Damp

[MICHAELA8668]

We have a flat which we rent out and manage ourselves. The tenants have reported several patches of black mould behind furniture in the 3 bedrooms. We have bought them a condenser tumble dryer to stop them drying clothes on the radiator and advised them to ventilate. We originally thought this was just a problem with the tenants not opening windows, etc so as a precaution had a builder look at the property today. He found one wall was damp to touch therefore indicating water is somehow getting into the property. I am going to book a survey next week to pinpoint the source. The builder also advised that the chimney was not adequatley ventilated. We have owned the flat for 10 years and been renting it for 6 years and never had this problem before. We are doing all we can and will get any work completed once the survey is done. I am assuming the tenants may have to leave the property whilst this work is completed.Are we being reasonable in charging them full rent as we have acted immediatley?

Any other advice would be very useful as we have never had an issue like this before. We are leaseholders and the freehold is with the local council (we have their permission to rent) so I will call them once the survey is completed as they will need to remedy any work to the outside.

Many thanks.

[Mortitia]

Hi Michael,

I would have thought a good builder would have been able to tell you where the water is coming from without a survey - unless it is one of these 1960/70's sectional builds?

Check the obvious youself like leaking gutters and downpipes dischargeing against the brickwork (go around when it is raining) or is there a hole in the roof? Check the pointing and lead flashing around the chimney - with binocluars if necessary. It is amazing what you can work out yourself by observation - teach yourself this fault finding technique - it saves you being ripped off by builders.

In the meantime you could get a de-humidifier in and do not reduce the rent. I bought one recently for one of my rentals which has storage heaters and it instantly solved a long standing sooty mould problem in the bathroom and bedroom. They are quite cheap to run and although I bought an upmarket one with a large tank at £179 for my rather fussy tenant I have seen them in B and Q or Argos for about £59. This will dry the wall out quickly which is what you want for the comfort of your tenants.

Unless you are going to take out a wall which is extreme I would not expect the tenants to have to leave (I should think any repair will be to the exterior).

Hope this helps,

Mortitia

[MICHAELA8668]

Thankyou for your reply.

The reason we chose a survey was so we have something in black and white to show the council as from past experience I find they always go for the cheapest option when fixing the building. I have bought a dehumidifier which I will take over tomorrow.

[sunshinett55]

We have a flat which we rent out and manage ourselves. The tenants have reported several patches of black mould behind furniture in the 3 bedrooms. We have bought them a condenser tumble dryer to stop them drying clothes on the radiator and advised them to ventilate. We originally thought this was just a problem with the tenants not opening windows, etc so as a precaution had a builder look at the property today. He found one wall was damp to touch therefore indicating water is somehow getting into the property. I am going to book a survey next week to pinpoint the source. The builder also advised that the chimney was not adequatley ventilated. We have owned the flat for 10 years and been renting it for 6 years and never had this problem before. We are doing all we can and will get any work completed once the survey is done. I am assuming the tenants may have to leave the property whilst this work is completed.Are we being reasonable in charging them full rent as we have acted immediatley?

Any other advice would be very useful as we have never had an issue like this before. We are leaseholders and the freehold is with the local council (we have their permission to rent) so I will call them once the survey is completed as they will need to remedy any work to the outside.

Many thanks.

Hello dont know if I am doing this right as this the first time I have used this site.

We have had problems with mould. We have a small 3 bed semi house, modern design. 3 lots of tenants in it. First terrible smoked, when not meant to, dried clothes in property although we bought a condenser dryer for the hse and left it in the garage. They had terrible mould in the small bathroom, have a very power full shower, but dont know the reason for this, might be not opening windows, or in the bathroom room not putting on the extractor that works whenlight is put on.

We bought a dehumidifier, a small one, about £80 for B & Q, for them to leave on the landing and use. But again you cannot guarantee tenants will use it. Also dont think that these tenants spent much on heating.

So lack of heating, poor ventillation, and poss drying clothes on airers will cause a problem in the hse. Need to treat with POLYCELL mould and spore treatment, you need to kill the spores. This needs several apps and then you can paint over. DO NOT JUST CLEAN OFF WITH BLEACH USE THIS and then paint over.

Perhaps if you have a large property two dehumidifers and ask them to use them in the winter months. Maybe it might be worth getting new windows with trickle vents.

Again you cannot say if the tenants will be helpful and use all the things that you provide, thats the trouble you would love to be a fly on the wall and see what is really going on.