Hi All,
I’m dealing with a damp issue in a property with a tenant not reporting it promptly leading to potential worse outcome. I would appreciate any advice from those who have had a similar issue. How did you approach it?
Many Thanks
Check tenancy agreement eg the Openrent ast (and new apt i expect) had this
9.22. To notify the landlord immediately… Failure to do so will result in tenant having to pay.."
Get a professional to state in writing cost and what cost would have been had you been notified immediately
If tenant has admitted not notifying you immediately, kerp the email/txt or if it was verbal write down a record of the conversation and send back to them so you have a contemporaneous record in case of any later dispute.
Tell tenant its not wear n tear, their lack of comms to you has caused the extra damage, tell them they will need to pay for it and say that as the contractor has to be paid within (30?) days of the repair you will need payment by then.
Even if you get them to accept some responsibility and pay a contribution to repairs it will help. As then they will report more promptly in future. If they refuse then say you will need to increase rents more in future to reflect higher risks of a tenant who is careless, and will claim from deposit at end of tenancy.
I emphasize to new tenants and in inspection visits to tell me stuff quickly- in their interest as gets fixed quicker and stops stuff getting worse and costing more to repair which can only ever mean higher rents in due course
Good luck
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Thank you for your response. I have sent a formal email to the tenant notifying the issue a d lack of reporting it promptly. I have also contacted 3 damp specialist to come and assess the cause. Following receipt of their quote I will draft a follow up email to the tenant incorporating your suggestions.
Many thanks
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I would be surprised if the clause you quote was enforceable. Proving that the tenant negligently or deliberately failed to report an issue would be next to impossible unless they admitted it and I believe that the courts view is likely to be that its the landlords duty to pick up defects through their inspection regime. I’d be interested to hear if anyone has tried to use that clause and the outcome.
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Totally agree v difficult to prove 100% they didnt report quickly enough but if eg there is mould over a whole wall before they bother to report it then an expert opinion saying it could and should have been reported sooner will presumably have some weight with the courts. Mould doesnt cover an entire wall overnight. We dont know what evidence @Nadine2 has that wasnt reported speedily
The purpose of clauses in a tenancy agreement isnt to be strictly legally enforceable (many arent eg on cleaning) anyway. It’s to get tenants to behave in accordance with their responsibilities and when they very clearly dont to be able to try to challenge them. Problems do occur in between quarterly inspections (leaks, mould etc) and if tenant patently ignores these and that csuses damage it’s reasonable to ask them to pay just like any other damage they cause. Some tenants will fess up and pay at least a contribution others will refuse - in which case as a LL you have to claim from deposit at end of tenancy and take account of when setting future rents. Doubt many LL would go to court unless clear evidence as you say and courts are always a last resort anyway.
Best
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Good job on grasping the nettle on this one. You dont need an rro from the council
Remember damp specialists tend to favour what most suits their services. I find it useful to go round with them but hey.
Its either coming from below, from outside , lack of ventilation, leaks Often you can resolve cheaply with vents or a hygrostatic fan or fixing a gutter leak or clearing below a dpc so exclude the simple first
I had one tenant who had a dehumidifier running who had no reservoir to catch fluid and when we went to investigate the floor was wet but of course we couldnt find the source as he had moved the dehumidifier to another room. . it cost me a lot of money as it took 3 visits before we spotted it. Stupid is as stupid does applies here.
Suggest you diarize your actions for good order. Some councils can be aggressive
Good luck
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Courts are going to assume that the landlord sets their inspection regime as required. Probably 3 monthly by default and more frequent if there are particular property or tenant issues. A court is likely to accept landlord mitigation if they can evidence such a schedule of inspections and reports arising from them. I think most things would get picked up by that sort of frequency, including mold. If a whole wall was covered, the landlord is going to have a hard time convincing a judge that their inspection evidence is true as I doubt mold can take hold that quickly.
The usual test in cases of negligence (in this case, neglecting to report something) is “reasonableness”. What could a reasonable person be expected to observe about the condition of the property, and what would be a reasonable action to take?
If the damp is being caused by an observable leak in a pipe, an accumulation of water or from a leak in the roof, then it would be reasonable to expect the tenants to notice and report it.
If the damp is being caused by the long term failure of a damp proof course, the deterioration of grout in a shower or the silicone seals around a bath, then it would be reasonable to expect that the tenants would not notice the gradual damp. Instead these are the things which are expected to be picked up in a maintenance inspection.
I hope that helps.
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If serious mold or some other hazard arises from either of those two scenarios, I dont think there would be much latitude for a landlord that didn’t pick it up regardless of whether the tenant reported it. The Government view appears to be that mold is not the tenants fault.
agree it’s what’s reasonable. I tell tenants to report any issues asap and provide guidance on avoiding damp and mould as part of the property info pack at the start of the tenancy.
the cause of the damp is totally irrelevant [and often unknown till a plumber or damp specialist investigates]. I’ve had sealant from a bath in a flat above fail (close to the taps) and within a couple of days, because the tenants above took long showers and water was leaking through and staining, there was very obvious water damage to the ceiling in my tenants’ flat, which they reported promptly. They told the tenants above [who stupidly tried to deal with by covering the area with a towel..] and I contacted landlord of flat above who within a week had organised a plumber who fixed the problem. This was a small stain in the corner of the ceiling but was very obvious.
(If it had only been a very small leak causing a little bit of peeling paint then of course tenants might not pick up.)
If they had waited 3 months till next inspection half the ceiling would have been stained [I had only just recently carried out the quarterly inspection]
best
Hi Nadine,
Builder here, 20-odd years on damp jobs, so a few practical thoughts.
First thing once a tenant does report it: reply in writing the same day and get in to inspect quickly. A prompt, dated response protects you as much as it helps them - it shows you acted the moment you knew.
On the inspection, work out the cause, not just the patch on the wall - the fix and the responsibility depend on it:
- Condensation (black speckled mould in corners, around windows, behind wardrobes) - usually ventilation and heating, but you’ve still got duties around adequate extraction/airflow, so check the extractor fans actually vent outside and airbricks aren’t blocked.
- Penetrating damp (a damp patch that tracks with rain) - external defect: failed pointing, cracked render, blocked or leaking gutters. Landlord repair.
- Rising damp (a tide-mark up to about a metre) - often a bridged or failed DPC, e.g. render or a raised flowerbed carried over the damp-proof course. Also landlord.
A cheap moisture meter and a look outside tells you most of it in ten minutes.
On the “reported it late” side - the honest fix is making it easy to report early. Give them a simple way to flag it with a photo, and keep a dated record of what was raised and when you responded. Early reporting plus a written log is the single best protection for both of you if it ever gets contested later. And with the damp and mould rules tightening under the Renters’ Rights Act, having those timescales documented is going to matter more, not less.
Happy to say more on any of the specific causes if it helps.
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Hi Rafa,
Thank you for your message. I now have dampness specialists (3) coming to assess the cause this week and will receive a quote from them. Here is what it looks like!
well that’s def something that would have been apparent on a routine quarterly inspection schedule. I don’t think you can lay the blame on the T for any delay here.
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I agree with @tatemono some peeling or cracking of the paint would likely have been apparent in the latest 3monthly inspection.
Looks like it’s a bathroom? If there is no extractor fan and the tenant doesnt open the window during or after taking a shower or bath that could contributing if not the cause so the tenant may not be blameless. But it could equally be faulty guttering or roof above. Def looks like some sort of stain above the middle of the window at ceiling level which suggests water coming from above.
@Colin3 may have a view as an experienced builder
Best
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If it’s a bathroom it may be as simple as the fact that it’s decorated with cheap emulsion.
You need proper bathroom/kitchen paint in high humidity areas. But that costs more so some LLs don’t bother and just slap on the same magnolia emulsion they’ve used everywhere else.
David 240 has just said what was on my mind I agree with his sum uo
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Yes there is an extractor fan in the bathroom. I believe the tenant does not open the window after shower and bath. my flat is located on 1st floor of a victorian conversation. I though the stain in the middle of the window could come from the flat above. I checked with the owner of the flat above, she visited her flat yesterday and said there were no signs of leak or dampness from her flat. I have another damp specialist coming next week to check the external. Once again thank you all for your comments! much appreciated.
That is the paint that I requested, I lived in the property for 3 years and never had this issue, so I assumed that a special bathroom paint was used. As part of the remedial work I will ensure a high humidity paint is used this time!
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the leak in the flat above may well not be visible or obvious to the owner above, Could be a a pipe under the bath or sink, or a pipe connecting radiators/the central heating [if pressure on that is slowly dropping an needs topping up every so often that’s a sign of a leak in the central heating system], or if there’s a kitchen above it could be the connection to a washing machine or a dishwasher. or the sink. If a floor is tiled and pipes are under the tiles /floor they will never know. For the people checking damp, good idea to identify what exactly is above and if possible arrange access.
From the outside - could be water coming down the wall from a faulty gutter, or it could just be the pointing failing in the brickwork above or cracks in render [if rendered] etc etc
best
