Regulator report “Mould – It’s not Lifestyle”?
1 year ago | 17 comments
Aggressive tenant demanding compensation for mould?
9:43 AM, 21st February 2025, 1 year ago
45
My tenants are demanding compensation for mould in the kitchen and have contacted Environmental Health, Citizens Advice Bureau, Shelter and a solicitor. He has sent a correspondence letter from a doctor stating that he “is suffering due to damp and mould in the home with respiratory issues and a cough” and has said he wants compensation for energy costs, rent paid, dehumidifier, and loss of earnings.
I spent 2 months doing it up when the last tenant left after 10 years. Within 5 weeks of the new tenants moving in, they reported mould in the kitchen and said there was damp in a couple of places. It never had these problems over 43 years in my family’s ownership. When I advised that the property needed to be heated and ventilated properly, he replied that it “seems like a waste of energy and our money. This strikes me as constructional damp”.
I also provided a dehumidifier for the basement, but they complained about the cost of running it, so I offered to pay them £175 for the running costs over the year.
A friend has been helping me and 17 days after mould was reported she took round some mould treatment. She also wrote a detailed report on the situation which I forwarded to the tenant. It noted that in the kitchen, it was 9.9°C, with a humidity of 80%. The rest of the property was similarly problematic although to a lesser degree. She advised the tenant to expel the damp air with a regime of opening windows each day, using dehumidifiers and the extraction fan in the kitchen. She also provided a hygrometer with which the tenant has taken temperature and humidity readings each day over three weeks.
The tenant has ventilated the property as recommended and his readings show that within the first 5 days the humidity in the kitchen had decreased by 26%. And after 14 days the humidity in the kitchen was reduced by 38% and the dining room was down by 40.5%. This appears to me to prove that he had not been ventilating sufficiently before and indeed when asked how he had previously been ventilating he replied that he opened the door each day to let the dog out into the garden.
They also use electric clothes dryers inside in a carpeted area, instead of using the garden, and the humidity readings in this area show the humidity increases significantly in that area each time.
In terms of heating, the tenant advised that he had set it to 44°C on the boiler and his girlfriend complained that the radiators were not getting hot enough. A heating engineer was fortunately present to service the boiler and advised that the boiler setting should be 65°C boiler, and that turning it down so far did not enable the radiators to heat up properly and hence to heat the property sufficiently. The temperatures in the house had already risen substantially with the expulsion of the damp air but have increased further since the setting on the boiler was rectified.
My friend visited the property again 11 days later and wrote a 2nd detailed report on the situation which I again forwarded to the tenant. It provided follow-up information and advice to the tenants and also reported that a gutter on the back wall was broken as well as some moss on the little glazing units beside the front door into the kitchen.
On learning of these issues, I immediately arranged for someone to visit the property 3 days later and make repairs to the glazing units, and any other issues that he identified which included a small crack in the wall near the kitchen window. He has also arranged for a full upgrade to the guttering arrangements in 2 weeks’ time to replace fascia boards, gutters and downpipes and weather shielding. This wall was cut back to the brick had a new proof course put in and re-plastered within the last 10 years or so. It was unfortunate that this wall can only be seen from my neighbour’s garden, so I was previously unaware of the problem although it had only been repaired a year ago, so I had assumed it was okay. I accept that this may have added to the humidity but do not believe it is the primary cause and it is on the opposite side of the house to the kitchen.
I feel that I have done everything that I can possibly do but it doesn’t seem to be enough. We have been very careful not to apportion blame at any point and have simply assessed the situation objectively and offered advice. However, the tenant is now getting very aggressive and has contacted a lawyer, the Citizens Advice Bureau, and the health and housing department of the Brighton and Hove council. Do you think I should get my own lawyer?
Do you think I should offer some compensation, and if so what sort of amount? The law seems loaded in the favour of the tenants, and this could get very expensive and I’m on low income. Any support or advice would be very much appreciated.
Posted on behalf of my friend/the landlord.
Jennie
Tags:
Damp and mould compensation UK, Damp and Mould Issues, dealing with aggressive tenants, Landlord rights, tenant compensation claim, tenant dispute
Comments
Have Your Say
Every day, landlords who want to influence policy and share real-world experience add their voice here. Your perspective helps keep the debate balanced.
Not a member yet? Join In Seconds
Login with
or
Previous Article
Call for government action as landlord numbers slideNext Article
Why the victimisation of landlords shames everyoneRelated Articles
How should we handle tenants’ belongings and mould after eviction?
1 year ago | 12 comments
Council households stuck in damp and mould backlog as one landlord calls out double standard
1 year ago | 1 comments
Member Since April 2017 - Comments: 163 - Articles: 1
10:02 AM, 21st February 2025, About 1 year ago
Entirely the tenants problem in my opinion. In one of my properties, I had a tenant similar to yours and I had to clean and repaint the room twice within a 12 month period. They left. My next tenant left after two years and the room was spotless.
Member Since December 2021 - Comments: 43
10:03 AM, 21st February 2025, About 1 year ago
This person is clearly either
1. living above their means in terms of rent and is trying to cut down on other costs such as bills
2. Incapable of living like an adult.
Houses do not just develop mould issues in 5 weeks. This is 100% tenant lifestyle issue and it sounds like you’ve gone over and above what I would have done.
If possible I would get them out the house by any means necessary. Maybe offer them money to go? but make it clear it is NOT compensation. As soon as you pay compensation you are admitting liability.
When the renters rights bill comes in you’ll be in a right mess with this person and it potentially could cost you an arm and a leg.
Member Since February 2022 - Comments: 203
10:06 AM, 21st February 2025, About 1 year ago
In my view you have done everything you can do as a responsible landlord. Just work with the council to ensure they can’t enforce any action. Can’t see what the tenant can actually do other than refuse to pay rent. I wouldn’t do anything other than work with the council.
Watch this too as I believe the first case is in Brighton although this one is likely an issue with the building fabric.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0027nqd
Member Since July 2022 - Comments: 23
10:13 AM, 21st February 2025, About 1 year ago
Get a professional report from a expert on damp not sure who but they are out there
Unfortunately, any court may Vue this is biased but it is a start
Member Since June 2015 - Comments: 330
10:24 AM, 21st February 2025, About 1 year ago
Many years ago I had a similar problem in a house that had no history of mould. Lack of heating and ventilation plus wet washing all over the place were the cause.
When the tenants sent an email mentioning mould spore inhalation and a rent reduction my next phone call was to Environmental Health. They sent an inspector who fully assessed the fabric of the building, decided there were no structural issues and then read the riot act to the tenants. I remember a phrase he used was something like “the only things wrong with this house are the morons living in it”. I guess they wouldn’t be allowed to describe tenants in those terms these days?
Member Since January 2025 - Comments: 1
10:28 AM, 21st February 2025, About 1 year ago
Getting tangible data to present to the tenant to start to remedy the situation is a must. We find tenant education is the key to resolving a large percentage of issues. It you are able to look at temperature , humidity and air quality you can paint a very detailed picture as to what is happening in the property.
Happy to help http://www.resisure.co.uk
Member Since September 2024 - Comments: 95
10:28 AM, 21st February 2025, About 1 year ago
The energy costs would have been implied by the EPC certificate you had to give him before the tenancy, so there can definitely be no compensation for energy costs. (Although it sounds like your tenant checks failed to highlight that they don’t seem to have sufficient money to have been given a tenancy)
If they are drying clothes in the house then the dehumidifier is solving a problem of their own making, so how is compensation due there?
Black mould is always due to condensation, which is almost always due to tenant lifestyles.
You could consider rewiring the bathroom and kitchen extractor fans with a humidistat rather than a timer, but you would need to ensure the tenant couldn’t turn it off.
I’d issue the tenant with either the NCC or NRLA leaflet on condensation, and get them to sign for receipt. I’d also give him a written instruction on the boiler settings.
I’d speak with the local Environmental Health Officer to ask his advice as a way of gauging his views on the tenant’s report and your response so far.
Finally, let’s be honest, Section 21 is your best way of dealing with the problem, and this option is time-limited. This house is your investment, why on earth would you let a tenant devalue it?
Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 12
10:28 AM, 21st February 2025, About 1 year ago
Contact James at Resisure,
They offer a sensor that you install in the property and it produces weekly reports showing:
Temperature over the week which should be over 18 degrees.
Humidity, which should be less than a certain value.
Invariably, if you have black mould, the tenants will not be heating sufficiently and will not be ventilating or are drying their washing on the radiators.
We had terrible mould problems in a flat, the tenant wanted to be rehoused by the council so they were causing all sorts of issues but when we sent the reports to the council, they stopped pursuing us and rehoused the troublesome tenant.
Member Since April 2018 - Comments: 365
10:42 AM, 21st February 2025, About 1 year ago
Reply to the comment left by Duncan Forbes at 21/02/2025 – 10:13
The problem with these professional reports is they may flag issues that need attention.Like so many landlords here I had a similar problem with new young tenants, after 15 years with previous older tenant and no mould. The new tenants had not switched on the heating when the temperature dropped, but at least didn’t threaten me.
Also take care dealing with a council, they are not your friend.
Seems you have done everything to assist your tenants with a problem they have caused.
Member Since September 2018 - Comments: 3508 - Articles: 5
10:53 AM, 21st February 2025, About 1 year ago
get in first with a S21 issued immediately.
You can’t issue one once an improvement notice is issued from the Council so get in quick. (NB bear in mind the Council could still visit and find that there is no structural fault and therefore the issue is not down to the LL so an improvement notice may never be issued anyway).
Make a total timeline log of what has happened and when, what communication was made and when. Log all photos (get them date stamped). Do not give them any more info than addresses their claims at the time.
Only respond to the tenants in a calm and professional manner. Do not word anything personally.
If they do go to a solicitor THEY have to prove with evidence their claim is valid so they will need to show you have NOT responded on time, NOT done anything etc. If you have, then your ass is covered.
Sounds like you might be in for a ride with them regardless of the damp claims, so just do what you need to legally do in the required timeframe in replying to them etc but focus on the possession as fast as. Don’t forget with S21 you can also add in costs and you can remind them you are able to issue a MCOL for rent arrears while they are still there if they remain unpaid. (this will NOT look good with the council if they are only doing this to get rehomed and some form of pay out from you)
Remember a S21 means you do not have to give a reason so there can be no basis for a claim against ‘retaliation’ or anything else. You DO NOT need to provide a reason so cant be compelled to give one nor any assumption made as to why you have.
Stick to your guns. If you know you are right then unfortunately you may have to fight to prove this.
Also if you can take a meter read and do this frequently. Shows the property is not being adequately heated. Evidence they are not heating and this can be borne out by use of ‘average’ consumption stats in the EPC.
Good luck