Mould

[chessington]

Hi My daughter and her family have moved into a private rent flat, it has mould in the bedroom, the estate agent and owner know this and a mould person came round a few weeks ago but have done nothing, yesterday her partner lifted up the bed and the mould is everywhere, the laminate flooring is ruined and they have an ottaman bed and all the kids clothes and bedding is ruined, I wonder does anyone know where they stand with the estate agents and owner and what can get rid of it? TIA

[Dogsbody2]

Three things to consider
Heating levels in the room
Amount of insulation in roof and walls
Amount of water vapour in the room, in turn largely driven by clothes drying and extraction / ventilation from kitchens and bathroom

Only the second of these is the primary responsibility of the landlord.

[woofgang]

Did they know the mould was there before they moved in

[chessington]

Thank you,
No they did not know about the mould, they have lived there about 6 weeks now, it is centrally heated and double glazed, they dont have an extractor fan in either kitchen or bathroom, she cooks with the windows open in the kitchen with the door shut, she only has a washing machine, no tumble dryer and dries the clothes on a rack in the kitchen with door closed and windows open. they have no idea about insulation. thank you for replies

[jomifl]

Mould is usually related to lifestyle, I once lived in a maisonette with no mould. The family next door lived in an identical maisonette with lots of mould but boiling vegetables, drying washing indoors and having lots of showers couldn't have helped.

[cassa333]

I would get a dehumidifier. If it is very bad hire an industrial one from somewhere.

Once dry clean with anti mound spray a couple of times and allow to dry then get a household dehumidifier and keep that going. If you are able to redecorate using anti mould paint. The bathroom stuff is usually best for that.

I have always found mould to be lifestyle related. I had a tenant in my flat I once owned who complained bitterly about mould and it turned out she was drying clothes over the radiators, kept the windows shut and the heating on. She didn't adequately air the rooms so they were bound to get mouldy.

[woofgang]

windows open and door shut won’t actually help as there won’t be any draught. use lids on saucepans and keep the door open to create an airflow. is there anywhere else to dry clothes? drying them indoors is a real mould creator.

[Dogsbody2]

Really need an extractor fan in bathroom as a priority, especially if shower in there. That is landlord of course but no legal responsibility to fit, I'm afraid.
Else keep door shut and window open for an hour during and after shower.

Hob is next issue. Lids on saucepans helps, but again landlord responsible but no legal liability.

[chessington]

thanks all of you for your replies, very helpful.

[clairson59]

Even in a privately rented property you have protection from the local authority regarding the state of the property. The owner and estate agent must have known about the damp issues in the property before your daughter moved in, as it is advanced to damaging clothes and furniture, and even if they didn't they do now and are legally bound to sort it out. Your daughter or her partner should contact them as soon as possible and ask them to rectify the situation. If the owner doesn't get it sorted your daughter should contact the environmental health department at her local council and ask them to inspect the property. Take pictures of damaged clothing etc. if you can. The LA will warn the owner to get the damp sorted and if they don't the LA will do the work and send the bill to the owner. I read this when my neighbour's flat was riddled with mould and the electrics were being damaged by the damp (risk of electric shock here...). I tried to get him to report it to our LA because the owner just kept sending someone round to paint over the mould to hide it instead of doing something to stop it.