Mould discussion

[Alan47]

There’s been a lot of publicity recently about mould in rented property, and the blame is always aimed at the landlord.

I have owned a number of flats for about 25 years and only ocassionally have problems with mould.

One flat that I have owned for 11 years has had a number of different tenants, and has been occupied for the last 5 years by a couple with two small children. The flat is fairly modern and has gas central heating and a washing machine with built-in tumble drier. There have never been any issues until recently, when the tenants reported a problem with mould. When I inspected it I was appalled at the extent of the problem, on all walls and ceilings. I immediately called in a mould specialist who identified the problem as solely due to the tenants’ lifestyle. He noted that there was even mould behind the radiators, so although the tenants said they used the heating it was apparent that they didn’t. They were drying clothes indoors and not using the drier, and kept windows closed at all times. I have some sympathy that they haven’t been able to afford heating so hadn’t even turned on the hot water. I can’t understand how he was washing!

I try to be good to all my tenants and I haven’t increased rents even though my costs have increased substantially over the past couple of years. They are therefore paying less than the going rate for similar properties.

I have asked decorators for quotes to address the problems and they say they can’t do it while the tenant is living there. It will be a very expensive job, and the tenant doesn’t want to move out because he has nowhere else to stay. I have therefore not been able to do anything to address the problem, other than advise the tenant to change his lifestyle, and to clean the mould with disinfectant. He has done that and the problem is now nowhere as bad as it was.

I guess the outside world will blame me as the landlord for the mould problem, but I have proved that it is not my fault but I will have to bear the cost of redecorating to fix the damage.

It’s this sort of thing that gives landlords a bad name

[David79]

Unfortunately there seems to be an increasing number of people who don’t know how to open a window or wipe and clean a surface.

[Davud]

I’ve never evicted someone but it thst case I would

[Tony]

I had exactly the same problem 12 years ago. Tenant called me out because it was ‘raining in the bedroom’. Turned out to be condensation dripping from the ceiling. Clothes on radiators, pans boiling without lids, … the place was like a Turkish bath. I wrote them a letter identifying the causes and remedies. She phoned and screamed at me. They moved out shortly after. 4 different tenants and no problems with the place since then.

[Jason25]

if you have used a service like a full inventory inspection company before the tenant moves in would this not be something to use show the landlord is not to blame? we have not come as mould problems in any of our properties but have always thought the photos from the inventory would be a good starting point to shows the property was immaculate when the keys where handed to the tenant.

[Alan47]

I don’t think the public or the news media would take that into account. They simply blame ‘bad landlords’ for the poor state of rental property.

Incidentally, I always take a video of the property before all new tenancies, because a video is likely to cover more than photos do.

[lucinda5]

I feel your pain. We had a similar situation and ended up fitting an air input system. Sadly the tenant decided to knit the vent a cover to stop the ventilation. Sometimes you just can’t get the message to be heard.