the course. I dry my clothes in the new extension bit and have no issues there, but im forever bleaching my bathroom ceiling and fittings, as well as other windows elsewhere in the old part of the house, and behind the wardrobes etc.

Your landlord sounds useless and needs to fix the problems you mention- others have given good advice on that. But I don't know if there's an easy solution to mould and mildew in winter, I've not found one in 20 years (apart from bleach and elbow grease). I've wondered about a dehumidifier in the bathroom but you can't put one in every room....

My two babies survived their slightly manky windows (now teenagers) - but you do need your landlord to sort out the water running down the walls! Good luck!

This. We had to do similar as we had a rogue landlord refusing to fix leaks - similar situation to you, OP. Once the council were involved with threat of prosecution, it's amazing how quickly he got his arse in gear 😬

Thanks for the comments everyone. There’s now a dehumidifier in place and the roofer has been back out today and is treating the leaky chimney as a priority given I’m about to pop, so things are moving in the right direction. I appreciate all the advice.

Mould and condensation are caused by moisture in the air. This is only from 2 sources: water getting in, and the way a person lives, adding moisture to the air. The problem of water getting in sounds minor and could be because of wind and rain forcing water in, which would be occasional. 95% of it is drying laundry inside and not opening windows after a shower etc. If your laundry starts off wet, and ends up dry- where has that water gone ? You can only move water around. use a dehumidifier, they work brilliantly. The garage not being watertight is also minor, sorry. It’s not a living room, it’s shelter for a car, by definition. You are causing harm to the house by how you are living. The reason for mould in your toothbrush and massager is ( sorry) because they are full of bacteria so mould will build up there first. The moist air is hitting the cold glass of the windows which aren’t being kept clean properly ( sorry again) and this is the reason mould is forming in the inner corners. Use a dehumidifier, open windows ( more than you think) It will all get better -I promise

Nah, I think it's more likely the fact that home owners have to live in their homes AND hold the ultimately responsibility for the building.

One property I rented had really poor windows, they were leaky, drafty, mould round the edges, etc. Asked the landlord about replacing them and was told no chance, unless I footed the bill and was I hell going to pay to upgrade someone else's house.

When I bought my house the windows in there were also shite, so I replaced them. Same with my boiler, it was old and inefficient so upgraded it when I could afford to.

I can't think of a single landlord I ever had who replaced things before they were completely broken, and even then it was a hassle to get them to do it. Heating, washing machines, ovens, showers, all optional apparently.

For most landlords it seems to be an out of site, out of mind or what's the least I can get away with attitude when it comes to maintaining their 'investments'.

Also what do I win for winning your bet?

I would have assumed a dehumidifier is your responsibility to buy too.

I recommend joining: ‘Renting - Advice for Landlords and Tenants in England’ on Facebook. They provide very helpful professional advice for free.

If you’re not able to fully use the property because it is in a poor state of repair, you can withhold a portion of the rent until repairs have been made. I have done this when a landlord told me they would fix the boiler when it suited them, not when it suited me! (And there was snow in the ground outside at the time)!

Citizens Advice helped me draft a letter explaining hope much of the rent we would be withholding until the issue was fixed, and funnily enough it became the landlord’s priority all of a sudden. I’d say get in touch with the Citizens Advice Bureau asap! And maybe see what they think about your possessions being damaged because of the landlord’s negligence…

Environmental health
we reported our landlady because of the state of our house, they condemned it and made her do all the work to the house

This sounds awful OP. I know you don’t want to move but I really think you should over the next few months. Your current house doesn’t sound great and your landlord has repeatedly shown he is not willing to repair the property and maintain it to a good standard- he isn’t going to change. Even if he fixes these things you will be in this stressful situation again when the next thing breaks and you need him to fix it. I know it’s a pain moving and it costs money to keep moving rental places but somewhere smaller with no issues is going to bring you a lot less stress and much happier first few months with baby.

Glad things are moving forward with your house. Good luck with your soon to arrive baby :)

Give him an ultimatum and say you will contact the council as this will also cause damp. We recently did this with a friend who doesn’t like complaining. We wrote a letter to the landlords also listing health concerns and he listened immediately.

Crikey that place is a dump, you can't stay there. It sounds it needs such a massive overhaul reno you won't be able to live there while it gets underway (if ever). Please, for the sake of yourself and the baby, move elsewhere.
I know you're right and the landlord has the responsibility to fix everything you've flagged but in reality it might take a court order to make him start on it and that's a long and costly process for you. But go see a housing charity/legal aid to check what you can get done asap.

How long is your tenancy agreement for?

I would contact Shelter and tell them your issues but don't be surprised if he issues you a section 21.

Complain to the council, they will send someone out to assess the work and put an order in to your LL, the council may even order the work and pay , then bill your LL.

The LL has a legal responsibility to make sure the property is livable, and they should be making it a priority.

It sounds like you are doing all you can. Have you tried to apply for a council house as that may be an easier way to move with your current situation.

Just a bit of advice on the mould front. I dry clothes indoors in a pretty big and ventilated room (no choice, like you its raining outside), but still get condensation on the windows and mould started forming.

I did a fair bit of reading up on this and saw that bleach products essentially wipe it away and take the colour out, but they don't stop the mould spores from regrowing (I'm not an expert, don't know if this is true or not).

However clove oil does kill the mould. Dilute several drops of clove oil in a small bowl of water (if it stinks like hell you've probably got the right quantity) and wipe it over the mould. You might want to test a small area first.

About a year on and it's never grown back. I found that the mould had left a discoloured stain on the emulsion paintwork (faded outline rather than still being black), but was otherwise gone. PVC frames and seals of the windows and glass were fine and the smell of clove oil goes quickly once you've used it. Hope that helps.

This is ridiculous! Everyone in the country dries their clothes indoors in winter - I certainly do - and mostly without a dehumidifier. Not everyone has a tumble dryer! I’ve never experienced the kind of mould and damp that the OP is describing

I would absolutely buy a dehumidifier. You can take it with you wherever you go so it's a worthwhile investment. Everyone can do with one in winter even houses without specific water / damp issues so I see them as essential personal possessions now. I'm amazed at how much water ends up in mine, and I don't have any damp problems - it's just cooking / drying clothes indoors / breathing etc that generates so much moisture!

Oops sorry just saw you have got one - that's great! You probably need more than one for a house, I have two and I live in a one bed flat!

Just buy a dehumidifier for goodness's sake, it’s not worse the hassle. A decent one is literally less than a week’s rent!

The garage issue is for the landlord to deal with, but you need to put your hand in your pocket if you want a bone dry interior.

Did you miss the bit where there's water running down the chimney breast @Deathbyfluffy ? You really think a dehumidifier is going to deal with that?

Plus they’re quite expensive to run if you’re peeing the electricity bills.