Sorry this is a long one but I really would like some advice to sort this issue out once an for all.
So I rent a house, there has been an issue with damp in the downstairs toilet the whole 5 years I’ve been here. Every winter I get black mould creeping over the wall, I wipe with bleach it comes back. Last year I treated it with 2 coats of damp seal and the winter just gone the paint started to bubble an the damp still came through. I did it myself as I’m a keen diy-er and to help the landlord save some money, he paid for the stuff I did the work.
With this issue continuing I feel that it is something external causing the problem, either bad pointing or ..... the soakaway that is right on the corner of that wall!
This soakaway has no purpose other than to drain water off the patio when it rains or when I pressure wash it. This soakaway does not soak away though, If it does it takes hours and I have a flooded path until it goes. In the past I’ve had my arm shoulder deep down it, Bought a drain cleaner pipe... nothing changed.
I have a gut feeling this soakaway is causing the damp problem, it’s a 1910 house an I don’t think the soakaway is in form to current regulations for distance from the house.
My solution:
Would installing a drainage channel along that wall connecting the soakaway to a proper drain that’s for the sink & washing machine a meter an half away solve my problem, and if so do I need planning permission for said change?
I can’t see my landlord coughing up to pay for a professional to do this but he may be willing to pay for the supplies. Not that he has a clue about how these 2 issues may be connected as the property is managed through an agent and we all know they don’t investigate things very well.
I love this house but I can’t keep dealing with damp and re decorating the same room we after year.