One for the landlords - mould
- Thread starter platypus
- Start date
Could be having water pistol fights inside.
Firstly. I love that this is your first reaction. Quick, can I take their money now or later!? Typical landlord response, without waiting to hear the full story from your tenants.
Poor you. What if it's quite serious mould that they haven't caused themselves and that might have damaged, or be damaging their health? What if they were too worried to contact you because they thought you'd react the way you have in the first instance? What if they've suffered in silence and tried every possible remedy before contacting you. Honestly, just step back, use a bit of common sense and remember you're talking about people and their home here. And yes, it's their home whilst they pay the rent. Not yours.
Forgot to update this as the fix only happened recently anyway. Some mould in the stairway because they haven't been venting properly. We got it cleaned up and they're hopefully going to vent properly in future.
Actually, they would have contacted us instantly if it was serious, as they are friends of friends. We have no problem with them contacting us direct, and speak to them fairly regularly. As we're not present, it makes sense to have an independent verify the problem? Doesn't it? Or would you rather we just assumed it was their fault straight away? So yeah, get off your high horse.
It's an honest enough question. If it's their fault, they can clean it up. If it isn't we'll get it sorted. As it was, yes it was their fault but we had it cleaned. But yeah, way to assume the worst straight off. You sound like an irresponsible tenant.Firstly. I love that this is your first reaction. Quick, can I take their money now or later!? Typical landlord response, without waiting to hear the full story from your tenants.
Actually, they would have contacted us instantly if it was serious, as they are friends of friends. We have no problem with them contacting us direct, and speak to them fairly regularly. As we're not present, it makes sense to have an independent verify the problem? Doesn't it? Or would you rather we just assumed it was their fault straight away? So yeah, get off your high horse.
Last edited:
we have mould all over the bathroom too, window is open 24/7, fan is on when ever light is on(every time someone is in the toilet)
realistically there's not much else we can do, wonder if it's the same there, maybe they're just bathing/showering more than you lot used to?
realistically there's not much else we can do, wonder if it's the same there, maybe they're just bathing/showering more than you lot used to?
.If the tenants moved in and there was no mould and now their is a mould problem then the fault lies with them and they are responsible for resolving it, otherwise you can take the cleaning costs out of their deposit. It is not uncommon to sign a mould related care document stating things like fans/vents must be left on after shows, baths must be wiped down, no water must be left on work surfaces. I had to at my last place and there was even a seperate deposit!
Tenants must take care of the property, damage caused by them not taking due care is their responsibility. Tell them that the vent must for some time after a shower and they should wipe with a cloth around all seals etc. Give them a couple of bottles of mould cleaners And tell hungry in this instance you won't be deducting cleaning charges from their deposit but it is their responsibility.
Tenants must take care of the property, damage caused by them not taking due care is their responsibility. Tell them that the vent must for some time after a shower and they should wipe with a cloth around all seals etc. Give them a couple of bottles of mould cleaners And tell hungry in this instance you won't be deducting cleaning charges from their deposit but it is their responsibility.
When we bought our house the bathroom had mould. Carpet and the previous owner wouldnt leave the window open as it leads to the roof below so could be burgled.
Any way within 3 days of buying the house and leaving the window open (without being burgled) all mold had gone.
Since the renovation of the bathroom and some very long baths and showers. (condenstaion streaming down the walls) we have never had a mould issue.
We have a condensing tumble drier and a big maiden that gets used a lot.
The only thing I can think of is as we work from home the house doesn't get cold. Wood burner or Gas CH.
Any way within 3 days of buying the house and leaving the window open (without being burgled) all mold had gone.
Since the renovation of the bathroom and some very long baths and showers. (condenstaion streaming down the walls) we have never had a mould issue.
We have a condensing tumble drier and a big maiden that gets used a lot.
The only thing I can think of is as we work from home the house doesn't get cold. Wood burner or Gas CH.
It's your responsibility to sort out at the end of the day. There is no way you can prove they have contributed to the problem and the fact that you've never had mould before is inconsequential realistically to what is occurring now - things do change and how would you prove this was even the case. You need to get a proper assessment of where it is coming from and what the underlying cause is.
Whatever the causation though you need to get it resolved as it's your place. If you don't fix it then they'll just leave and then you'll be in a worse position. You can't bill them for the work because you'd have to demonstrate it was their fault which let's face it your are not going to be able to do.
Whatever the causation though you need to get it resolved as it's your place. If you don't fix it then they'll just leave and then you'll be in a worse position. You can't bill them for the work because you'd have to demonstrate it was their fault which let's face it your are not going to be able to do.
Out of interest why is it inconsequential? Given that we had it inspected by a neutral third party before tenants moved in, and there where no issues with mould? When it could be demonstrated that they're not airing the place properly?
Mould is a direct result of people not properly drying, cleaning and ventilating. There is no proof required,if there was no mould before the tenants moved in and there is now then they are responsible and liable for cleaning costs.
Mould doesn't spontaneously appear in a properly maintained environment, the tenants are directly responsible.
Your argument is like saying the tenants aren't responsible for dust appearing on surfaces. No, they are responsible because they have to clean those surfaces as part of their contract.
Last edited:
This is one of those situations where both the tenants and landlord need to work together. The landlord could help by ensuring extractor fans and window vents are installed. The tenant could help by using the supplied extractor fans and window vents and opening windows when it is clear there is a lot of condensation.
Yes, the landlord should certainly ensure that vents and heaters work, windows can open, window vents are not blocked, the vent is not blocked with fluff TC. Beyond that, everything is related to the tenant.
And where is the proof they never had mould before. Any suggestion as such is just heresay. Cleaning is different from something that may well have occurred due to a structural problem ...
There is the question there is no way of knowing at the moment whether the environment is properly maintained. And as you aren't in the country at the moment you most likely may have forget it has a tendency to get rather wet and cold. I get mould in one of our bathrooms irrespective of leaving the window open and the heating on because of the way the cold moves into the loft through the venting creating a cold section on the wall. The spores are already in the environment so I don't know where you get the spontaneously appear gubbins from?!?
No, it's not. Your argument is like saying tenants are always responsible for dust on the surfaces even if there is potentially only 3 walls to the property and they live next door to a building site ...
How can he:
a) prove there was never any mould before
b) that is a direct result of negligence from the tenants.
Good luck on those two ...
Well it's a fact that the tenants must keep it in the condition that it was found, wear and tear obviously not withstanding. Given that the inspection - by a neutral third party - before they moved in found no issues, it's been surveyed in the last two years (for mortgage purposes) and no problems of any kind were found (including structural), wouldn't the onus be on them to return it to us free of mould?
It's a moot point as we've paid to have it cleaned, but I'm just intrigued as to why you think it's so obviously not the tenants problem? Like I said in the very first post I'm keen to "do the right thing", and would quite like to be a decent landlord, but if they're causing issues like that in future maybe they could meet us half way on the costs of professional cleaning. I don't really see that as being unreasonable.
It's a moot point as we've paid to have it cleaned, but I'm just intrigued as to why you think it's so obviously not the tenants problem? Like I said in the very first post I'm keen to "do the right thing", and would quite like to be a decent landlord, but if they're causing issues like that in future maybe they could meet us half way on the costs of professional cleaning. I don't really see that as being unreasonable.
Last edited:
I am not saying it is obviously not the tenants problem. I am saying it is potentially not of their direction causation. I am also saying as it is your property then you really want it addressed before it exacerbates - they can and will walk away from such problems you can't. I am also saying that the notion mould only occurs due to negligence from the occupiers is flawed.
As for the bathroom I mentioned the landlord sorts it out - his problem not mine - it's what I rent for so I don't have to pay for and mess around with stuff like this. I keep my owned property in locations where the upkeep is easier!
I can dig out the contract if you want and see what mine says if that helps?
Edit: "Keep the property, at all times, well aired and sufficiently warmed to avoid build-up of condensation blah blah" - now as I always have the trickle vents open throughout the house and have the window open in the en-suite when the shower is in use, and use the extractor fan and yet still get mould in there then it is their responsibility to sort out not mine etc. They'd be hard pressed to actually prove I haven't done the above as they don't exactly check everyday do they!
If they have taken reasonable such precautions or else you are unable to prove they haven't then I would suspect your contract is similar and therefore the burden falls on the landlord.
Last edited:
In my previous flat I had lots of issues with mould everywhere. All the walls around windows and also the wall opposite the bathroom (no window in bathroom).
Single glazed windows plus electric heating that to keep the house to around 20 degrees in the winter you needed to have the heating on for 6 hours minimum (i.e. elec bills of more than 100 pound a month for single occupier 1.5 bedroom prop), all meant that it was near impossible to open the windows, especially weekdays.
I would come in at 6PM and sleep at 10PM. If I opened the windows anytime it would have been freezing when I was taking a shower or when I went to sleep. I always opened all the windows fully during weekends, wiped down the walls as soon as mould appeared, but especially the wall opposite the bathroom (fan always on due to motion sensor activated), was going from white to green in 3 weeks. I also used my dryer and a large dehumidifier.
I reported it to the landlord as soon as it appeared, if he wanted money to clean I would've refused as it is obviously not my problem. I also got him to install a vent on the wall opposite the bathroom to minimize the issue, which meant the flat was even colder!
Single glazed windows plus electric heating that to keep the house to around 20 degrees in the winter you needed to have the heating on for 6 hours minimum (i.e. elec bills of more than 100 pound a month for single occupier 1.5 bedroom prop), all meant that it was near impossible to open the windows, especially weekdays.
I would come in at 6PM and sleep at 10PM. If I opened the windows anytime it would have been freezing when I was taking a shower or when I went to sleep. I always opened all the windows fully during weekends, wiped down the walls as soon as mould appeared, but especially the wall opposite the bathroom (fan always on due to motion sensor activated), was going from white to green in 3 weeks. I also used my dryer and a large dehumidifier.
I reported it to the landlord as soon as it appeared, if he wanted money to clean I would've refused as it is obviously not my problem. I also got him to install a vent on the wall opposite the bathroom to minimize the issue, which meant the flat was even colder!
Given the nature of the situation though, we do know that the mould has only arisen since they've moved in. You're right in that we would struggle to prove it in court (obviously its not going to go to court, but playing devils advocate for a second).
There are two sides to being a good landlord, it's not unfair to expect reasonable tenants is it?
Last edited: