Damp and mould issues in rented properties

So, I have an old Victorian property that I have spent considerable sums of money on and I now have an EPC rating of 70 C on this property, however, the tenant still gets mould appearing in the bathroom/toilet area due to her hanging out her washing in there and not properly ventilating. Now, I am confident that this tenant is aware of the reason she is getting this mould and does not complain and does not have any problem with it, she just wipes it off with a bleach solution every so often when it appears.
I only write this as there is no doubt that some LLs out there are not as lucky as me to have such a tenant, and I wonder where they would stand if their tenant was belligerent and did put in an official complaint in their hope of getting free rent?

Reply to the comment left by GARY RIVETT at 25/09/2024 - 10:01
The answer is to keep careful records so you will be able to prove (if challenged) that you have done all that you can and that the issues are actually due to the tenant's behaviour.

For example, data loggers (explained in our Dealing with Damp kit) can be helpful here.

All my properties are double-glazed with an EPC of C and no penetrating damp. Tenants switch off the fan in the bathroom, so we put a lock on the maintenance switch. Tenants then cover the fan with cardboard resulting in motor burn out. I provide dehumidifiers and the tenants sell them. I am at a loss to see how a landlord can be blamed when such tenant actions result in black mould in the bathroom.

It is well established that mould is usually a tenant lifestyle problem, penalising the landlord for something the tenant controls will result is fewer properties to let.

PS there is usually a strong correlation between rent arrears and complaints about black mould.

Reply to the comment left by TheMaluka at 25/09/2024 - 10:09
Again, you need to keep records of this. Judges (in any claim brought) will not be sympathetic to tenants if you can prove that they are causing damage by covering the fan and by selling dehumidifiers.

Provided you can prove that you have done all that you can.

However, with these particular tenants, you may want to consider using section 21 while it is still with us ...

Reply to the comment left by TheMaluka at 25/09/2024 - 10:09
If a tenant was to sell something that I supplied to them such as a dehumidifier, I would definitely look to use section 21 (and have done so) while I still could.
It sounds as though you will be in for heaps of trouble there when section 21 is banned.

Tessa, I am sure most of what you say is good advice in an ideal world and you can throw the law book at landlords and make their life even more miserable. The truth is most landlords do take all precautions in the PRS (rogues landlords accepted). It is the social housing sector that has caused this problem. We deal with these issues as they arise but almost every case I have come across is Tenant Lifestyle. Example, two flats in same building 2 doors apart. One rented by South American couple used to cold conditions in winter and very caring of the property. No issues. Next door rented by Indian couple (with 3-4 yo child) brought over from India for a 4 year job assignment. Within months issues start. They complain UK is cold country, they do not open windows, they turned off fan in bathrooms (isolation switch), claimed heating (all electric) is very expensive, so tried not to use heating. Moved child to their bedroom so they could turn off heating in second bedroom, but left doors open while cooking and boiling rice etc. Despite a full clean up and detailed instructions they continued to abuse the flat. Turning off the heating in bathrooms. Never reported a leak around the sink which destroyed the cabinet below. By the time they left, they had virtually destroyed the flat. Second bedroom was dripping in water down the walls from condensation, same for kitchen. Mould in bathrooms, even the door handles to all the rooms had rusted due to the level of damp they created. They finally blew up the electric rad in the second bedroom due to damp and water ingress from the condensation. Post departure the make-over including replacing bathroom rads due to those rusting away and tackling mouldy walls and replacing window surrounds, blinds that had rusted, kitchen cupboards, broken shelfs in freezer because they never once defrosted, etc etc. Over £4000 to get it back to somewhere close to original condition. Deposit? 5 weeks rent which the independent deposit scheme refused to hand over. They eventually agreed 1/3rd. Did not even pay for the post repair cleaner. New western tenants - no issues. Apart from regular inspections how do we prove they do not open windows? How do we prove they turn off fans, turn off heating? Without spy cameras or sophisticated electronics linked to all ventilation and heating systems what do you suggest? Even then they will deny it. There are monitoring systems for temp/humidity linked to wifi that can monitor the property. But will they let you do this (infringement of privacy - human rights?). Will they let you use their wifi to do this? Your arguments are all one sided and need to support landlords too by ensuring tenants look after the property correctly and follow the guidance. Where is our protection from poor tenants? They came from a climate in southern India where the temperature rarely drops below 30C, so it is a shock to deal with the climate in the UK. But despite instructions and guidance they ignored this and caused extensive damage.

Reply to the comment left by GARY RIVETT at 25/09/2024 - 10:01
I can tell you exactly where the landlord stands. I had a disrepair survey which resulted in a report 99.9% in my favour, the 0.1% being due to damage caused by the tenant. To quote the surveyor:-
"It is considered that condensation and mould are occurring as a result of overcrowding, poor use of ventilation equipment and poor environmental conditions being kept by the tenants."
I won a pyrrhic victory at considerable cost. I gained an eviction after nearly two years.

Reply to the comment left by Bryan at 25/09/2024 - 10:25
I hear what you say and agree. However, since the death of toddler Awaab Ishak, government (both Tory and Labour) have been determined to stamp out damp and mould issues in rented properties. They are not minded to accept claims that it is all down to tenant lifestyle - unless landlords are in a position to prove this.

So landlords need to protect their position by keeping proper detailed records, eg

Of work done to the property before it was let
After regular inspections
After tenants vacate

If as you say you have a similar property where there are no issues, then this is evidence for you. Keep records of this too.

My advice also is to use s21 while we still have it to remove problematic tenants and in future to be very careful indeed who you let in.

Are councils prepared to cater for those tenants that become homeless because their homes are not fit for human habitation (unless you’re an owner-occupier)?

I can see lots old pre-1919 and over-insulated properties coming to the auction market.

Reply to the comment left by Tessa Shepperson at 25/09/2024 - 10:15
Tessa I agree that maintenance records are paramount and to this end I am paying several thousand pounds to develop an app which enables semi-automatic recording to a database. This is a process which currently my team does manually.

There is another problem which I frequently encounter concerning tenants who complain and then refuse to allow maintenance, deliberately seeking compensation for problems of their own making. Again there is a strong correlation between such behaviour and rent arrears.