Can ventilation systems tackle damp in homes?

Reply to the comment left by Dave the Rave at 23/04/2024 – 13:45
Education is the best defence makes some sense. Where do you get these booklets?

Most definitely + tenants lifestyle changes and when painting I areas of high humidity ie bathrooms kitchens ect l use anti mould paint when decorating.

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 23/04/2024 – 14:10
I read around the subject and put my own together using the best parts of other’s work. I include lots of photos to help tenants visualise the issues. They can then identify what looks like their problem, understand how it occurred and subsequently; how to combat it. You still end up having to go round occasionally and reinforce what’s in the booklet once they lose it after moving in! But it definitely helps with understanding.

Reply to the comment left by Dave the Rave at 23/04/2024 – 14:29
Sounds great. How wonderful it would be if that were to be added to the government’s how to rent guide:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-rent/how-to-rent-the-checklist-for-renting-in-england

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 23/04/2024 – 14:37
Indeed. I was handing them out years ago. My agent includes both the Council Version as well as our in-house version with all tenancies.

Reply to the comment left by Dave the Rave at 23/04/2024 – 14:40
Is there a copy of the Council version somewhere online?

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 23/04/2024 – 14:51
Yes, some Councils go into detail. North Yorkshire Council has a good one. Google “Condensation leaflets for tenants”.

Reply to the comment left by Dave the Rave at 23/04/2024 – 15:05
I googled and this came up:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/damp-and-mould-understanding-and-addressing-the-health-risks-for-rented-housing-providers/understanding-and-addressing-the-health-risks-of-damp-and-mould-in-the-home–2

It goes into some depth about what landlords are supposed to do but it doesn’t say anything about what tenants are responsible for. It says things like: “…Do tenants know how to use ventilation systems and are they making use of them?” and “Can windows be opened and are tenants making use of them?”

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 23/04/2024 – 15:15
Scroll down the list of Google options and you will find the Council leaflets a bit further down. It may be best to collate the best of several information sources to make a guide that gives tenants the answers to the specific questions you want them to understand (as I did).

Reply to the comment left by Dave the Rave at 23/04/2024 – 15:23
I probably will. But I scrolled down that government link first and it says this:

“Working with tenants
We are absolutely clear that it is totally unreasonable to blame damp and mould in the home on ‘lifestyle choices’. It is unavoidable that everyday tasks, such as cooking, bathing, washing and drying laundry will contribute to the production of indoor moisture. With this in mind, the fundamental cause of damp and mould will be due to building deficiencies, inadequate ventilation, inadequate heating and/or poor energy efficiency, not tenants’ normal domestic activities (see above ‘Understanding damp and mould’ under the section ‘Identifying and addressing damp and mould in your property’).”

That seems pretty biased to me. It would be nice to think that there would be more education in the how to rent leaflet along the lines of ‘landlord responsible for normal maintenance…tenant responsible for heating and ventilation’.

Of course cooking, bathing, washing and drying laundry will create moisture. But surely the tenants should have some responsibility for heating the property and ventilating it.