Issues with Mould in my new apartment.

discobeaker

Hi all... I hope this is the right forum but i was wondering if anyone had any advice for me.

I moved into a new place about 2 and a half months ago but in the last month ive started to notice mould growing around the window and on my things (the window is about 3 foot above my pillow)

The room is so cold at the moment, the landlord puts the heating on 2 hours in the evening, but you can see your breath some nights and winter isnt really here yet. My pillow,duvet,clothes etc are also damp and it has started to ruin my stuff (picture 3 has a bag that is covered in mould,also shoes and a coat are covered too)

Its gotten so cold that i have to sleep in the living room at night. 2 weeks ago i asked the landlord to look into this, He came in and even he said the room was very cold and i showed him the bag and shoes. It seems that the damp and cold air is coming in through a dodgy seal in the window. So my landlord said he would sort it, last friday he still hadnt called over so i rang him and asked him again to look into it so he said he would come over on Saturday to get on the case,which he never did.

The rent is due next Monday but to be honest,im not happy paying for a room that i cant even sleep in as its so cold. I have MS and the cold and damp weather kinda plays havok with my joins so being out in it all day the last thing i need is to get into a damp bed in a cold room.

He has also promised my flatmate a new mattress and 2 months on she is still waiting.

Any suggestions as to what i should do?

Thanks again

runawaybishop

The first step is to put it to him in writing that you need these repairs carried out by <reasonable date> via a registered letter.

What sort of tenancy do you have?

wench

Are you sharing a house with your landlord or are you and your flatmate renting the whole apartment?

Landlord controlled heating is no longer allowed in the latter case, and the landlord must provide

A fixed heating appliance in each room, which is capable of providing effective heating and which the tenant can control

discobeaker

We are renting the apartment from the landlord. As far as i know he doesnt live in the building. Radiators are in both bedrooms and in the Living room/kitchen. He had to be asked to turn on the heating but before he did he drop us and the rest of the apartments in one of them Dimplex Oil heaters things.

The contact for the apartment is for a year and we are nearly 3 months into it if thats what you mean runawaybishop???

runawaybishop

discobeaker wrote: »

We are renting the apartment from the landlord. As far as i know he doesnt live in the building. Radiators are in both bedrooms and in the Living room/kitchen. He had to be asked to turn on the heating but before he did he drop us and the rest of the apartments in one of them Dimplex Oil heaters things.

The contact for the apartment is for a year and we are nearly 3 months into it if thats what you mean runawaybishop???

He needs to give you access to control the heating and repair the damage caused by the moisture ingress - state that in writing to him. You have a years lease so but you are sharing with someone else?

discobeaker

Yeah im sharing the apartment with a friend.

So what your saying is that by law we should have the choice of when the heating goes on and off? Would i be right in saying that?

runawaybishop

discobeaker wrote: »

Yeah im sharing the apartment with a friend.

So what your saying is that by law we should have the choice of when the heating goes on and off? Would i be right in saying that?

Yes, based on what you said. As wench already stated you have certain rights, one of them is control of your heating.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/repairs_maintenance_and_minimum_physical_standards.html

Yo can see it outlined there. You'd want to get on to the landlord ASAP about it and especially about the mould. It sounds like your house is uninhabitable.

discobeaker

See the 2 bedrooms are actually 1 big room with a partition down the middle, my flatmates room is fine,its not cold and no mould where as my room is freezing due to what i believe is the seal on the window being dodgy. The apartment (its actually an extension off the main house) was only built 10 or 15 years ago so my landlord keeps fobbing me of saying he cant understand whats going on and why my room is so cold even after ive told him a million times that its coming from a draft coming through the window frame.

You can seen the mould in the pictures i have attached and as ive said im paying rent for a room i cant even use so i think when he comes looking for rent next week im going to have a good talk with him as im not happy. I will also show him this thing about the controlled heating. If he refuses to turn the heating on then where do we stand? Would we be going to have a chat with the PTRB?

runawaybishop

discobeaker wrote: »

See the 2 bedrooms are actually 1 big room with a partition down the middle, my flatmates room is fine,its not cold and no mould where as my room is freezing due to what i believe is the seal on the window being dodgy. The apartment (its actually an extension off the main house) was only built 10 or 15 years ago so my landlord keeps fobbing me of saying he cant understand whats going on and why my room is so cold even after ive told him a million times that its coming from a draft coming through the window frame.

You can seen the mould in the pictures i have attached and as ive said im paying rent for a room i cant even use so i think when he comes looking for rent next week im going to have a good talk with him as im not happy. I will also show him this thing about the controlled heating. If he refuses to turn the heating on then where do we stand? Would we be going to have a chat with the PTRB?

Why would you wait a week for the chat? You need it in writing anyway given that you have asked repeatedly. You should probably speak to PTRB anyway as it sounds like the heating control is coming from his own house and you have no control over it, so its probably not legal and probably not even registered.

Rhys Essien

OP,It looks to me like whoever fitted that window originally forgot to put in the damp proof course strips around the window.This is now allowing the damp/moisture to get in.Also,that aluminium window looks like it has seen better days.

Tell him he should get you a new triple glazed PVC window and to sort out the damp proof course while they are fitting it.This should only cost him a few hundred.

In that condition,there is no way that I would be paying him rent.

discobeaker

Runawaybishop - Im actually going to Scotland in the morning until sunday so thats why i cant speak to him face to face until i get back. But im going to call him again in the next hour and ask him to come again to get started on fixing the problem as i am not prepared to pay rent next month if this is not fixed by monday when the next rent is due.

When i speak to him face to face when he comes for the rent i am going to show him the thing about the heating and if he doesnt comply then i will be going to the PTRB

Ryhs Essien - Cheers for that. Im going to pass on all the info to him when i call him in the next hour and hopefully he will pull his finger out and will get this sorted by the time i get back on sunday evening

Outkast_IRE

Mould like that is terrible for your health, I don't even have any serious allergies and I was in an apartment with mould not half as bad as yours and my throat started to close in .

runawaybishop

discobeaker wrote: »

Runawaybishop - Im actually going to Scotland in the morning until sunday so thats why i cant speak to him face to face until i get back. But im going to call him again in the next hour and ask him to come again to get started on fixing the problem as i am not prepared to pay rent next month if this is not fixed by monday when the next rent is due.

When i speak to him face to face when he comes for the rent i am going to show him the thing about the heating and if he doesnt comply then i will be going to the PTRB

Ryhs Essien - Cheers for that. Im going to pass on all the info to him when i call him in the next hour and hopefully he will pull his finger out and will get this sorted by the time i get back on sunday evening

Fair enough - having a witness is important if you aren't getting this in writing.

discobeaker

runawaybishop wrote: »

Fair enough - having a witness is important if you aren't getting this in writing.

Im going to have my flatmate with me and going to get her to be sneaky and record the conversation on her iphone. But i think what i will do is write the letter up while i am in scotland and hand it too him in person and post a copy of it registered post to his address

discobeaker

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

Mould like that is terrible for your health, I don't even have any serious allergies and I was in an apartment with mould not half as bad as yours and my throat started to close in .

Im coughing and have a tightness in my chest the last week so i went down to the family home for the weekend and all was fine,got back to the apartment today and im coughing and tight chest again

runawaybishop

discobeaker wrote: »

Im going to have my flatmate with me and going to get her to be sneaky and record the conversation on her iphone. But i think what i will do is write the letter up while i am in scotland and hand it too him in person and post a copy of it registered post to his address

The recording cant be used in a legal sense if he doesn't know agree to it

Outkast_IRE

discobeaker wrote: »

Im coughing and have a tightness in my chest the last week so i went down to the family home for the weekend and all was fine,got back to the apartment today and im coughing and tight chest again

I would put money down on the mould being the root cause, get out as soon as possible

discobeaker

runawaybishop wrote: »

The recording cant be used in a legal sense if he doesn't know agree to it

Will scrap that idea then but will start on the letter on the plane over tomorrow and get it sent to him when i get back and will also hand him a copy of the letter. Just tried calling him and there is no answer!.

I really appreciate all the help

MicktheMan

discobeaker wrote: »

He has also promised my flatmate a new mattress and 2 months on she is still waiting.

Any suggestions as to what i should do?

Move.

The reason your landlord gave for the mould shows he doesn't know the basics that a house / apartment needs appropriate heating and ventilation to avoid mould. While a leaky seal on a window doesn't help the situation, this, imo, is not the cause. Looks likely the apartment heating regime is not sufficient and ventilation needs improvement. This isn't rocket science but there is a science to getting it right all the same.

discobeaker

I think im going to have to look into getting another place to live as this place,from what you all on here are pointout,well it seems to be not really liveable and especially now that im coughing and getting a tightness in my chest its not good for my health so i think im going to chat to my flat mate when she gets home and we are going to start looking into moving unless the landlord pulls the finger out and gets all sorted by the time i can get home on Sunday evening

Lyn256

A former neighbour had issues with damp and mould in her home and she got onto the council (it was a private rented house). (SDCC)
They sent someone over to assess the house and then sent a letter to her landlord telling him to bring the house up to standard.

Piriz

Hi, as a health care professional i recommend you try to find alternative suitable accommodation. This room sounds like it is poorly built/insulated and the severe cold is not just from the window alone. if they cant even get the window right i'd be doubtful for the rest of the extension. This cold and mould is not good for your physical/mental health particularly considering your MS. The microbe spurs from mould can be hazardous to your respiratory system. As you know you need to protect your immune system and ensure you keep adequate sleeping patterns. Your landlord is a chancer. Document all the requests you've made and the times he has ignored you. Contact PTRB and insist you get your deposit back or you will take action. best of luck.

discobeaker

Piriz wrote: »

Hi, as a health care professional i recommend you try to find alternative suitable accommodation. This room sounds like it is poorly built/insulated and the severe cold is not just from the window alone. if they cant even get the window right i'd be doubtful for the rest of the extension. This cold and mould is not good for your physical/mental health particularly considering your MS. The microbe spurs from mould can be hazardous to your respiratory system. As you know you need to protect your immune system and ensure you keep adequate sleeping patterns. Your landlord is a chancer. Document all the requests you've made and the times he has ignored you. Contact PTRB and insist you get your deposit back or you will take action. best of luck.

Thank you so much for that info Piriz. Ive been trying to call him this evening but no joy,so i text him twice saying that ive been having some breathing problems the last few days from sleeping in the room and that i want it all sorted and fixed properly by the time i get back from scotland on Sunday.
I do know what you mean about my MS and keeping myself and my Immune system healthy,thats why i have been trying to stay away from the bedroom and have been sleeping on the sofa at night. I think i will contact the PTRB first thing on Monday morning and see what they say as i dont seem to be having any joy with this landlord.

runawaybishop

discobeaker wrote: »

Thank you so much for that info Piriz. Ive been trying to call him this evening but no joy,so i text him twice saying that ive been having some breathing problems the last few days from sleeping in the room and that i want it all sorted and fixed properly by the time i get back from scotland on Sunday.
I do know what you mean about my MS and keeping myself and my Immune system healthy,thats why i have been trying to stay away from the bedroom and have been sleeping on the sofa at night. I think i will contact the PTRB first thing on Monday morning and see what they say as i dont seem to be having any joy with this landlord.

They will tell you to put it in writing to the landlord

foggy_lad

If you are staying in that place you should move your bed into the living room to protect your health, then contact your landlord by letter and then if remedial work is not carried out promptly you should make arrangements to move out and also follow up with the PRTB