AIBU? For thinking we should leave our house immediately?

[Betty0009]

So me, my partner and our 2 kids (4&1) moved into a rented old cottage in March 2025. We knew it would be cold and damp but over the last couple of months the mould has gotten out of hand. We’ve just thrown out a whole wardrobe which had a thick film of green mould covering the whole thing. The exterior walls all have black mould growing. We clean it but it grows straight back. The kitchen cupboards stink of mould and food and appliances go mouldy in a few days. We have dehumidifiers, heating on all the time, use a tumble dryer and keep windows open. My baby has developed a cough which I’m worried is due to the mould. My partner thinks I’m stupid for wanting to stay somewhere else while we look for somewhere else to live… AIBU? (Picture is just one example of the mould)

That's serious damp and if your child has a cough then you are already seeing the negative effects on their health. I wouldn't risk staying there at all. It's a serious health risk so you're definitely not being unreasonable.

When did the law changed because the mould in my toilet is worse than OP’s the cause was an leak in the upstairs flats bathroom the ceiling fell down 3 years ago the walls are thick with mould and there are mushrooms growing round the window none of the lights in the toilet work. The maintenance man was sent in 3 years ago to fix the ceiling and he looked at said he would come back and put a board over it I’m still waiting for him to come back. I gave up asking the landlord about it because he doesn’t care. He finally sorted out a new bathroom for the people upstairs because theirs had been leaking for 10 years and their floor had turned to mush lucky they didn’t fall through the ceiling. I knew when they were taking a shower because the water would piss through the ceiling. I don’t want to rock the boat with the landlord because we can’t afford to move but we are trying to get the money together to move.

the change in the law doesn’t apply to private properties only social. If you have a social housing landlord they should be doing something asap. If it’s private your only recourse is environmental health

@TeaAndTattoos are you social housing or not? That changed v recently

LEAVE NOW!!!

I grew up in a house with mould and it ruined my lungs and caused life long immune issues.

Get out of that house now.

Do you have anywhere else you can stay?

This is very very serious.

Oh that’s annoying we are in private.

We are in private. Feel like we are stuck between a rock and a hard place and the landlord knows it.

If you do leave make sure you have pictures OP.

Mold always has a cause. The two mains ones are:

1. Penetrating damp (common in older properties)

2.Failure to ventilate rooms properly. This is common in modern, hermetically sealed properties and rental properties. Bathroom, kitchen and bedroom windows need to be opened to release moist air after showers, baths, cooking and sleeping. You can’t do anything about the former other than report where you think there is ingress. You will know if you are sometimes guilty of the latter.

Is this photo on the ground floor? Could it be riding damp?

Mold is a huge health problem, especially for young children. Get out of the house as soon as possible. Leave everything or you will just be carrying mold with you. Pack clothing and toys in heavy plastic bags and wash at a laundromat. Hot water. Bleach. Mold has to be cleaned so it doesn't come back. Look to move away asap from the mold environment itself.

I live in a very dry climate (SoCal) and our mold laws are stringent because of the health hazard. Whatever the rent is, it's not worth yours or your children's health. Black mold is very bad. Here, when mold is discovered they put up containment fields and then eradicate it so that it doesn't spread. They tear out walls and cupboards to eradixate it. They wear full hazmat suits, fully masked and gloved, top of the line breathing apparatus and have air scrubbers. You have nothing and you are exposing yourself and your children. Get out.

Some of the effects of mold are asthma, allergic reactions, cognitive issues, mental health issues, changes to the immune system and cancer. This is a flyer: www.niehs.nih.gov/sites/default/files/mold-and-your-health_print_508.pdf

Look for any government or any social service agency or organization that can guide you to housing assistance to remove yourself and family from an unsafe home as soon as possible. Don't wait. Read up on mold.

Get out asap! & report the landlord!! england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/damp_and_mould_in_rented_homes

https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/centre-for-learning/key-topics/damp-and-mould/

Report the mould to the Landlord at their registered office and recorded delivery ASP. Obtain a pro forma letter from Shelter.

Under Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 LAndlords are legally responsible for keeping their properties in good repair.

Failure by the Landlord to act promptly and ignoring repair requests means a housing disrepair claim, thousands in compensation and court order to carry out urgent work.

This.

This doesn't apply to private landlords yet, only social.

Awaab’s law - check it out and all the press around it. A little boy died when he developed a severe cough in a mould investor house. Personally, I think you need to remove your baby immediately. It is very unsafe

Move out ASAP and i’d be taking the child alone if partner wants to stay. My work involves raising aware around the dangers of poor air quality - Children and babies are most vulnerable and, i’m sorry if this frightens you but they can die quickly from exposure to mould. Get out now. And seek medical treatment asap for babies cough. Xx

I thought my damp old rented late 1900s cottage was bad as the fireplace has been decommissioned so heating solid stone with central heating is impossible and keeping on top of the stinky kitchen cupboards and cold areas is a pain, but yours is far far worse and I'd definitely not want to be breathing in that air.

It's throughly depressing to live with that kevel of damp and mould and really shouldn't be allowed to be rented out!

Yes you need out. Find another place…

Yeah, I'd be raising it with the landlord and looking up the legalities.

It isn't often as simple as 'you need to ventilate more/run the heating more' though - as another poster touched on, some old properties are designed to be heated by fires, which heat the stone as well as the air. This heat then radiates out even after the fires are out, so the switch between warm/cold is much more gradual.

And you're meant to open windows to cool down, which is practical if you have fires burning but not practical if running central heating...

Some of these old properties have had damp proof courses fitted and impermeable insulation in the walls - but that doesn't help when the building is meant to breath, it'll stop water coming in from below ground floor level, or from outside in general.. but it also stops moisture travelling OUT from the inside - that moisture is produced by respirating animals (you) and by our activities - washing up, bathing, showering, drying wet laundry, running ineffecient dryers.

Put humans and their stuff and their actions into a property - seal that property up - heat the air not the structure so you get rapid fluctuations between hot/cold... you will get damp inside and you will then get mould.

And on top of all that, some very old properties were never really possible to manage well anyway, as they were badly constructed.

So long story short - likely this isn't resolvable by you or by the landlord, the property is not suitable as a rental and needs management that is beyond what a tenant can do.

That could affect your health surely ?

If it's an old cottage I wonder if it has a cement based render rather than lime based? Stone walls need to breathe and cement doesn't allow that and ends up causing damp problems. I know it's not your problem but worth knowing in your fight back against your landlord if they try to blame your lifestyle.

I think that you should move out if you can. Make sure the mould has been reported to your landlord - take lots of pictures and send pictures to your landlord.

Personally what I would do - and I know it is not the legally correct thing is tell the landlord (in writing) that we are moving out and that we won't be paying further rent as the contract is frustrated as the cottage is not fit for habitation.

Yes you are liable for the rent but to pursue that the landlord would have to take you to court. I would hope that they wouldn't have the cheek to take you to court with the property in that condition and I would also hope that the court would listen to your side of the argument that the cottage is uninhabitable. It is a chance I would take anyway if I had somewhere else to live.

If you don't have somewhere else to live you could try getting the Council's environmental health involved to get it dealt with or help you find new housing (which might be another private rental).

@WiddlinDiddlin spot on.

If its an old period property and has all been sealed up with modern plaster not lime, its just not going to work.

What temperature do you have it at? It will probably respond best to being left at a constant 18, as opposed to falling rapidly overnight and being blasted with central heating for an hour or two. Open the windows wide every morning for half an hour without fail & don't dry any washing indoors, pans need lids, window open when showering, kettle next to an open window to allow steam to escape.