Any surveyors / environmental health who could advise me on mould & damp issues?

[NigellaAwesome]

I'm really worried about my DSis and her family. She lives in a 2 bed end of terrace house, c1900. She has lived there for over 10 years and it is owned by a housing association.

Her house absolutely stinks of mould, and every single thing she owns is infiltrated with it. She has had both the housing association and environmental health out over the years, and they say it is her fault - it is as a result of 'lifestyle choices'.

I think they are dismissing her concerns, but don't know what to do.

A couple of things that I think might be relevant:

The gable wall of the terrace developed mould on the entire inside wall. The housing association dry lined the wall, but I think this has only covered up the problem. I don't think the underlying cause of the damp on the gable was ever identified.

My DNiece's bedroom has a long patch of very black mould on her bedroom ceiling - about 6 foot by 1 foot, that looks as if it is from slipped tiles / blocked gutters. There is also black mould emanating from her window frames, and another circular patch elsewhere on her ceiling.

There are other circular patches on black mould on the landing ceiling. My DSis says this became much worse after the HA put in insulation in the roof-space, and she says it is really deep - about 2 1/2 feet.

The living room has very very dark mould in one corner, where the gas meter comes in. On looking at the outside wall, some of the rendering is missing, and I think water is coming in here.

The house stinks. You can smell mould before you even cross the threshold.

My DSis keeps windows open, uses a karcher to hoover up moisture from her (wooden framed, double glazed) windows, and has 2 dehumidifiers running in the house pretty much all of the time. She keeps the house heated in winter - she has gas central heating.

2 weeks ago water was pouring through the ceiling onto her DS' bed (he is 7 1/2, and sleeps on a toddler bed in her room). The HA came out and said a mushroom vent had moved on the roof.

My DSis has developed a severe auto-immune disease, which I think the mould has contributed to. Her 2 DC have also had recurrent bouts of illness, and both have had their tonsils removed at a very young age.

Environmental health said that she needed to keep her windows open more (she does open them quite a bit) and that if she boils a kettle, she needs to open the window for at least 1/2 an hour. She used to dry her clothes on a clothes horse inside, but uses the yard now.

I can't see how my DSis can do anything more than she is already doing. The house seems fundamentally damp - I suspect penetrating damp from the roof and gable wall.

We are at a bit of a loss. DSis doesn't think it is worth getting EH out again - I think it would be worth getting another opinion. I have also discussed the possibility of getting an independent surveyor's report (which I am willing to pay for), but don't know if this would be useful or even how to go about getting someone with the requisite field of expertise.

I'd be grateful for any advice.

I came back on to bump the thread, and then realised the OP is miles long. If you have been able to make it to the end, and have some expertise, I'd be grateful for any advice.

I have no expertise but I would start with the CAB

If EH won't help after further contact, take it to your sister's MP. Her children shouldn't be living like this! Your poor sister.

However, try to make letters business like, in bullet points, rather than emotional.

Best of luck

Could you afford to pay for a surveyor yourselves? In my experience EHOs always say condensation & HAs have a vested interest in blaming the tenant.

I've already been in touch with our MP who is in the process of gathering information and making enquiries.

I'd be more than happy to pay for a report on my sister's behalf, but have no idea how much it would cost & what sort of surveyor to approach. Are there specialist surveyors who deal with this sort of issue, or would any surveyor do?

I think some of the issue probably is condensation, but it is because of excessive water getting into the house raising the humidity, rather than what my DSis is doing. I also think the specific patches of very black mould are indications of where water is ingressing, rather than generalised condensation, as I would expect the mould pattern to more diffuse otherwise IYSWIM? But this is the sort of thing I am hoping a surveyor might be able to advise and report on.

My poor niece. I helped her to declutter and tidy her room over the summer, and she had a whole bag of soft toys, many of which were brand new with the labels still on, which she donated to charity. I suspect that the charity will throw them straight out, such is the smell. I am helping her to sell her doll collection at the moment, and we are having to wash the dolls, air the clothes, and spray with vinegar & vodka, and the smell still persists.

Google Nuaire or envirovent - both manufacture positive input ventilation units which sound like they’d really help in this instance. Not sure if you’d be allowed to fit one to a HA property yourself but if they won’t, it should be around £700ish supplies & fit and I think would make a big difference. Need to sort out the water ingress issues too though. A PCA member surveyor (property care association) would be able to help

The loft insulation may well be blocking air circulation in the roof space.

Thanks Pug and Wowfudge. I'll google the positive input ventilation. My dsis says it got much worse after they put the loft insulation in.

I'll also look up PCA surveyors for my area.