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Cold and Mouldy Apartment

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  • 19-12-2010 8:58pm
    #1
    DeiseBhoy1888
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6 ✭


    Hi, I am just wondering if anyone can offer advice on my situation. I rented an apartment at the end of August with my girlfriend and everything seemed fine. But recently with the cold weather beginning (end of October) we started to notice that black mould started to grow around the windows and on the walls that are open to the elements. Then with the even colder weather lately we noticed that in the corner of the room that water started forming on the floor, and walls above the skirting boards are visibly wet and mould has started growing where the wet patches are.
    We have the two storage heaters left on overnight but the apartment is still unbearably cold that we have to sit under a blanket. We had a builder sent around by the landlord, where we discovered there was similiar problems last year but it appears that the walls where simply painted over to hide the mould and we were not told about this. He used a thermal camera to take pictures of the walls and came to the conclusion that the insulation was in wall, given how cold the walls appeared on the images.

    Since then we have been told that they will put more insulation in the walls in the new year, but with no definite date yet. Is there anything we can do to get out of the lease, as we cannot afford to loose the 600 deposit, but we just can't stay here anymore due to the cold. My girlfriend has also been to the doctor and had to get allergy tablets due to her have problems with the mould.

    Sorry for being long winded about this but any help would be grealty appreciated, we just don't know what to do!


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    #2
    Treehouse72
    Registered Users Posts: 1,003 ✭✭✭Treehouse72


    If a property is not habitable then the lease is void. You are not obliged to stay somewhere that is causing problems to your health or is otherwise not reasonable to be expected to live in. There should be a clause in your lease saying as much, so I'd check that and put it to your landlord. If he won't release you from the lease, contact Threshold and perhaps the PRTB who have a dispute resolution service.


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    #3
    TKline
    Registered Users Posts: 51 ✭✭TKline


    Few suggestions...

    Are the gutters clear? Blocked gutters can cause damp inside the house.

    Is your clothes dryer properly vented outside? This can cause damp, as can hanging wet clothes inside the house, and showering without using an extractor fan.


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    #4
    DeiseBhoy1888
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6 ✭DeiseBhoy1888


    Treehouse72 wrote: »
    If a property is not habitable then the lease is void. You are not obliged to stay somewhere that is causing problems to your health or is otherwise not reasonable to be expected to live in. There should be a clause in your lease saying as much, so I'd check that and put it to your landlord. If he won't release you from the lease, contact Threshold and perhaps the PRTB who have a dispute resolution service.

    Hi, Thanks for the reply. Yes it's a standard Letting Agreement from the Bar Association, so incorporates the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and clauses about the apartment being in a habital condition. I took your advice and contacted Threshold, but it appears according to the advice we were given we have to wait around a month (given the christmas period) to give the landlord the chance the rectify the problems here before we can get a Enviromental Health Officer involved to inspect the building. Looks like we will just have to endure it for another few weeks. Thanks for the advice anyway!

    TKline wrote: »
    Few suggestions...

    Are the gutters clear? Blocked gutters can cause damp inside the house.

    Is your clothes dryer properly vented outside? This can cause damp, as can hanging wet clothes inside the house, and showering without using an extractor fan.

    Yes it appears everything is fine on the outside of the building, and our clothes are adequetly dried and vented outside with the dryer. Our bedroom and ensuite are fine and mould free, its our main living room thats the problem. According to the builder its something to do with the insulation they installed in the building when it was originally built (4 years ago). It appears that at least 4 of the apartments out of a total of 6 are having similiar problems with the mould.


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