Black mould, private tenancy

[NC3435]

Looking for some advice - I will try and keep it brief. We moved into a privately rented flat around 6 weeks ago. The rent is expensive but due to time constraints around the lease on the previous flat and the LL having found new tenants we had no choice. When I viewed the property early Jan all the windows were open (there were tenants at the time but were away) - I queried with the agent re the open windows and specifically asked about mould and condensation and she flatly denied it stating that the property had an “odd smell” therefore they were airing it out. It was a late afternoon viewing and a lot of the bulbs had blown so it wasn’t very bright. I didn’t examine for mould. Anyway we agreed on the tenancy and signed a 2 year lease. They made a big deal about painting, re flooring and re carpeting the property which delayed moving in but I noticed the day we moved in that there was a lot of condensation on the windows. Thought it might be from the paint but it was getting worse so emailed the property management team (LL lives abroad so doesn’t manage it). The woman I dealt with was clueless. She only seemed to take notice when I explained what we do for work and were well aware of dangers of black mould (toddler plus baby). Back and forth until eventually a independent condensation survey was done 2 weeks later - the air vents in the flat appear to not be on but nobody knows where the switch is. Back and forth with the PM team and an electrician is sent out - says the same thing. They point blank refused to let us speak to the building management team but today we finally found a number and called them - turns out this is a long standing issue with the flat and the letting agents and LL are aware; the previous tenants made numerous complaints and it’s why they eventually moved out. We are now trying to work out our options - the mould is pretty significant and cleaned every couple of days. We both work full time in very busy jobs so trying to fit in viewings etc is going to be a nightmare. Where do we stand legally? It’s a 2 year fixed contract but I cannot keep living like this paying ridiculous rent. The agent basically lied. Im surprised they assumed the issue wouldn’t resurface and we would just roll over and take it.

I'm puzzled by the air vents. Can you be more specific and post photos?

Are there no venting slats above the windows?

Other than that you need to:

Heat
Ventilate
Wipe up condensation as it occurs.
Perhaps get a dehumidifier.

Shelter has some useful information about condensation and mould.

Photo of vent attached. One in each room and bathrooms but not in kitchen. The oven hood doesn’t work either. No the windows don’t have vents. Yes we open them for about 15 mins every morning but have to close them when we leave for work and because it’s cold and we have young children. We have a dehumidifier which is on most of the time and the heating is set to 20C (the man who did the condensation survey agreed that the issue is the vents aren’t working - the temperature in the flat is fine but as water evaporates it has nowhere to go and will then form condensation). Considering we are paying close to £2800 in rent a month, I don’t expect to be doing all of this. We have been renting for a few years and this is the first property we’ve lived in with extensive condensation and black mould!

The landlord needs to get the vents to work and the cooker hood needs to be repaired. However, it's unlikely that this will prevent ALL condensation, particularly if the flat is well insulated, so you'll still have to implement some preventive measures, as stated in my previous post. .

Talk to Shelter for further advice. The Council's Housing Office should also have someone dealing with condensation and mould issues. Some councils are more proactive than others when it comes to helping tenants deal with uncooperative landlords.

I own my home so it’s 100% my problem to deal with. I bought a large meaco dehumidifier and it has solved the problem within two weeks.

You are paying too much to have to compromise on mould.
Tell them you want the running costs of a dehumidifier removed from the rent immediately.
If there is a long running damp problem, it’s unlikely to get resolved in the short term. The previous tenants moved out because there was no way forward, I suspect it will be the same for you. At least summer is coming which should help.
You should be able to break the tenancy as you have been misled. Doesn’t sound like the landlord knows, or is interested, in getting it resolved. Nuclear option, tell them you will start to withhold the rent from May until it’s fixed or at least the vents are repaired.

Damp and condensation are two completely different things.

You need to massively reduce the amount of water going into the air. Don't dry laundry inside (or if you do, choose one room for this and keep the windows open). Get a window vac and suck up as much water as possible from showers and baths and open windows when cooking.

The vents do indicate that there was always a problem, but some flats are simply more prone to condensation. Are they definitely motorised vents?

The landlord needs to get the cooker good working.

Whatever you do, do not withhold rent as you'd be st risk of an at fault eviction.

Talk to Shelter.

I think you need legal advice, as you’ll have to get out the lease and that might be tricky.

Shelter has some advice on ending a fixed term early

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/how_to_end_a_fixed_term_tenancy_early

There's a 90 day deadline to start the process of unwinding the tenancy due to misleading information.

Further info here
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/damp_and_mould_in_rented_homes

You could consider going to Environmental Health about the issue if it is particularly bad; a threat to do so may also motivate the landlord to let you move out early.

Thank you all for your responses (my last reply hasn’t saved for some reason). I agree re paying ridiculous rent to buy a larger dehumidifier and run it constantly - my electricity bill has come to £380 for the last 6 weeks ish this is despite us both working FT out of the house, not using heating as the flat is above a GP practice so very very warm . I have today discovered that ALL of our shoes which were stored in an open wall shoe cupboard are covered in green and white mould. It makes me wonder what is growing in my sons lungs. My husband has emailed the head of the letting agency today and said we will seek legal advice re breaking the contract and recovering costs if it is not sorted out asap. No I won’t withhold rent (I have spoken to Shelter and the council and they warned me against this without me asking). Thanks again!

Can you also contact the landlord?

There is no way to contact the landlord directly. The property management team handles all correspondence. They live abroad. I did contact environmental health and they will come out and assess the situation hopefully next week

Good work so far. Make sure you keep the shoes etc as evidence for Environmental Health.

You will be able to identify the owner if you get the Land Registry documents (£3). It won't give contact details but you may be able to track him down online - harder if the name is John Smith, easier if they're called Hephzibah Montgomery-Chadlington.

It might be worth looking into whether a piv system might be the solution.

I have just moved out of a mouldy flat. Even if you contact landlord it wont be high on their priority list and will probably blame you entirely stating lifestyle. I would just try to get out of lease and move.

I’ve attached a picture of a pair of shoes to show the extend of the mould. The manager of the agency admitted to my husband (after his strongly worded email) that had in fact known about the damp and condensation issues (didn’t mention mould) but assume it was the tenants fault for not opening the windows. I’ve read through the inventory report from the move in date and they’ve mentioned black mould around all the windows.

For now, can you replicate the effect of the vents by keeping a couple of windows open a crack all the time?

Sorry, I’ve not answered your actual question, I just wanted to fix your awful mould.

Lol don’t worry - I kept them open today and was still getting a reading of 70% in the bedrooms and living room (dehumidifier on as well). I’ll wait to hear back from the environmental health team at the council now that I’ve emailed them the pictures. Thanks!

Wow, that's horrific. I don't know what to advise you but just to say this is not normal, this is not just because you aren't opening the windows, I have had a tiny bit of black mould in bathrooms where there's no fan, but wipeable/fine with ventilation, this is next order. I think getting the Environmental Health out and breaking the contract is the best way forward, with the legal advice of Shelter and others.