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
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Member Since September 2023 - Comments: 28
12:10 PM, 22nd February 2025, About 1 year ago
There is no ‘Claim’. Are we seriously suggestion and civil court is going to find the landlord liable for any ‘ill health’ as a result of the circumstances outlined?
No. Check the legality of S21 and get it done. You cannot have this toxic relationship with a tenant thinking they are in charge.
If the tenant wishes to sue, let him. Do not let that detract from pursing getting him out as quickly and legally as possible.
Take advice and act on that advice with all due urgency. Do not legitimate any claim by ‘sitting down to discuss it’s
If the tenant has any issues, they have a letting agent through which they can raise them
This isn’t a civil suit. It’s not a negotiation it’s attempted extortionate. Don’t entertain it.
Member Since September 2024 - Comments: 95
12:14 PM, 22nd February 2025, About 1 year ago
Reply to the comment left by Jennie at 21/02/2025 – 21:20
I agree with your husband- and bear in mind it may not go as far as Court.
I would get the gutter fixed immediately then make sure your paperwork is in order. Check your AST for clauses which may cover condensation, to help support your case.
Then either Serve a sec21 if tenants have broken any of the terms of the AST or section 8 because a family member wants to move in or you want to sell the property. Personally I would be doing everything you can to get these troublesome tenants out.
Member Since January 2020 - Comments: 1102 - Articles: 1
12:51 PM, 22nd February 2025, About 1 year ago
Reply to the comment left by Craig Vaughan at 22/02/2025 – 12:10
You say “There is no ‘Claim’.”
Of course there is, maybe not a legitimate one but a claim exists from when the first communication is received.
How do you know what a court will decide, what evidence the tenant will produce and who will be believed?
“If the tenant wishes to sue, let him”
Yes, well you can’t stop him anyway – it might work but if you take that stance don’t be surprised if the next you hear is a summons detailing heads of claim and allegations that you had not even considered. It’s a high risk strategy, particularly when lawyers are already involved.
“Take advice and act on that advice with all due urgency.”
Absolutely, but not from sympathetic landlords who are all too ready to support your position without being in possession of all the facts, and are probably not qualified to advise on legal matters or the cost and risks of litigation.
Member Since November 2020 - Comments: 23
1:05 PM, 22nd February 2025, About 1 year ago
The answer is quite simple – issue a Section 21 as soon as you can.
At present you do not have to give a reason for giving them a Section 21 and assuming all your paperwork is in order, the judge is mandated to ask them to leave. All this stuff about damp and other issues is irrelevant when issuing a Section 21 at present.
The tenants may leave and not take it to Court if you are lucky, but if they do, they may bring it up but it is irrelevant. As long as your paperwork is in order, the judge has to give them notice to vacate.
Member Since January 2020 - Comments: 1102 - Articles: 1
5:34 PM, 22nd February 2025, About 1 year ago
Reply to the comment left by Luna at 22/02/2025 – 13:05
Evicting the tenant does not get rid of the potential claim. We have not been told when the tenancy started but we do know that it is still in the one year fixed term so an S21 cannot be issued.
Member Since February 2018 - Comments: 2
11:58 PM, 22nd February 2025, About 1 year ago
The tenants only moved in on 27 November 2024. They are now claiming that they saw it sometime between 15 – 23 December but didn’t report it to the landlord until they got back from a week away over Christmas and reported mould on 6 January 2025. The landlord ordered mould treatment and I delivered it for him 23/01 at which point it was gone and has not returned. So it is very early in their contract and I guess this means we can’t issue S21.
On 23/01/25 I assessed the property and took temperature and humidity readings and the kitchen (where the mould was) was 9.9 Celsius and 84% humidity! I advised them to ventilate thoroughly as much as possible with all doors and windows open, turn the heating up, put dehumidifier next to the wet laundry which was hung in a carpeted basement room, and clear up massive pile of boxes and binbags heaped against the wall next to the kitchen . Which they did and 5 days later the kitchen was 18 Celsius (up 82%) and humidity 62 (down 26%). I think this proves they didn’t heat and ventilate properly before. And there is a clause in the contract entitled Keep Ventilated but the letting agent doesn’t seem to think we can use this breach of contract to get them out before the twelve months are up!?
Member Since August 2024 - Comments: 3
8:19 AM, 23rd February 2025, About 1 year ago
Hi there is a lot of principle advice here. There are a few clauses in your tenancy if you are using a 2020 version.
1. Tenant like duties which includes heating the property at an adequate temperature and venting the property. You can request the gas and electric bills and compare them against historic usage.
2. There should be a fitness for Habitation clause in the AST. If the property is Unfit and it falls on the Landlord the tenant isn’t liable to pay the full rent.
3. In the absence of surveys, reports from environmental health or contractors there is a risk of them winning compensation.
4. If the cellar is not tanked and is prone to rising damp this certainly is the owners responsibility. Any extra expenditure for running Dehumidifiers when it isn’t temporary should be compensated by the property owner.
Member Since September 2023 - Comments: 157
4:00 PM, 23rd February 2025, About 1 year ago
Reply to the comment left by Reluctant Landlord at 21/02/2025 – 10:53
As am FYI, protection from retailiory eviction applies from the moment the tenant contacts the council, but only if that complaint results in an improvement notice. So if a notice is issued, any s21 sent after the date the tenant complained to the council (a date you might not be aware of) will make the s21 invalid. The 6 month date for protection applies for a further 6 months from date the improvement notice was issued.
Member Since September 2023 - Comments: 157
4:08 PM, 23rd February 2025, About 1 year ago
Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 21/02/2025 – 18:38
I assume you mean retailiory eviction not revenge eviction. Protection from retailiory eviction was added in the deregulation act 2015, specially to invalidate an s21 notice from the moment the tenant complains to the council, where the council subsequently issues an improvement notice on the back of that specific complaint.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/20/crossheading/housing-and-development
The key bit is “e) if the section 21 notice was not given before the tenant’s complaint to the local housing authority, it was given before the service of the relevant notice.”
Member Since July 2024 - Comments: 112
7:12 AM, 27th February 2025, About 1 year ago
We had same thing. S21 right now, I used Mark Dawson. I ended up with 7000 sterling in refurb costs. got the full deposit awarded – did not come near to my costs. There is no dealing with certain people. The word agressive is enough for Me. Get them out before RRB comes in and expect another refurb, get some special clauses in that AST with regards heat – at what level and ventilation if your friend is still not of a mind to sell like the 50% of landlords/ladies looking to sell