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)

And they won't give a damm. If the OP and her family move out (and I hope they do) the landlord will just rent it out to someone else as all they care about is making money. There are loads of BTL properties in my area and many are in a deplorable state. Due to the housing crisis, landlords are getting away with a lot because people are desperate for somewhere to live.

OP when you say you use tumble dryer is it a condenser? Do you open windows ? Some people use tumble dryers and never open windows so condensation is a massive issue and contributes to mould especially in winter. Has the property got vents ?

Leave, this is a health risk.
Your baby coughing is a concern.

I say this (previous message ) as someone who rebts out a property (partner actually). We've lived in this house ourselves- never any issues. A couple moved in (after previous tenants ) and had massive issues - condensation up the walls all the time, drips from ceiling and some mould in corners behind large furniture . They called the council - council confirmed its how they 'live" in the property - we have all the necessary things like vents , bathroom extractors etc but they never opened windows and had the tumble dryer on 24/7. Needless to say they moved and we never had issues again with new tenants I'm not disputing what you say but do look how you live in the property as it could contribute. If you let fresh air in every day, heating on, not too much tumble drying etc then there must be external damp. Good luck !

Absolutely landlord needs to deal with this. Have you talked
to gp about cough?

I wouldn’t stay another night there. Probably would also leave all furniture that can’t be thoroughly cleaned or washed, ie fabric headboards etc. It’s a huge health hazard

I'd look for something else. That can't be healthy to be living in a place with that much mold.

Start looking now and I'd do everything to make it a quick move. It's going to be really difficult to sort that quickly and I value my kids health over fussing about with the landlord

Do you use heating and if so how regularly and what form of heating?
Is it a vented tumble dryer and do you have it vented?

This happened to us when we were students- the black mould was thick black on the walls, we had no heating, my partner was diagnosed with asthma. I was offered a flat share with a relative- I really didn't want to- but I had to compromise, my partner would have finished up hospitalised if we had stayed.

You may be interested in the government’s damp and mould guidance for landlords:

Working with tenants
We are absolutely clear that it is totally unreasonable to blame damp and mould in the home on ‘lifestyle choices’. It is unavoidable that everyday tasks, such as cooking, bathing, washing and drying laundry will contribute to the production of indoor moisture. With this in mind, the fundamental cause of damp and mould will be due to building deficiencies, inadequate ventilation, inadequate heating and/or poor energy efficiency, not tenants’ normal domestic activities (see above ‘Understanding damp and mould’ under the section ‘Identifying and addressing damp and mould in your property’).

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/damp-and-mould-understanding-and-addressing-the-health-risks-for-rented-housing-providers/understanding-and-addressing-the-health-risks-of-damp-and-mould-in-the-home--2

@Betty0009 Contact your local council environmental health (housing standards) team. There are different types of mould, so they’ll need a sample. Mould is dangerous for babies. Your landlord is likely breaching the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. So, if you can, suggest you stay elsewhere while your landlord gets it sorted.

Going by your title I thought this was going to be about ghosts, but this is worse than that. Yes I’d leave it’s disgusting, ruining all your things and your baby could be seriously ill.

I’m so shocked that landlords are allowed to rent properties in this state. To charge money to live somewhere that is an uninhabitable health risk. I’m a landlord of a flat (an ‘accidental’ landlord) and I take maintenance very seriously. I wouldn’t dream of taking money off someone and then offering them a home that looked like that. @TeaAndTattoos Yours is absolutely shocking- I’m so sorry you have to live with that, and I hope you can find somewhere else to live as soon as possible, and are able to get the landlord to sort things out.

Awaab's law came in a couple of weeks ago, you should look it up

That’s exactly the reason your baby is sick ..
Mould spores are released into the air & very dangerous to health when inhaled ..
What age is your baby ? Can cause shortage of breath ..
Get out of there OP

UK housing standards for private renting are dreadful. Mould and damp are a common problem. It amazes me that in the US, it is considered dangerous and unlivable if there is mould. In the UK 33% of children across the country live in poverty and I would bet half if not more live in mouldy homes. It is scandalous.

YANBU. Give notice to the landlord and leave with your DC immediately. You may have to pay to rent two places at once though; can you afford it? Get yourself on the council house waiting list too.

you need to clean it with vinegar, put the dehumidifier against til bone dry, and paste blown vinyl wallpaper on that corner, or at least bathroom paint. It is 100% condensation.

Not relevant really. The old rules still apply to private rentals. The OP should contact the LA's environmental health team and request an inspection. The landlord can be required to fix the problem, or prohibited from renting the property if it is unfit for human habitation. Private landlords seem to expect to get away with murder.

This absolutely. If your Council requires Private LL’s to register their rentals via this scheme - this could be how you get them to enforce action on your behalf. Fingers crossed. It enabled me to get a negligent Freeholder (& Private LL) to repair & make safe his property that was at risk of collapse & adjoining mine that I was the Lease Holder of.
It’s really worth finding out if your council does this scheme for Private Landlords. If do you can then report the environmental health hazard of the damp & get one of their surveyors to come out & assess the severity & rest of the property. They can then enforce the LL responds & repairs /makes good & at least gives you some external approval to perhaps break your contract & move early on the grounds of the LL’s failure to maintain & let a habitable & safe property. Good luck.

This! Environmental health dept tomorrow!

Have you informed the landlord in writing via email flagging it as urgent OP? You need to do this first thing and include photos. Do you rent through an agent, who manages the property, go through agent if they manage? Did you take pics of the mouldy wardrobe?

Give a time frame for a response, say 48 hours, say you suspect this in affecting your baby’s health and needs to be resolved as an emergency,

If you don’t get a response, which should be that the landlord is sending a professional to inspect it within a short timeframe, then contact Environmental Health at your local council raising it as a health issue. You should be able to email them (contact should be on council website) and enclose pics as well.

They need you to have officially complained to landlord first to give him/her a chance to remedy it I think. Environmental Health will inspect and give a notice to resolve the issue if necessary which will be enforced if not carried out.

You are not in a position to worry about being evicted for complaining as you need it resolved or to leave, and if landlord gives you notice, you have proof you have raised it and further down the line, you can potentially make a money claim against the landlord for renting a property unfit for habitation.

The landlord will likely to go after you for the rent for the rest of your tenancy agreement if you leave early and take court action to get it so you can counter that if that happens but you must have evidence from Environmental Health etc.

In the meantime, can you stay with someone for a few weeks until you can see which way the landlord is going to go and get Environmental Health involved if nothing?

I'm gutted for you, but you have to leave. That's not fixable in a short space of time. Stay somewhere else if you can. Not everyone has somewhere to go.
But even if you have to push yourselves on friends or relatives while you find somewhere more wholesome it will be worthwhile even if they get fed up of you.
Your little babies and their health is the most important thing here.

Your partner is the stupid one. Very stupid. Don't let him override your very
legitimate concern for your children.

I do hope you have a viable alternative while you look for something better. If you have then I would be out of there like a shot.

If money were no object then I'd prefer to hang about in a Travelodge or similar until appropriate housing is found.

So no, you are not being unreasonable. Not in the slightest.

Sorry hrft due to time
Did read boiling a lemon on the cooker, simmer for 20 mins with lid open then leave for an hour and then wipe any condensed surfaces. Supposed to reduce the mould levels.

Are you keeping the cottage heated? That's also a contributing factor. I realised this week when back in my old house that we only get mould when we don't run the heating like we used to. Keeping temp around 18 Deg and having one small window on permanent vent except in stormy weather keeps the humidity level reasonable.

Awabs law is a starting point.

Oh that's awful.
I hope you find somewhere better soon, very dangerous for your lungs.
Report to environmental health if that's an option wherever you are.
It's absolutely disgraceful renting out that moulding pit to a young family.

I became very ill after living in a rented house with severe mould. Yanbu at all!