Excessive humidity (90 percent) and mould, landlord is not solving

Landlord Discussion Repairs & Maintenance
21

That is not a bad idea . although it is irksome that the landlord is not attending to it.

22

Hi, weā€™ve had a new tenant since October. Weā€™ve owned our flat for about 12 years with no issues. There was double glazing but pretty old so weā€™ve just put in newā€¦.surpriseā€¦.mould in the bedroom due to condensation. Iā€™ve been round and cleaned with bleach which kills the mould spores, opened the small window onto the catch although theyā€™re vented and open. Thereā€™s no condensation anywhere else so I suggest itā€™s due to lack of circulation during the night and a person/people breathing in a small space for a prolonged period. Iā€™m not sure thereā€™s anything your landlord can do; as I said, weā€™ve just installed DG and thereā€™s now condensation. Wipe over the mould with a bleach solution, use the dehumidifier packs in each window; the electric ones cost a fortune to run.

23

So you need to install an extractor fan if you get mold/condensation like that

24

Not in a bedroom you wouldnā€™t. Windows need opening to allow for air circulation.

1 Like
25
  1. Call in 2-3 damp specialist companies to investigate and pay them for their reports, e.g. Rentokill charge for this.

2a) Advise the landlord that is what you are doing and if structural or leakage problems are found then you expect the landlord to refund you for these costs and to remedy the issue as fast as possible under sections 11 to 16 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2028 for which failures to comply will lead to high penalty charges, as may delayed action

2b) If not done yet, complain to your local Environmental Health Council Department. If they wonā€™t come out quickly, implement 1) and 2a). You can even appeal to the Council Housing Department to see if they can provide emergency accommodation on health grounds while the situation is being investigated.

  1. Learn from your current experiments:
  • if cheaper, use damp absorbing materials instead of the humidifier, from the Pound Shop I understand, but my guess is it will be more expensive. Some are re-usable, by putting them in the oven to re-release the moisture back into the room!
  • use earplugs from the chemist to help sleep with the humidifier on at night, or with windows partially open to reduce humidity levels with extra bedding if cold. You have demonstrated that the humidity level drops with windows open, so do that! Also, ideally, donā€™t sleep in the affected room: close it off and seal it off with masking tape, and donā€™t store anything in it.
  • highly unlikely to be caused by lack of Double Glazing. If you want DG, the cheapest, and it works, is plastic film made for the purpose from B&Q if this is still on the market. Ask, but if left on for a few years the glue takes a lot of elbow grease to remove!
  • if mould is on the bottom of the walls, or near overhead or drain pipes, or below roof gutters, it is more likely to be penetrating damp needing pipes or gutters to fix.

  1. If it all turns out to be the landlordā€™s responsibility, and you are willing to put up with further stress, you could consult a solicitor to recover your costs with compensation for stress and the impact on your health and lifestyle. Best not to as it is costly on finance and health grounds!

  2. At worst, pay for repairs, then consider 4), but keep the landlord updated on what you are doing, periodically reminding him of 2)

Good luck

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26

I am wondering if the mould appears in the middle and the top of the wall, what could it be the reasons, please? The flat above mine leaked to my flat almost every year, for the worst time the ceiling came off. I would like to see if there is hidden leaking there, but the landlord above doesnā€™t give me access to his flat.

27

No, what you do is you install an extractor fan (exit air) in bathrooms and kitchen/utility and then vents (in air) everywhere else. Thatā€™s how you get good indoor air.

Anything where you need to manually open windows are defective

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28

You can open up your ceiling to see if thereā€™s a problem and where itā€™s coming from.

Document with photos so you can prove to the upstairs neighbour itā€™s his problem if it is.

29

Where does the tumble drier vent to.?
I had a tenant that was having the same problems, lets just say it was his lifestyle that caused it.
The new tenants that have been in 2 years now have not had any problems.

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30

Mould is always difficult to find the cause of. . excesive drying of clothes indoorsā€¦, a leak from upstairs that has now stoppedā€¦ or slightly dripping,ā€¦ penetrating damp,ā€¦ not enough insulation. no vents in the room ā€¦ or a combination of events. We are all just guessing.

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31

Letā€™s look at it a different way.

Each person emits humidity into the air, ditto for pets.
Lack of kitchen extractor fan will add to the problem
Single glazing will add to the problem
No extractor fan in the bathroom will add to the problem
Structural design will add to the problem
In adequate Ch will add to the problem
Heating rooms to deferent temperature will add to the problem. ( always goes to coldest room) .
Lack of ventilation will add to the problem ( open a window is not a solution, opening two windows in different rooms causes a flow of air which is better).
Lack of ventilation when turning on kitchen hot taps or using the cooker is a problem.

The humidity in the air has to go somewhere, normally to the coldest room ceiling or wall.

Placing washing to dry on cloths horses or rads internally causes massive humidity, as does unvented tumble driers.

All of the above can be addressed.

So the real question is do you have all of the above correctly done, if not it will add to your problem. A change of 1 degree is the difference between condensation or not.

Leaving mould to grow is not a solution, regular bleaching it out over time will prevent ill health and a must.

If all of the above fails - MOVE. Look for a new place and put your landlord on notice.

You do not have to live in this condition if you are innocent of all of the above.

Remember condensation occurs for only one reason and all of the above reduces the impact.

I have had multiple tenants in the same property okay then one has a problem because of drying clothes on rads and not opening windows. If bad weather dry clothes in the bathroom, close the bathroom to hall door and open the bathroom window. That way the rest of the property is protected.

Problem solved.

It may not be the same for you but try first.

Hopefully it isnā€™t the case but you may have a bad landlord and in that case move or take him to task via H&S at the council.

2 Likes
32

In 99% cases the reason for the mold is lack of heating. Thatā€™s why there are absolutely no problems with one tenant and then all of a sudden a pile of problems with another one in the same property with nothing else being changed.

If an average room is heated up to at least 21C in the winter in the UK, the relative humidity canā€™t rise above 50% long term on itā€™s own except for leakage or ground water infiltration.

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33

Probably not a total solution, but you can buy film to cover your windows, thereby creating a double glazed effect, although no where near as good as a hermetically sealed double glazing option. You can fix this to the individual sashes, assuming there is a reasonable frame, so that you can still open the windows for ventilation.

Many things can cause mould, as noted previously. Consider also footware, I had a tenant who displayed 50 pairs of trainers in his living room, and created excessive condensation and mould.

An investigation by the council might help, as suggested by others. If the property is found to be the reason, and is considered unhealthy habitation, the landlord could be made to rectify the problem if property related.

34

You could tell your LL you wish to surrender the tenancy due to the problems and his reluctance to investigate or fix anything as itā€™s affecting your health.
Theres nothing to stop you getting a couple of trades people in just to see what their opinion is on the problems. That way you would have a bit leverage as to what might be causing it.
If he wonā€™t surrender your tenancy ask for help via Environmental Health at the Council.

35

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions. To clarify the matter:

  • We are not drying any clothes in the bedroom,
  • We even stop using en-suite, as it might also increase humidity.
  • We set the temperature at least 23 C, but there is a huge temperature difference between the problematic bedrooms and living room, so we need to also run the boiler all the time to keep the heat constant.
  • We are opening all the windows while cooking to prevent humidity.
  • We are opening the windows at least 1 hour a day and recently purchased a huge dehumidifier, but even dehumidifier runs almost all the time, the humidity is still high and there is extreme condensation. I am not even talking about the cost of the dehumidifier and the hefty electricity bill.
  • We are drying windows daily, it is all wet, otherwise ould grows even faster.
  • When I spoke to LL, he confirmed the condensation, so it is not entirely surprising for him.
  • Now, he is trying to force me to sign the inventory where he stated that we should leave the premise mould free. Normally, that is ok, but under these circumstances, it is almost impossible.
  • We are having some respiratory issues, most probably because of extreme condensation and humidity, when I told him, he got angry and said ā€œthis is an old flat and you need to deal with thisā€

After doing everything possible above and beyond, the problem is still there and the LL is not acting on it. I am losing my good faith and I want to terminate my contract, as he is not even investigating the issue. I am wondering what would be the best approach, considering I am possibly dealing with a bad LL. Should I ask him to terminate the contract first or should I contact the Council H&S? I am
feeling desperate:(

36

You first posted about this a month ago. What has the council and such said about it?

There are requirements for when the landlord does maintenance. Itā€™s currently 3am, up with a fussy baby, but filing a complaint based on that is a good first step. Thereā€™s procedures online you can break a lease on grounds that itā€™s not suitable to live and the landlord isnā€™t fixing it.

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37

you are absolutely right, just the idea of being evicted is weird as if we are bad tenants. Actually, I am trying to get out peacefully, just not sure how to do it.

38

Youā€™ve done all you can with a property the clearly has other issues. I would offer to surrender the tenancy or bring in an environmental health officer.

39

I have not started an official complaint due to having illness:( I am contacting the council now, but LL wants me to ask an inventory where he is stating there is no humidity and mould! Iā€™ve never dealt with such a nasty LL, I do not know how to end my tenancy peacefully.

40

Then refuse. Write a letter formally stating your complaints of humidity and mold and that he has failed to perform maintenance in a timely manner.