Court Ruling On Mould

[Editor]

Dampness, Condensation and Mould

This is a very complex area and one should be very wary about jumping to conclusions as to whose fault it is.
Also, it must be born in mind that advisors on damp often have a vested interest in finding a problem which they can then be contracted to "cure".
Enforcement has just as often been against the tenant as it has against the landlord when cases have come to court.
Unless there is a specific cause for dampness such as leaking roof, walls, gutters, drains, water pipes or rising damp, mould is more often caused by condensation - air born water vapour.
Condensation in turn is sometimes caused be inadequacies in the building construction, such as poor ventilation, insulation and inadequate heating systems, but often it's caused mostly by the lifestyle of the occupants.
Too much steam generated within the house from cooking and washing coupled with too little heating and ventilation.
The longer a house has been subjected to this, the more the dampness and mould takes a hold in the fabric of the building and the quicker these conditions re-appear when conditions again precipitate it.
In practice what happens is this: tenanted properties are too often left all day with little or no heating. When evening comes the occupants return for just a few hours to literally blast the building with moisture from cooking, washing, breathing etc whilst providing little ventilation for all of this moisture.
The walls are cold from lack of heating so all the moist air which rises to the top of the house (bedrooms in particular) which are the coldest, condenses out causing mould to form on wall paper and on clothes in wardrobes. The tell tale signs are condensation on windows and sills, black patches on the wall paper in the top corners and a musty smell in the rooms.
Answer: keep the house thoroughly dried out and warm by providing adequate heating - this can take some days or even weeks to do - use a thermometer to monitor room temps. Keep the house well ventilated, especially vent-out steam production from the room where it's made instead of letting it spread throughout the house.

Read this article:

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/pdf/Mould.pdf

[pippay]

I believe there is a specific process for suing a landlord for Disrepair issues but I'm uncertain whether it is a small claims matter or is for a higher court to deal with.

There is definitely a procedure to follow which can be found here.

http://www.justice.gov.uk/civil/proc...s/prot_hou.htm

I have friends who lived with really bad condensation / mould / various disrepair issues for many years and successive LL's failed to act selling the property instead. The condensation / mould issues were eventually completed in February / March and even then it is proving to be a lengthy process before a court hearing is set.

What exactly do you want from him ? Compensation?

Can you not have a half hour "Free" advice from a solicitor to get an idea of the process involved?

[philip heath]

I Moved In To A Flat In May And Within A Week I Noticed Damp Coming Through The Wall Paper. Yes Definately Damp As It Has Been Professionaly Inspected.
The Landlord Had Painted Over The Patches Which Is Evident By The Different Colured Paint Work And Mold Spores Now Grwoing On The Wall And Even A Whicker Laundry Basket.

I Keep Getting Told To Open The Windows, But This Will Not Solve The Problem As The Landlord Has Rendered Over The Air Brick, So There Is No Air Flow Within This Room Which Should Be A Bedroom.

I Have Asked The Landlord Three Times To Come And Unblock The Air Brick And Have Asked His Maintenance Guy To Also Request The Same.
The Landlord States There Was Never An Air Brick There In The First Place.
Just To Prove Him Wrong I Took The Air Vent Off From Within The Room And It Is Crystal Clear The Outside Brick Air Holes Are Full Of Cement, The Good Thing Though Is There Is A Tiny Bit Of Daylight Coming Through In The Corner.

A Fit And Healthy Person Would Not Be Able To Use This Room, But As I Suffer With M.e Whcih Has A Very Low Immune System And Depression This Has Seriously Affected My Health.

The Council Have Told Them To Get It The Damp Sorted In 40 Days And Have Served Notice On The Landlord.

I Intend Writing To The Landlord Listing The Faults And The Consequences, If There Is No Response Then I Will Take Them To The Small Claims Court.
It Just Appears That The Case I Wish Information On May Be Of Interest To Me In Pursuing The Landlord

[pippay]

Can you explain exactly what the problem is ???

[philip heath]

I SUBSCRIBE TO ANOTHER FORUM AND I HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF A CASE
LAST YEAR RELATING TO A LANDLORD AND MOULD.

Horror Story Sep 16th 2006: Landlord fails to escape mould
damage liability. Claims are for general negligence,
emotional distress and conversion.

DOES ANYBODY KNOW ANY MORE ON THIS CASE, ANY REFERENCE NUMBERS ETC THAT MAY BE OF HELP TO ME

MANY THANKS