Tenant reported Damp and Mold - Could they have caused this?

LolaJJ

Hoping you can help.

I lived in my property for 4.5 years and moved out in November 2018. My tenants moved in just after Christmas. During the time the apartment was empty I had it deep cleaned and replaced some of the fixtures and furniture.

In the time I lived there I never ever experienced any damp or mold. Today I received an email showing an alarming growth of mold and damp in a corner of the sitting room. They are great tenants so far, and the query was "How did you get rid of it when you lived here?"

I know it can be really bad for their health so I'm obviously going to address it straight away and I'm not even sure it would be possible for them to have caused it in the 9 weeks they have been there but it seems a bit weird that it's come all of a sudden?

It looks expensive to fix

skallywag

Is it near the ceiling, i.e. could it possibly be caused by water leaking down from something above?

LolaJJ

Hi Skallywag,

It's in the corner at floor level, behind the TV unit. It's against the outer walls of the building.

I'm not really well-up on ventilation!

riemann

LolaJJ wrote: »

Hoping you can help.

I lived in my property for 4.5 years and moved out in November 2018. My tenants moved in just after Christmas. During the time the apartment was empty I had it deep cleaned and replaced some of the fixtures and furniture.

In the time I lived there I never ever experienced any damp or mold. Today I received an email showing an alarming growth of mold and damp in a corner of the sitting room. They are great tenants so far, and the query was "How did you get rid of it when you lived here?"

I know it can be really bad for their health so I'm obviously going to address it straight away and I'm not even sure it would be possible for them to have caused it in the 9 weeks they have been there but it seems a bit weird that it's come all of a sudden?

It looks expensive to fix

Have they blocked the vents? Drying clothes inside?

A dehumidifier might be a solution, unless there is a water leak somewhere.

Dav010

Ask them if they are drying damp clothes in the room.

Stepping Stone

Had a similar issue in a rental property before. Turned out that the gutters had never been cleaned, were blocked and causing damp on the external wall.

I think that if it’s low down, it’s unlikely to be from drying clothes. How long was the property empty for? How old is it?

Doop

Is there a down pipe running down the external wall in the same location? Have raised beds etc been installed externally?

9 weeks is very quick for a problem to develop due to internal/living conditions but then we haven't seen the extent of it ..

ThunderCat

LolaJJ wrote: »

Hoping you can help.

I lived in my property for 4.5 years and moved out in November 2018. My tenants moved in just after Christmas. During the time the apartment was empty I had it deep cleaned and replaced some of the fixtures and furniture.

In the time I lived there I never ever experienced any damp or mold. Today I received an email showing an alarming growth of mold and damp in a corner of the sitting room. They are great tenants so far, and the query was "How did you get rid of it when you lived here?"

I know it can be really bad for their health so I'm obviously going to address it straight away and I'm not even sure it would be possible for them to have caused it in the 9 weeks they have been there but it seems a bit weird that it's come all of a sudden?

It looks expensive to fix

I had mold in the same place when I moved into my new house a few years back. Turns out it was because I had the vents closed. When I opened them, as well as doors and windows to let the place air out a bit, it went away and has not returned. Could be the same thing.

LolaJJ

The property was "empty" for about 8 weeks but we were coming and going as I moved out in stages and also had it cleaned and was having new furniture delivered.

It's about 35 years old. Could possibly be the gutters alright, am trying to arrange an inspection at the moment. I used to use the rads in that room to dry my clothes without issue so I don't think that would have caused the problem

Second question, if it transpires the issue is as a result of something external coming in gutters etc, will this be covered by the management company to rectify? typically speaking!

Thanks everyone, really helpful!

MicktheMan

OP, do you have a picture of the mould?

Assuming it is not caused by penetrating damp then the possible causes are:

• Inadequate heating
• Closed up / blocked vents
• Excessive moisture load such as drying clothes indoors or overcrowding
• OR any mixture of the above

It is quite common for the landlord (or previous tenants) to not having an issue while living in the property themselves only for it to happen when new tenants move in. Also, it only takes a couple weeks of the right conditions to exist for the mould to start.
The issue can be solved quite easily usually by educating the tenants about how their behaviour (less heating / blocking vents etc) in the property are affecting the build-up of moisture inside. You might also consider upgrading the ventilation of the property to reduce the risk of this happening in the future.

tabby aspreme

We had a similar problem in a rented property, tenants were drying clothes and had the vents and windows taped shut, then tried to deny it until they were shown the remains of the duct tape adhesive and reinforcement still stuck on the vents and window frames, there still there two years on and the damp has not come back.

beauf

I think you have investigate both that it might be a leak, damp. Or that its tenant behaviour. It could be either.