Notice served by local council under Housing Act 2004 (s11)

[Syed.Hussain]

I have recently been given a Notice by the local council as a result of my tenant complaining about damp. Having had three surveys done, all reports advised it was condensation resulting in mould growth, and had a lot to do with the tenants lifestyle (poor heating, lack of ventilation, drying clothes indoors). Regardless of this, I am having an anti-condensation unit installed on Monday 15 Feb 10 and vents in the bathroom and kitchen are going to be hardwired instead of the current 'pull-cord' type, as I don't believe the tenant is actually using them.

My issue is that the Housing Officer from the council is being very difficult - he has stated in the Notice that the roof is leaking causing water into the bedroom. He did not at any point actually have a look in the loft area for any signs of a leak. There were some broken tiles (7-9 tiles), from which he assumed there was a leak. I told the officer that having had three roofing contractors examine the roof, assessing the loft are (bone dry!), that there is no 'leak', and that the water on the ceiling (small drops that trickled to one corner because the ceiling obviously slopes that direction), which is not a continuous drop, was as a result of the condensation! His reply to me was "well, there has to be a leak somewhere". I told him that there is no sign of any continuous flow of water....its the same condensation/mould issue as that of the rest of the room, he just won't have it.

He has then told me to have the heating system 'overhauled' - I called in British Gas and they confirmed that all the system is working fine. The tenant complained that the system doesn't heat efficiently. I know that the tenant only puts the heating on for a few hours a day (...and this was also during the recent winter chill we had!), and only has the room thermostat at 20 degrees celcius! How am I meant to prove that the heating system works effeciently, if she doesn't turn the damn thing on??

The Officer has also told me to overhaul the front and back doors and to renew the locking mechanisms - just because the door was jamming as a result expansion from the cold temperatures and condensation. Today, the front door is opening and closing freely. There was never anything wrong with the back door (double glazed)!

I am looking into whether the Housing Officer, who I personally believe is collaborating with the tenant for some reason, actually has any grounds on which he can pursue me. I have had the roof work done today (13 Feb 10)..although the roofer cracked a few tiles on his way down, which he is going to replace on Monday. I am having the main condensation unit and vents being installed on Monday also. I have already personally taken off and cleared all the night vents from dust and debris last week. British Gas have confirmed the heating system is fine.

Does the housing officer have any grounds to take the Notice issue any further? Should he have issued this Notice in the first place? Is there a way of confirming he has served this Notice with the right intentions? ...and another thing, the Officer advised that he visited the property for an inspection (without advising me that he would be), with a colleague, who also agreed with his opinions, but when I asked him by mail to advise of his colleagues name and contact details (so that I could include him on further correspondence), he has totally ignored my request??? Did he actually have a colleague with him? Is that why he didn't tell me before he went for the inspection?? All very strange and quite worrying....anyone had similar problems with the council and Notices???

[climbinghigh92]

I have recently been given a Notice by the local council as a result of my tenant complaining about damp. Having had three surveys done, all reports advised it was condensation resulting in mould growth, and had a lot to do with the tenants lifestyle (poor heating, lack of ventilation, drying clothes indoors). Regardless of this, I am having an anti-condensation unit installed on Monday 15 Feb 10 and vents in the bathroom and kitchen are going to be hardwired instead of the current 'pull-cord' type, as I don't believe the tenant is actually using them.

My issue is that the Housing Officer from the council is being very difficult - he has stated in the Notice that the roof is leaking causing water into the bedroom. He did not at any point actually have a look in the loft area for any signs of a leak. There were some broken tiles (7-9 tiles), from which he assumed there was a leak. I told the officer that having had three roofing contractors examine the roof, assessing the loft are (bone dry!), that there is no 'leak', and that the water on the ceiling (small drops that trickled to one corner because the ceiling obviously slopes that direction), which is not a continuous drop, was as a result of the condensation! His reply to me was "well, there has to be a leak somewhere". I told him that there is no sign of any continuous flow of water....its the same condensation/mould issue as that of the rest of the room, he just won't have it.

He has then told me to have the heating system 'overhauled' - I called in British Gas and they confirmed that all the system is working fine. The tenant complained that the system doesn't heat efficiently. I know that the tenant only puts the heating on for a few hours a day (...and this was also during the recent winter chill we had!), and only has the room thermostat at 20 degrees celcius! How am I meant to prove that the heating system works effeciently, if she doesn't turn the damn thing on??

The Officer has also told me to overhaul the front and back doors and to renew the locking mechanisms - just because the door was jamming as a result expansion from the cold temperatures and condensation. Today, the front door is opening and closing freely. There was never anything wrong with the back door (double glazed)!

I am looking into whether the Housing Officer, who I personally believe is collaborating with the tenant for some reason, actually has any grounds on which he can pursue me. I have had the roof work done today (13 Feb 10)..although the roofer cracked a few tiles on his way down, which he is going to replace on Monday. I am having the main condensation unit and vents being installed on Monday also. I have already personally taken off and cleared all the night vents from dust and debris last week. British Gas have confirmed the heating system is fine.

Does the housing officer have any grounds to take the Notice issue any further? Should he have issued this Notice in the first place? Is there a way of confirming he has served this Notice with the right intentions? ...and another thing, the Officer advised that he visited the property for an inspection (without advising me that he would be), with a colleague, who also agreed with his opinions, but when I asked him by mail to advise of his colleagues name and contact details (so that I could include him on further correspondence), he has totally ignored my request??? Did he actually have a colleague with him? Is that why he didn't tell me before he went for the inspection?? All very strange and quite worrying....anyone had similar problems with the council and Notices???

Ask for proof of identity he should show you his staff ID that the concil give all employees, phone the concil housing office and check with his head of department, you can lunch a complaint agasist him do so in writting not to him but to the concils complaint office, with regards to the mould i personaly am aware of issue with the condensation having ventilation hard wried in isnt a good solution and it is her responibilty to open windows and turn on heating if you have had inspections done get it in writting from the contractors and get bristich gas to send you a report if thay havent allready as this covers you the only thing he can do now is to take the case to court if you refuse to comply with an enforcment notice if he has served this allready or not, if you give me detals of the type of house i might be abel to suggest a better soloution, you can take action on the tenent by taking away repair costs from her deposit such as the damge done to decoration.