Landlords, is tenant BU, would you carry out these repairs?

[Livingbytheriver]

Or just leave things as they are? Previous tenants have not been particularly bothered in the past...

Failed Damp Proof System (old Victorian tiled one), silicon injection has been recommended but could be costly.

Replacing a radiator in the bathroom with slight rust (it could do with being larger TBH too as plumber has recommended that it is not quite big enough for the size of the room).

Please let me know what you think...

I'd do the radiator pdq tbh. I had a radiator which I thought was 'slightly rusty' it was an old fashioned one....cue water all over floor. A new radiator won't cost the earth.

My house (1835) does not have a dpc, but it does have plenty of airbricks. I didn't realise that Victorian houses had dpcs, my Edwardian one certainly didn't....

Have a look at this
www.diybanter.com/.../3078-victorian-damp-chemical-dpc-failure.html for more info.

Is the house damp? If so, I would get the DPC fixed asap before the whole place starts smelling of mildew and you have mould up the walls. Bear in mind, we have had a very dry summer so the damage may not seem quite as bad as it is, iyswim.

Replacing a radiator isn't a big job and they're pretty cheap and, if I were living there, I know I'd prefer a nice warm bathroom so I'd do that too. It's all tax deductable.

Victorian houses not designed to have a dpc and it is difficult to make them work in period homes.

Our house (150 year old cottage) had a DPC installed before we bought it and looking at the documentation it was a pretty big, and expensive, job. Unless you've got a problem with damp I'd avoid doing it.

But change the rad. It's an easy and cheap job.

Radiator is obviously a quick fix then.

There is damp now though, it would seem that if any item of furniture is placed against the offending wall then damp builds up, not placing any furniture along that wall is a tricky request as the house is quite small.

I see your point about Victorian houses not being designed to have a DPC scaryteacher, although my research seems to suggest the Victorians lived a much draughty lifestyle than we do today. Environmentally I guess the world can't take the hit on the energy loss nowadays so houses are sealed up with double glazing etc.

Does the DPC do it's job in your property though MisterW?

Check the airbricks and what is under the floors. If you have plenty of airbricks and no crap under the floorboards, the air will circulate and not stall and the damp won't build up.

No More Damp paint works a treat as well...I think it may be made by International now and called anti-damp paint.

I think it's stalled moist air. My tenants have much the same thing, but as they keep the place hermetically sealed, and never seem to open the windows to change the air this will happen. Never a problem when we lived there - we heated it properly and ensured that windows were opened so we got air through the house.

Damp paint would be my first suggestion (anti-damp paint, that is ) as long as it's not a huge area. Is it the tenants' furniture that might get damaged or yours?

Damp paint sounds interesting, thank you cleggy36, not heard of that before. It's an unfurnished let...

Not sure what is under the floor boards scaryteacher, may be worth investigating too. As for change of air and windows, probably couldn't fault there, place always seems well aired...I guess that fear of escalating heating costs could possibly be a worry though.

Same stuff that scaryteacher recommended I expect - i was just agreeing that I think it's the best idea .

Ah, yes! You are right cleggy36, thank you scaryteacher (the joys of life on 4 hours sleep a night!!)

Airbricks as well!!

Airbricks are in situ too and it would seem that they are unblocked. What a pain, unfortunately the effected wall does not get direct sunlight at any point. Perhaps that does not help either.

I have a BTL '30s flat which gets a lot of condensation build up if tenants don't air it. I tell them upfront that they need to do it and am just getting it back from tenants who didn't air properly for a year. I basically said I needed it back in the condition it was in when they moved in and would take the cost of redecoration from their deposit (all above board and in the lease). They have sorted it.

I used to have a Victorian terrace in Brighton and had the same thing. Spent most of my time telling tenants to open the windows. Some people are bizarrely reticient, another option is a dehumidifier (about £100) which runs 24/7 so racks up their electricity bill.

Did your tenants actually ask for a DPC? It seems unlikely. Also be very clear it is damp rather than condensation, as the treatment is different. I would definitely fix the bathroom radiator, it's not a big job.

Yes, the DPC seems to be very effective. We have no damp in the house, except in the cellar which is underground so will always be damp.

i would do as much as i could afford.

leaving these sorts of things always leads to regret later on. best catch it now.

OP, I would deal with the damp one way or another, it will not be pleasant for your tenants to live with this. Sometimes, condensing damp is quite intractable Anyway, you sound a reasonable and caring landlordso I'm sure you'll sort it out!

queenofwhatever it is very difficult to properly air a property if occupants are working full time, I think that is worth bearing in mind. As tenants, we have problems keeping our windows open for long enough periods to achieve sufficient through-flow of air and so we do have to run a dehumidifier at quite a cost. Not everyone is comfortable leaving windows open at night.The situation is also not helped by inefficient heating systems in our place.

That is interesting Misterw, thank you.

Tenants are pretty savvy QueenofWhatever, property is agent managed, agent maintenance guy went out to look at a number of items, including damp. Damp was a new issue to him so he did a fresh diagnosis so to speak?tenant was there when he did it and saw the results from the damp meter.

Yes I do appreciate that it can be tricky keeping windows open continuously narmada.

Property has very good heating system though?still a bit of an issue perhaps if the tenant is worried re high costs of heating through the winter.

I would repair.
if I was a tennant I would insist on repair as the risk of mould is too great.

The problem is, and I have this with my tenants, that older houses were not built to have dpcs and as LBTR says, in the old days people actually ventilated their houses.

My tenants don't heat the house, don't open the windows very often and mank at times that there is mould. If they moved their furniture away from the radiators so the air could move, opened the windows and had the heating on, then there wouldn't be a problem. When I go back once a year, I just get some chemical mould remover; treat the spots they are moaning about, repeat the advice about heating and ventilation and repeat the process the next year. The dpc isn't the problem here for the OP methinks, but stalled air, and not enough ventilation.

If it were me, and what I have done in two of my former homes, which were old as well, is to ventilate, use anti damp paint, and hey presto, the problem goes away.

When we get posted home and my tenants have gone, I will move back in and kick the heating on solidly for six months, open windows and it will sort itself. After all, the house has been there since 1835 without a dpc!

There is no guarantee at all on an older property that a modern dpc will work. There are other fixes that can be done first, including ensuring that there is no crap under the floorboards so that air can circulate freely in and out of the air bricks.

Also, you can't possibly install a dpc with tenants in situ, so they would have to move out, for which you would presumably have to pay, whilst the work was done.

Interesting comments, thank you?also, regarding moving out while DPC was repaired could be a bigger PITA for tenants as they have a baby and another.

What makes it trickier thought Scary is that all evidence would suggest that the tenants keep the radiators pretty much free and have already moved furniture to create a better air flow. Argh! When you move back and put the heating on for six months, do you literally put no furniture at all against the offending wall or do you just leave a gap for air flow?

Damp proof paint is a must and a dehumidifier a possible concession also perhaps?

We had a DPC installed in our victorian house - definitely cost less than £1000 took a few hours and don't think there was much mess (although wasn't living there at the time so not certain).

The problem with not getting the damp sorted is that ultimately it can wreck the entire property.