Hi, out landlord has his stuff in the garage, despite this being part of the rental and we can’t use it, also we have black mold and not all of the doors have key’s. Can we push for a release from the contract? He also lets his friends park in our drive
how long have you been in the property? Is this in England?
Who are ‘we’. is this a single let, or a shared property, maybe a HMO with single let rooms?
Did you view the property? was the black mould there then? Have you reported this to the Landlord and if so, what have they done?
When did the black mould appear? are you ventilating & heating the property properly? Are you ventilating when cooking? Do you use a tumble dryer or are you hang drying clothes? Is the mould behind specific furniture, on certain walls (ie inside / outside).
Could you provide more detail to help people advise. The more detail provided helps us advise.
Tatemono’s questions are important in regards to your right to end the tenancy.
If this is not possible, there are other things you can do.
- You can write to the landlord giving him a reasonable deadline to remove his possessions from the garage and if he doesn’t, then you are entitled to dispose of them. You need to take proper advice on this though so as not to fall foul of the Torts Act. In some circumstances you may also be able to deduct the cost of disposal from the rent.
- You can ask the Council to inspect the mould if your landlord is not responding. They have the power to force the landlord to address any issues. However, black mould is usually due to excess moisture in the property, often a result of lack of ventilation. In the first instance try opening windows each day for a period and see if it continues.
- You can write to the landlord letting him know that your rental contract automatically includes the drive unless specifically excluded and that you wish to reserve it for your exclusive use.
Does the contract say anything about your issues
Hi @Amanda46
Landlord has obligations legally to make sure a property is habitable but black mould may be due to not ventilating if you don’t open windows regularly and take other steps to control humidity. People breath out lots of moisture and cause it with kettles cooking drying clothes indoors etc. Google ‘preventing black mould’. If you haven’t done everything possible to ventilate then unless mould is from some outside source eg leaky roofs or due to a non working extractor fan or water penetrating through a wall, then damp related mould may actually be due to you. Sorry if all very obvious but many people don’t realize a lot of damp issues are neither rising damp nor penetrating damp but condensation caused by modern living habits. Old buildings were drafty and less well insulated so there were more ways for water in the air to escape.
For all the other issues you raise, check your contract and what the original listing said. And then try talking to LL (but follow up any conversations with a written record). If you explain you’d prefer to stay if you can resolve these issues with LL they might be willing to help rather than have the cost and hassle of finding new tenants. Ultimately even poor LLs care about having paying tenants not no rent. But otherwise you may have to try more official routes. Calling in the council or disposing of LL’s belongings is not a first step.
Good luck!
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No it doesn’t. Landlord has fixed some issues but not black mould or open sewer pipe
2 months yes in England
Single let. Black mould in kitchen and bathroom from day one of the tenancy. We viewed the property but it had been freshly painted so didn’t see or smell it. Subsequently going out the garage roof is probably asbestos and broken so can’t use the garage anyway
Even if LL has wrongly painted over black mould in attempt to cover/stop it, you still have to report it promptly to LL and give them a chance to deal with. That is only fair to them.
If you left it so long that it became uninhabitable and didn’t report to LL you will be in breach of contract clauses that say you have to report issues promptly.
Meanwhile take lots of photos and whatever evidence you can (mould under the new paint or whatever) to show it was a pre existing problem
Ditto if you think there is a risk from a broken asbestos roof, take photos and ask LL to investigate.
Potentially if uninhabitable then council can take action against LL, and you can too if advertised as habitable and it clearly isn’t. Shelter or the property ombudsman shoild be able to advise you. OR contract has clauses on LL responsibility including
“11.5. To comply with the obligation under Section 9a of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to keep the Premises fit for human habitation “ but whether or not it’s in the contract the Landlord still has to meet those legal obligations and can face large fines etc. And you should be able to claim rent back.
Good luck
Ps lots of old materials contain asbestos- old wallpaper, man made roof tiles etc. They can be perfectly safe so long as they aren’t disturbed or broken in a way that means the asbestos fibres can be released. So def don’t touch/disturb garage roof (why would you anyway)
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