Dilemma with tenant

sarkozy

I'm unsure what to think of this situation. A friend is managing a flat. I used to live there previously, me and the flat mates took good care of it. It was well built, well ventilated. Occasionally, during winter, there might be some condensation on the windowsill, which would occasionally give rise to small amounts of mildew which was easily wiped away with a cloth. There was a slight issue with paint peeling in the shared bath/shower room, but this was remedied with a new extractor fan.

The place is now occupied by completely new tenants. One in particular has occupied the place for two years. Remarkably rapidly after us lot leaving, this tenant's bedroom is now infested by black mildew on every wall. I've heard that she never opens the door or window, smokes constantly, and seems to have the heater on way too much. At the same time, the shower room which was fixed up is also infested. That was previously repainted, and now has to be repainted.

This tenant has now asked for her room to be repainted.

None of the other rooms (living room, kitchen, other bedroom and en suite bathroom) have this problem - only the ones this person occupies.

Clearly, tenants have rights to living in clean, healthy accomodation. This mould problem seems not to be a problem with the place itself but the occupant's living habits.

I'm asking this forum if you feel this goes beyond normal 'wear and tear'. What can one do in the situation where the tenant's living habits are leading to degradation of their living conditions, and therefore not the fault of the landlord.

One option I thought was to split costs, but this involves establishing that the person is responsible for the mould and then the landlord agreeing to repaint because it's been a reasonable period since the place has been 'spruced up'.

edellc

I think this is a tough one, I'm not sure of the legalities of it all maybe ring the PRTB and see what they would say about it or even Threshold they would know for sure what is just and proper.

My only real concern would be the amount of the mould, I know I lived in a house converted into flats with an extension at the back of the house which happened to be my bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. My bathroom and bedroom where covered in black mould, even though I opened the window all the time and done everything in my power to keep the place dry, dehumidifier as well was running most of the time.

However the mould issue came down to the lack of heat in the place, the heating only came on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening and was not on between may and september so the place never got enough heat in it which contributed to the mould issue. Is the place you are talking about heated correctly as mould/mildew is down to dampness and dampness is caused by lack of heat, which is a landlord issue and therefore one which the landlord is financially responsible for

I just think that you shouldn't have to keep windows open and so on to keep the mould away, the place should be better heated and as there was a problem when you where there (be it a small one as you keep cleaning the mildew away) you shouldn't have to do that...where I live now there is never an issue with mildew, mould or anything like that because the place is heated properly and there is proper ventilation in every room.

Also smoking non stop is not going to cause mould/dampness in the room

sarkozy

It is, indeed, very strange. To clarify, this is an early-to-mid 1990s apartment with only one external wall - all others are exposed only to the internal heated corridor. This is a spacious 2-bed flat.

I should also mention that in addition to the mould problem, there is significant staining from smoking (this is not something I'm necessarily disputing, even if I'd consider it 'extreme' smoking).

From all the factors your mentioned, I'm puzzled as to how there could be any mould at all. I know this place, I simply cannot imagine how it's possible.

edellc

is her room the one with the external wall

sarkozy

All rooms share the same external wall. Only hers is the problem.

jam_mac_jam

Even if you never opened the windows that level of mould suggests a problem with the appartment as well as her actions. You need to get that sorted quickly not only is it dangerous it will wreck the rest of the place. It doesnt really matter who is at fault here, it needs to be fixed and quickly.

edellc

I agree with jam, it needs to be sorted quickly and that amount of mould is usually a problem with the insulation between the walls and damp getting in somewhere and that is a major issue that needs to be sorted out.

the_syco

sarkozy wrote: »

smokes constantly

Is she allowed to smoke in the apartment? If not, IMO, evict her for breaking her lease, and use her deposit to get rid of the damage that smoking has caused.

Pkiernan

The room is not adequately ventilated.

It is the LL's legal responsibility to ensure that a room used for sleeping has adequate ventilation.

LL should in this case:

(a) ensure adequate ventilation
(b) remedy the mould situation and repaint the room
(c) impress on the tenant the need to ensure that she does not block any vents or otherwise reduce the natural ventilation to the room.

If she fails to comply, then boot her out.

Milk & Honey

If mould has got in, it needs to be treated before repainting. Otherwise it will just come back shortly after repainting.
Tenants are often the cause of damp and mould. If there has been no mould for years and then it starts it is because of the way the tenants are living. Blocking vents and not opening windows as well as generating vapour by drying clothes internally are the prime causes.

Graces7

Milk & Honey wrote: »

If mould has got in, it needs to be treated before repainting. Otherwise it will just come back shortly after repainting.
Tenants are often the cause of damp and mould. If there has been no mould for years and then it starts it is because of the way the tenants are living. Blocking vents and not opening windows as well as generating vapour by drying clothes internally are the prime causes.

Exactly so. All houses need air, especially bedrooms, I forget the exact figures but the amount of moisture given off by one sleeping person is amazing. No amount of heating in a closed room will dispel that; except an open fire with a chimney.

We have lived in older houses many years, always in Ireland with a susceptibility to damp, and the only real solution is an open fire, opening windows at least part of the day, and a dehumidifier if affordable.

In the old days they would burn turf day and night with the doors open. Fire and air. And they would build facing the sun.

petethebrick

Ah come on, seriously tell your mate to fix the apartment. How would you even suggest that a tenant should pay to fix a problem caused by a shoddy old apartment

the_syco

petethebrick wrote: »

How would you even suggest that a tenant should pay to fix a problem caused by a shoddy old apartment

Because it was okay before the heavy smoker moved in and closed all the windows in her room all the time.

I've seen what this can do to someone (mate smoked and kept his bedroom window closed), and their health decreased to the point that they'd get sick constantly.

edellc

ah come on now smoking is not going to make mould appear on the walls thats just a ridicules thing to suggest

not ventilating the place would cause mould, and windows should not need to be opened there should be proper ventilation with vents in the walls

OP you stated in your first post that mildew was an issue when you lived there and it was wiped of every other day, so obviously it is still an issue and due to not getting wiped off its now caused the problem in hand which is not to do with the tenant but with the apartment its self, which is the landlords problem to solve

hohojojo

edellc wrote: »

not ventilating the place would cause mould, and windows should not need to be opened there should be proper ventilation with vents in the walls(Quote)


actually there is of course a need to open windows, vent are there to allow air to travel in and replace air in the apartment for normal use and the vents are minimum standard if you are smoking it will leave a stain in a bedroom as you will not have an extractor fan in a bedroom

but the mould is probably being cause byher if she has the door closed all the time or she is drying clothes in there (not uncommon in apartments) vents can only pull and push air so if there is only one or two vents in the apartments the air need to be able to travel between this not the same as a house as they tend to have one in each room and you nearly always have a fireplace that moves air

if there was only a small bit of moisture in the room when you were there and you were cleaning it up then you probably were not given it time to form but tenents are nearly always lazy and may see a drop of water but not even consider touching it

all i say is you need to find the cause of the problem weather it be the tenent or something else and fix it, if it is the tenent ask her to leave as she is not taking due care with your property.