Government reveals damp and mould figures in the PRS

Estimates such as this are worthless. ‘As low as 0%’ will be used by landlords and ‘as high as 27%’ will be used by Shelter.

3.6% is too high.

How can a Minister know that damp and mould are not caused by the tenants unless they’ve visited every affected property with a damp specialist. In most cases, it will be a mix of tenant lifestyle and property faults.

A different lifestyle could help to reduce the impact of property faults. A different property could reduce the impact of tenant lifestyle mould.

If we had sufficient housing, tenants would be able to leave the worst properties empty. Over population and a failure to plan correctly means that even the most depressing of damp-riddled houses has high demand.

So, just so I understand what is being said here. We have a politician making a decree that all damp and mold is as a result of the landlords failings and they are totally responsible no matter what, whilst the tenants lifestyle is of zero relevance and the poor tenant is the victim (as always)?

I have been a landlord for over 20years and a qualified surveyor for nearly 50years so I consider myself to be a good responsible landlord and qualified to understand the building science behind the causes of damp, condensation and potential mold growth.

All our properties are at least EPC rating of C, so are thermally efficient. All have been refurbished to a high standard and have had new DPC,s installed where necessary. Most importantly, all properties are installed with modern gas central heating and ventilation to bathrooms and kitchens to meet or exceed regulations. For the last 5 years or so we have tended to install Greenwood Airvac Unity or similar fans which is a constantly running, very low energy and very low noise fan to bathroom, with a boost function and humidity sensor. These are installed to maintain a minimum level of ventilation at all times.

At tenant changeovers, the systems are checked to be working properly and any filters changed or cleaned as necessary. New tenants are instructed on how to properly use the installed systems and instructed that the fans must not be switched off.

For extract only ventilation to work correctly, especially where the dwelling has good airtightness, it is important to ensure that fresh air can enter and circulate, We use trickle vents in windows and a small gap at the bottom edge of all doors to achieve this.

So lets say the landlord has done everything that is reasonable to make sure the property is structurally sound, free from significant defects, has a effective and economical heating system. Has insulated the house to a good standard and installed the correct ventilation systems to prevent condensation and potential for mold establishment under normally expected usage.

So the one variable which is outside the landlords control is the how the tenant chooses to use the property and now politicians and others are telling us that we are going to be responsible for this also. How is this extended duty of care fair and reasonable? How do we take control of the tenants use of the property to oversee that it is being used in a way that is 'normal'. We can't, can we, and what's more what can we do about it under the present or proposed system of regulation?

In a recent incident in one of my flats, a tenant complained that he was getting a lot of condensation on his windows and some black mold on the blinds. I carried out an inspection and discovered that all the trickle vents were shut, the bathroom extractor was switched off at the isolator, all internal doors were kept closed, vertical blinds were kept closed all the time and he was drying washing on radiators and clothes racks despite have external space and dry weather at the time.

I checked air temperature and humidity and used a thermal camera to check surfaces temperatures. So despite having a surface temperatures above 17C, because of the humidity levels, calculations indicated that some areas would still have the potential for condensation, especially when heating was only used intermittently and switched off in some rooms.

I explained the problem, showed him the evidence and advised what he needs to do to prevent this from becoming a problem. I carried out an external inspection everyday after that for over two weeks and nothing had changed. The extractor was off, the windows were full of condensation, the vertical blinds were closed tightly and the trickle vents shut. Now please tell me that this is not the tenants lifestyle choice and if it is still my responsibility, tell me where I went wrong?

As a footnote, tenants switching off the ventilation installations is the biggest issue we have! I formally wrote to all tenants to remind them of there responsibilities in respect of ventilation, humidity causes activities and heating.

Sorry for the rant!!

The full report and guidance should be essential reading for landlords. It does not support the minister's statement that damp and mould are not the result of lifestyle choices but would support a statement that they "might not be...".

He seems to be trying to establish a presumption in favour of the tenant but the report is actually well balanced and includes links to other resources, all of which acknowledge that mould can be caused by factors that are within the control of the tenant.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/damp-and-mould-understanding-and-addressing-the-health-risks-for-rented-housing-providers/understanding-and-addressing-the-health-risks-of-damp-and-mould-in-the-home--2#annex-e-tenant-guidance-on-damp-and-mould

The video linked in appendix E should be compulsory viewing.

Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 11/09/2023 - 12:34
https://www.youtube.com/@ukcmb-6547
Is the link to the video

Can someone please ask the question when the idiot presents at the forthcoming NRLA event. 'How can you state damp not due to lifestyle'?
I won't be there, as I don't trust myself.

Thank you

Yes I have lets I purchased two brand new props off plan one of them in first six months was absolutely black having explained to tenant how to keep damp down it was totally ignored all damp prevention methods where turned off they said it was an added expense they could not afford where do we go with this now I have a leaflet that they have to sign to say I have gone through all damp prevention systems have been explained and if there is a breach of this money from deposits will be deducted the government hase witch hunt for private landlords

Reply to the comment left by Disillusioned landlord at 11/09/2023 - 11:28
Well said Disillusioned. Very true facts and detail in there.