Rented accommodation - mold

Elainew

I am renting a newly renovated farmhouse and mould has appeared on the walls and around windows.
There are no vents in the house.
I am worried that this maybe a health hazzard.
I have voiced my concerns with the auctioneer associated with the property, but as of yet have not recieved a response.

Any advice?

Victor

Vents are required, whether fitted in a wall or as some are these days, in the windows themselves.

Part of the problem may be that the building is still drying out from plastering, painting, etc.

Make sure if you are cooking, washing, etc. that you leave a window open.

Does you have gas heating / cooking? If so, not having ventilation is a serious safety risk.

Don't leave them away with this as you could end up with health problems, mouldy clothes, etc.

Elainew

thanks for the reply , no gas heating or cooker.
Is it a legal requirement?

Victor

No ventilation + gas = boom

Elainew

I am new to renting - having sold my house.

I have very little knowledge re my rights as a tennant.

I posted previously here about a problem re mould. Its creeping up the walls in some rooms - even transferring onto furniture - my furniture! And its around window sills.

I rented the house unfurnished. So I dont want my furniture ruined. Or my health. Or am I being overly dramatic?
The house has no vents. It has single glazed windows. Its a newly renovated farmhouse.

I was away for a weeks holidays and informed the Estate agent to sort out the problem. It seems that while we were away the landlords aired out the house and sprayed a deodorant!!

What should I do next? I have just filled up an oil tank
I would also have to move all my furniture to a new place costly,
What about the mould on my furniture - if it gets worse will it ruin couches/wardrobes?

HELP!



oh and when the fire is lit it fills the room up with smoke and even upstairs where the chimney is, also the radiators dont fully work upstairs.

Sponge Bob

contact the prtb , www.prtb.ie

BostonB

Whats actually causing the mould? The only place I've seen it get bad is in bathroom when people don't vent the room properly after using it. OR if theres a underlying problem with damp in a wall.

hanorac

Do you open the windows regurally? I rent out a flat, never had a problem with it while i lived there, the tenants who just left obviously never opened a window as there was mould on them all. Even the bathroom walls.:eek:

Elainew

hanorac wrote:

Do you open the windows regurally? I rent out a flat, never had a problem with it while i lived there, the tenants who just left obviously never opened a window as there was mould on them all. Even the bathroom walls.:eek:

I have learnt from the PRTN that its a requirement that EVERY room have vents.

Elainew

ok I gave my landlord the benefit of the doubt as they seem to be genuinely nice people they came and had a look around and said it was terrible and acted all concerned. They said they would fix all the problems while I was abroad.
I was abroad for month. Home now.

Nothing is fixed. No vents. And the heating doesnt work properly. Most of the radiators dont work. I have bled them myself but its not working.

I have a freezing house full of disgusting fungus all over the walls - starting to grow on my furniture.

My lease is up in April and I suspect they landlords are fobbing me off until then.
I have stopped paying rent now.

TCollins

I used to work in the damp store some years ago.
In 90% of cases its the occupants that are causing the problem rather than the building. In 100% of cases the occupant refuses to believe that they are the cause and can fix it by changing some things. In your case i think its lack of heat and lack of vents causing the problem.

You can get anti fungicides that will kill mould but if you dont solve the airing problems it will be back.

Your landlord fixing your heating, and vents installed in every room will help a lot but you must make sure the house is aired.

Lack of good Air circulation is the cause of most mould.
If its on the bottom of the walls its probably rising damp though.
If its in top corners and on ceilings its just bad air circulation and damp air in the house.

You need to air the place out. Open windows, open vents, dont dry clothes in the house, close kitchen door and open kitchen windows when boiling etc.
Once you allow good fresh air to move your problem is solved. Simple when you decide to grab hold of and tackle the problem instead of trying to pass on the blame as most people try to do.

Elainew

we leave windows open permanently for air as we dont want to be breathing in the spores! Its really cold though!! We did spray the fungus with a spray but it makes the house smell like a swimming pool!! Very harsh on your nose and throat. Plus the mould has come back even while we were away for a month with some windows open while we were away!
We have dehumidifiers going non stop too



Cant even start a fire as the chimney is blocked. They got it swepth but it didnt fix it. The first night we arrived we had a fire and fell asleep on the counch. The room filled with smoke and (with no vents) we woke up !! We both had sore throats for weeks after!!

TCollins

Elainew wrote:

we leave windows open permanently for air as we dont want to be breathing in the spores! Its really cold though!! We did spray the fungus with a spray but it makes the house smell like a swimming pool!! Very harsh on your nose and throat. Plus the mould has come back even while we were away for a month with some windows open while we were away!
We have dehumidifiers going non stop too



Cant even start a fire as the chimney is blocked. They got it swepth but it didnt fix it. The first night we arrived we had a fire and fell asleep on the counch. The room filled with smoke and (with no vents) we woke up !! We both had sore throats for weeks after!!

Sounds like there are other problems in the house. Blocked chimney is a sign of neglect. No vents in rooms sound like it was a botched job renovating the house.

Can you post photos of the outside of the house and the corners where the mold is. Also if you can get a photo of one of the walls of the window and another of the wall underneath a window where the wall meets the ground that would help.

If you scrape the plaster under the window on the inside with your nail does it dent or scrape away the plaster?

I think you may have no damp course or insulation to go with the lack of vents and blocked chimney.

Sounds to me that you may be one of the 5% who actually have a structural problem as the cause.

I might be able to tell from the photos. If this is the case then all i can say is you should move out and the landlord should do a proper job on the place. It will go away by itself around April, so dont be fooled, but it will be back again in November for sure.

Elainew

Thanks - I will take some photos tomorrow when its bright again.

Hells_Belle

I would just like to point out that this problem is not always the fault of bad tenants. We have this issue too and it is caused by damp in the walls and attic from a very, very, very leaky roof.

thr front of the house where the roof is 99% sound = No Mould. The back of the house where it drips like a shower = Bad Mould.

Elainew

TCollins wrote:

I might be able to tell from the photos. If this is the case then all i can say is you should move out and the landlord should do a proper job on the place. It will go away by itself around April, so dont be fooled, but it will be back again in November for sure.

had to get a little help uploading the photos ! But here they are:

TCollins

Doesnt look to be a problem with the damp course and the windows look fine. No condensation visible.
I think it is most likely a problem of a combination of no insulation in walls an no vents or heating.

If your landlord has not at least ventilated and fixed heating then i would move out. If you can last another 2 months it will disapear by itself, but it will come back if nothing has been done.

If it was me i would move out anyway as soon as possible no matter what the landlord does.
Reasons.
He may do work now, but you wont know for sure that it worked til november. by that time its too late. You've already bought more oil, and may have renewed your lease.

You gave your landlord a chance and he did nothing. I wouldnt give him another one. If you open windows and dont dry clothes in the house then its not your fault. He shoudl be reasonable and let you out of your lease as he will need the house empty to fix the problem anyway.

Victor

Honestly, talk to the PRTB, Threshold and your local environmental health officer (HSE - http://www.ehoa.ie/html/careers.shtml#housing).

Move out if you can. Wash everything.

Munster_Gal

I've been reading this thread as I am also having a problem with mould and damp in the house that i'm renting.
I would imagine that there was no heating on in the house for months before we moved into it. The boiler wasnt working. All the radiators had to be bled and the oil tank was bone dry.
We tried turning the heating on for a few hours a day but this did not work. We have washed all the mould effected walls but the mould has come back.
We are going to try a dehumidifier to see if this improves things. We have a few windows around the house open slightly to allow air in and some the the hinges on the windows are damaged so the windows are not air tight anyway so there's always a draught coming through the house.
Elainew - how did you get on with the house that you were living in? Did you get things sorted?