Landlord blaming us for dampness

sdowling04

Hi all,

My roommates and I are in a bit of predicament with our landlord and we need advice. From the attached pic you can see that the house we are renting suffers from dampness. We are reaching the end of our lease and will not be renewing. Our landlord came over a few weeks ago and scolded us over the dampness claiming that we were drying our wet towels on the radiators in our room(I had just put the towel on the rad so it wasn't lying around. I only dry our towels in either the hot press or the towel radiator in the bathroom). Now that we are moving out on Sunday I'm fearing that she will take most of our deposit because of the dampness. The dampness is defiantly caused by the house being poorly insulated and lack of ventilation.

Can anybody shed some advice on what to do?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

sdowling04

Pic attached

foggy_lad

sdowling04 wrote: »

Pic attached

That is caused by faults with the exterior plasterwork or roof problems not by condensation from a few wet towels.

Bullseye1

foggy_lad wrote: »

That is caused by faults with the exterior plasterwork or roof problems not by condensation from a few wet towels.

Actually that could be condensation due to high internal humidity, poor insulation and ventilation. I would advise the OP and his/her housemates to employ a Building Surveyor to carry our a inspection.

sdowling04

Bullseye1 wrote: »

Actually that could be condensation due to high internal humidity, poor insulation and ventilation. I would advise the OP and his/her housemates to employ a Building Surveyor to carry our a inspection.

Thanks for the info! Looking into getting a Building Surveyor now in wilton cork. How much do you recon this will cost??

Millem

sdowling04 wrote: »

Pic attached

Why don't you buy a bottle of dettol mould and Mildrew remover and clean it off before you move out? http://m.tesco.ie/mt/www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=264514881

ABajaninCork

Bleach and boiling water will also do the trick. Try that first. Don't dry anything in the room and see if the damp comes back. That rooms needs an air brick. Is the window the only way to ventilate the room?

I'm not sure it's condensation though, as it's all over the wall, and it's high up. Is there guttering outside the room, and is it in good order?

Bullseye1

sdowling04 wrote: »

Thanks for the info! Looking into getting a Building Surveyor now in wilton cork. How much do you recon this will cost??

I'd say your looking at €200-300 plus vat but could be less if it's limited to one room and not all over the house. Ring and get a quote before agreeing to take one on.

Bullseye1

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Bleach and boiling water will also do the trick. Try that first. Don't dry anything in the room and see if the damp comes back. That rooms needs an air brick. Is the window the only way to ventilate the room?

I'm not sure it's condensation though, as it's all over the wall, and it's high up. Is there guttering outside the room, and is it in good order?

It's actually a typical location for mould to grow as a result of condensation. I'd say its a result of
1. Poorly insulated house.
2. Poor ventilation
3. High Humidy inside the house.

Warm moist air will condense on the colder outer wall surface.

That is not to say there could be a leak at the eaves detail but a Surveyor will confirm.

Bullseye1

Here is a useful guide to the problem and solutions .
http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/media/pdf/f/5/EST_condensation_enw1.pdf

alias no.9

Do you ever open the windows?

sdowling04

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Bleach and boiling water will also do the trick. Try that first. Don't dry anything in the room and see if the damp comes back. That rooms needs an air brick. Is the window the only way to ventilate the room?

I'm not sure it's condensation though, as it's all over the wall, and it's high up. Is there guttering outside the room, and is it in good order?

We never dry anything in our rooms anyway. Im not really bothered about getting the room ventilated as we are moving out, we are just concerned about getting our deposit back. Spending 200-300 on a building surveyor seems a very expensive as this is not our fault and I dont see why we would have to cough up for something that is not our fault.

The issue could be caused from guttering on the outside wall. We checked the feel of the outside wall compared to the inside wall and the outside wall is way colder and wet.

ABajaninCork

Hmmm. Are you able to check the guttering? Might be blocked or broken.

sdowling04

alias no.9 wrote: »

Do you ever open the windows?

of course but not so much these days because of the weather The dampness was even there during the summer when the windows would be opened. My concern is that she is blaming us and she is the one holding our deposit.

hfallada

Buy HG mould remover

http://reviews.diy.com/2191-en_gb/10287856/reviews.htm

Its expensive but amazing. Its also very flumey but works. You spray it and within 15 mins all the mould is gone. Its like it was very there.

moonshadow

It's caused by condensation drying inside the house, ie lack of air circulation ,ie not opening windows when drying clothes,having showers or boiling water
( cooking )
He's right..unfortunately for your sake.

Mech1

Wash it off, Paint it, and tell her you had the engineer round. He said its the leaky gutter so you guys had that fixed already cause your mate's Da owns a Guttering type company.

Bill for repairs will be added if deposit not refunded in full.

miller50841

Your deposit can not be kept that house has little or no insulation. I live in a house built in the last 15 years and have to dry clothes inside as there is no garden and its how its done on most apartments. I would suggest document everything and I hope you brought this to land lords attention before they came as its their responsibility to have the property to the right standard.

The property has not got proper ventilation or insulation I would guess built around the 80s or before.


This was acceptable in the 80s and before but not anymore as the risk to all of your health.

Are you on a lease?

If you have any further problems get in touch with Threshold and then if deposit is kept take the bad land lord to the prtb.

sdowling04

miller50841 wrote: »

Your deposit can not be kept that house has little or no insulation. I live in a house built in the last 15 years and have to dry clothes inside as there is no garden and its how its done on most apartments. I would suggest document everything and I hope you brought this to land lords attention before they came as its their responsibility to have the property to the right standard.

The property has not got proper ventilation or insulation I would guess built around the 80s or before.


This was acceptable in the 80s and before but not anymore as the risk to all of your health.

Are you on a lease?

If you have any further problems get in touch with Threshold and then if deposit is kept take the bad land lord to the prtb.

Thanks, yes we are on a lease. I think ill go ahead and get one of thoes cleaners and then be ready for a battle with the landlord

The Glass Key

OP don't forget to take a good load of pictures before you leave detailing as much of the house as possible, if it does come to a battle later it might be useful evidence. You might for example be able to prove from your pictures that there is no ventilation in the room.

Pat Mustard

sdowling04 wrote: »

we are just concerned about getting our deposit back. Spending 200-300 on a building surveyor seems a very expensive as this is not our fault and I dont see why we would have to cough up for something that is not our fault.

Sounds reasonable. The landlord sounds a bit clueless. Just insist on getting your full deposit back. If the landlord won't play ball, there's the PRTB.

hfallada

Op by law you should have a proper functioning vent in each room. Also if you don't have a garden or balcony you should have a drier. If you don't have either of the above tell the landlord he is breaking the law

Try to avoid using the prtb as they are probably the slowest state agency in Ireland.

sdowling04

hfallada wrote: »

Op by law you should have a proper functioning vent in each room. Also if you don't have a garden or balcony you should have a drier. If you don't have either of the above tell the landlord he is breaking the law

Try to avoid using the prtb as they are probably the slowest state agency in Ireland.

Cheers, ya there are no vents in the rooms and my wall has quite a large crack on it. She is one b%^ch of a landlord

moonshadow

A window is a vent.

Juwwi

You need to check with your neighbours to see if they have the same problem.

Chances are you will find a neighbour with mould your landlord wont have a leg to stand on then.

MicktheMan

foggy_lad wrote: »

That is caused by faults with the exterior plasterwork or roof problems not by condensation from a few wet towels.

Tis amazing that someone can diagnose a fault by just looking at a pic without knowing anything about the construction make-up

sdowling04 wrote: »

Thanks for the info! Looking into getting a Building Surveyor now in wilton cork. How much do you recon this will cost??

pm me if you want a good Cork based surveying engineer who specialises in damp investigations

Bullseye1 wrote: »

It's actually a typical location for mould to grow as a result of condensation. I'd say its a result of
1. Poorly insulated house.
2. Poor ventilation
3. High Humidy inside the house.

4. Inadequate heating

sdowling04 wrote: »

We never dry anything in our rooms anyway.

You don't need to, to have a problem in your room

sdowling04 wrote: »

as this is not our fault

Are you sure?

sdowling04 wrote: »

We checked the feel of the outside wall compared to the inside wall and the outside wall is way colder and wet.

Of course it is colder, it's an external wall.

robbie1977 wrote: »

Chances are you will find a neighbour with mould your landlord wont have a leg to stand on then.

And why is that?

alang184

In my opinion, from what you've described, you're probably both at fault. The insulation on the walls are probably at a level such that, even with adequate window-opening, some mould may still appear. But if you're not opening the windows at all during the day just because it's winter, then that's a significant contributor.

From what I see, tenants/occupiers (even people owning a house) tend to underestimate the necessity for opening windows and ensuring ventilation throughout a house/apartment etc. When I occasionally see the windows of the apartment below me from the outside, I notice the windows are totally steamed up, full of moisture. And I also notice that the windows are never open. You can get away with it in apartments like mine, because they are the modern type whereby it has an inner dry-wall, separated from the concrete of the outer wall (a consequence of this, however, is terrible, terrible sound-transmission between dwellings). But in older-style apartments/houses, where the inner wall is just the bare concrete wall, mould can occur more easily, from what I understand.

Overall, I don't feel the landlord has grounds to withold the deposit. Even though you are contributing to the problem by not keeping the windows open each day for a period of time, it sounds like some mould would still occur even with excellent ventilation handling with opening of windows etc.

roy rodgers

op its not your fault, end of story, as the moisture could be coming from the outside walls, the floor, a leak in the house , the roof etc etc..
ask the landlord to prove that its not coming from one of the above before to get a survey on it then tell him that you have a friend that is a building survey and we will moisture test the walls floor ceilings to see where the moisture is coming from.. i guarantee he will run a mile.

this crap about leaving a window every day is total rubbish there is enough of adventitious air in a house to solve any of that.
its his problem so be cute and dont let him run all over you..

makeorbrake

For those saying its not the OPs fault, that's rubbish. You have no solid evidence to support that! As someone has pointed out, a window is ventilation - so long as someone opens the ruddy thing!
Again, as someone has already mentioned, inadequate heating may have a part to play.

If you're moving out, then I don't think it makes sense to pay a surveyor to check it out. Scrub very very lightly with bleach. End of story - regardless of where the problem lies.

alang184

roy rodgers wrote: »

op its not your fault, end of story, as the moisture could be coming from the outside walls, the floor, a leak in the house , the roof etc etc..

I just can't agree with this at all. The OP is not talking about moisture due to a leak. The moisture is most likely coming from the air. So lets say you're on a jammed bus on a cold day with all the windows shut - all windows get covered by a layer of wet. So what - this is coming from a crack in the windows? Of course not. It's from moisture in the air. This is a common issue with interior walls where there is no dry-lining.

roy rodgers wrote: »

this crap about leaving a window every day is total rubbish there is enough of adventitious air in a house to solve any of that.

This is just wrong. Ventilation is crucial for cleaning the air quality, and helping reduce what can lead to dampness and moisture covering the inside walls.

murphaph

moonshadow wrote: »

A window is a vent.

Yep. No vents in most Continental properties. Occupiers simply know that they must air their properties by opening windows wide a couple of times a day. It's much more energy efficient than a vent that lets a constant draught in, which is a lazy solution that found its way into British and Irish building regs.