How can I get my landlord to do this stuff?

[baies1]

My landlord is ignoring me.

We moved in about three years ago and at the time he said he would ensure the damp problem would be fixed in the bedroom. We hadn't realised it was fairly bad and he got his handyman to paper over it.

There is mould which we often clean off the wall and ceiling - walls in bedroom and kitchen and ceiling in bathroom (this had been painted over too)

There is also some mould on the fridge in the seals.

I ask every few months and he basically says 'yeah yeah I'll get my handyman to have a look.' Occasionally he does have a look, and once he repainted over it again in the bathroom.

How do I get him to take this seriously?! It's a ground floor Edwardian flat that needs maintenance and he doesn't give a shit about it. The windows are rotten, the blinds in the kitchen are brown.

We painted the whole flat, bought new blinds for the bedroom when we moved in (were thick with black mould), we replace stuff that needs replacing - bulbs, new toilet seat that was cracked etc, get the garden done

Writing all this I'm not sure why we're still here but we could not get anywhere for the same price in this area and with fees and everything it costs loads to move.

Please help - what should I do?

We had a similar situation. Mould, damp, rotten windows. After years of asking, the landlord sent a builder round to quote. Nothing further for a year. I rang yet again, the agent said "oh yes, we will send a builder round"... I lost it and rang the council housing department. I can't remember the terms for it all, but a housing officer came round, wrote a report and told the landlord if it wasn't put right by a deadline (6 weeks I think) they would get a something order. It was sorted within the deadline. The landlord hated it but there was no comeback, it was so clear. So call your council housing office for advice. Good luck.

Thank you

I had thought about that but fear he will just evict us

Talk to the housing department - you might have some protection because of the order. They were really helpful.

the new revenge eviction bill may now be in place, which means if you have a complaint to the council you cannot be evicted. This allows you to carry on living in this dump, so I hope it is cheap. The idea is that the council will come round, see things like rotten windows and damp walls and issue an order that he fixes them. Good luck getting that enforced with a crooked landlord like yours but it is well worth a try. It may even work. No decent landlord would have let it get this bad so you are paying a slumlord.

the damp walls are definitely his problem. The mould on ceilings may also be; depends if it is condensation (lifestyle and in your control) or damp (building issue). He needs to fix the building issues.

The mould in the fridge is for you to fix, that's a standard housekeeping thing. Replacing light bulbs and maintaining garden are standard tenant requirements. Painting is not. Those blinds are yours to take when you leave.

So what lbn said then, specialsubject.

What is causing the damp? Do you know? The landlord clearly doesn't care enough to find out what is going on so if you can find out then you can ask him to send his handyman out to deal with that specifically, i.e. overflowing gutters, blocked downpipe.

You say there is mould on the ceiling. Is there a leak from the flat above, in which it would be down to the owner of that flat to deal with the issue. (If someone else is paying the landlord may be more likely to get involved.)

It does sound like a more general problem though. Are you contributing to the problems by hanging washing indoors and poorly ventilating the property?

You say you have spent a fair bit of money on the property. It may not cost much to investigate and even fix some of the issues causing the damp.You shouldn't have to but IMO it would be a better use of your money than redecoration, which will only be ruined if you don't resolve the damp problem first. And I do believe the walls/ ceiling should be washed down with an antifungal wash prior to repainting.

No I don't know what is causing the damp unfortunately. The damp in the bedroom is in a corner and both those walls are exterior walls. And the mould is just about the skirting board on one of those walls - not much of it. I have used mould remover spray and then painted it with an anti mould solution thingy. I do know that the floor in the bedroom is freezing, so I don't think there's much between the floor and the earth. The worst it's been is when I've cleaned spores of pink and white mould off the wall in the bedroom where it is damp. Really gungy and gross.

The spots of black mould on the ceiling is in the bathroom and that ceiling is styrofoam tiles. I don't know if the flat above has a leak.

Other black mould is on an exterior wall in the kitchen.

The flat above is owned by the same landlord.

We haven't spent much - just bits and pieces.

In terms of ventilation and circulation - there are lots of air bricks but we don't open the bedroom windows much because they are stuck. I tried to push one once and my hand went straight through the glass. We dry clothes on a heated airer in the living room over an air vent and there's plenty of air that comes down the chimney by there too. The bathroom has a pretty useless extractor and the kitchen extractor doesn't work.

Very frustrating because it's a gorgeous flat that with a bit of money spent could be even better. Writing all this makes it sound much worse than it is! It's not a 'dump' by any means and we maintain it best we can.

I wonder if we got someone round to quote for the work if the landlord would just pay. He is extremely lazy and doesn't seem to care about the flat at all. If there is something we can do to fix the issues then we will. We want to buy a new bed because ours is on its last legs but I am worried the damp problem will ruin it.

wow, this is seriously bad.

landlord is an idiot. You have to cook, shower and dry washing and so he needs to provide ways for you to do that without damaging the property. Windows that won't open, fans that don't work and (presumably?) no outside space mean living your life will cause damage to the place.

shame on him. Might be worth getting a quote but do NOT (as if you would) even think of paying for it yourself. However (brutally) if you keep putting up with this and paying him for the privilege (not that you can stop while you live there), and no-one forces him, because he is a crook he's not going to spend money.

my point, baies is that if the bill is now law (not sure) then the landlord cannot evict the tenant for complaining. The situation about enforcement has not changed.

Ventilation does seem to be part of the issue if you can't open the windows and the extractor fans aren't very good. Are there no windows at all which are good enough to be opened regularly? You only need one or two, then fling all the internal doors open for a while. (Two roughly opposite would be best)

I think the first thing is to do some investigation yourself. Go outside and have a look to see if there is anything obvious. Simple things can over time cause a lot of damage. Go out when it's raining. Where does the water from the roof go? Are the gutters overflowing? Is the downpipe or drain blocked? Is there a gully which is blocked with leaves? Cracks in the brickwork or lots of mortar missing?

If you can take pictures, there are websites where more experienced people can give their opinions on what is going on. In an ideal world you would just go to the Council, but I don't know how effective this new law about revenge evictions is. And if forced to do repairs your rent may go up. How would you cope with that?

That is why I suggest trying to find out what is going on first. If they are simple things then you can either do the repairs yourself or try to get the landlord to send his handyman round. If they are big problems then you may have to go the Council.

Thanks.

I've just been out to have a look outside and can't spot anything other than the air brick on/near the wall. Why would an airbrick be so low on the wall?!

Windows in the living room open and we have a back door too (gardens front and back and at the side). We're in a conservation area so windows are single glazed and breezy! Not that the landlord would ever put in double glazing anyway haha!

I need to shift some furniture in the bedroom to take pics of the damp but will do

However I just rang dh who us working today as am so frustrated and we talked about moving. Been online and we could find somewhere for approx £200 more per month. Trying to save for a deposit and children etc etc and it won't be financially a good idea to move but I am fed up, and we might not be able to buy for years anyway.

just checked; the revenge evictions law comes in 'later this year', whatever that means.

You rented it with single glazing etc; but you didn't rent it to be damp.

do yourself a favour and move. Stop paying this crook. Examine new place as if you were buying it, check it for energy efficiency, test everything, make sure it has gas cert and deposit protection.

Oh, and check NOW that your deposit on the current place is protected. (If it isn't, sue his sorry arse)

the costs of moving rental will be well worth it. This place will never get better. Give your notice and get going.

We've never had any info about where the deposit is held and based on that and his other general shitiness, I'm guessing it isn't protected

Our deposit was £1,420. Could do with that back x3 if we move!

Will look into how we do that

good. I have no sympathy for him at all.

BTW if there is gas I hope you have a gas safe cert?

please ensure you are familiar with your rights and exercise them.

You can get advice from gov.uk, Shelter and the CAB. If he hasn't protected your deposit just think how many months of higher rent the compensation would cover!

special is right - a lowlife like that is never going to do what is necessary.

Have our first viewing on a new place tomorrow.

Need to do some reading up on rights and questions to ask!

It looks like an amazing place BUT it is £200 more per month.

if it is the cheapest place in the area; that's because no-one would rent it otherwise. Doesn't mean he should be renting it in that state - all the more reason for you to stop paying him by leaving.

questions to ask: I reckon you should look at a rental as if you were buying it. You won't be fixing the problems but if there is stuff wrong and it is neglected; what does that tell you? So look at windows, ask about heating, test taps, showers and toilets etc etc etc. Do cut the landlord a little slack for minor issues as he may not know if no-one has told him, but a tatty property indicates something wrong. Either a not-bothered landlord or one whose agent is not passing on problems, and you don't want either of those.

if it has gas, you must see a current gas-safe cert before renting. No excuses.
electrical safety certificates are not mandatory so if there isn't one, use your eyes.
ditto smoke alarms and CO monitors; these aren't mandatory but they are so cheap that all landlords should provide them without thinking about it.
ask about deposit protection - again, any ums or ers, walk.
ask about fix arrangements; is the boiler under guarantee? Is there a home emergency policy? (you may not be doing the calling out but you don't want a landlord who thinks you can wait for two weeks until he gets back from holiday)

you are entitled to 'quiet enjoyment' which means no-one comes in without your permission. You would want the landlord/agent to visit (by arrangement) every few months to check on the state of the property and arrange fixes. That is a sign of good practice.

check about neighbours (outside landlord control), parking, amenities etc. If you want to stay a while, ask if it is the landlord's home or an investment property. If the latter, he won't want to move back in.

happy hunting!

Thank you that is REALLY helpful.