UK Landlord Forum / Life

I am a 3rd year student who is renting a house in Oxford. I have been in the same house for 2 years now and I am still currently living in it.

Today I was sent through a bill for repairs of the house from second year. They have sent through pictures which shows the damage to the house. Some of the pictures I can disprove due to taking my own pictures at the beginning of second year. However, I have noticed that many of pictures that show issues have not been repaired?! Surely the landlord can not charge me for repairs that where never carried out before the start of my new contract in third year? 

In addition, he has charged us for mould in the bathroom. Half way through the year we notified the landlord of this problem; he then sent workmen to inspect the bathroom. The workman told us that it was caused by the the extractor fan in the bathroom not working properly as we keep the window open when we shower. He told us he would notify the Landlord of what he found. Although, we heard no more about the issue.

Furthermore, my room mates and I have been charged for mould that has occurred in our rooms. The mould appears along the window sills on single glazing windows. In my room-mates room it appears behind his bed next to his head. (We suspect this is the reason for him getting ill so often last year.)  Are we able to contest this? On a side note, we do not dry our clothes in our rooms. We have a separate rooms to do this which we keep well ventilated as there is no mould in there.   

Thanks for any help you can give ...

First of all, relax. You seem knowledgeable enough to take care of your behind  and that already puts you 10 steps ahead of most tenants.
Obviously, your landlord is a sketchy one and thinks he's entitled to scrape as much skin off your back.

So, you took photos yourself. I imagine you did so in the very beginning of your tenancy. If so, they act as direct proof of the condition in which you received the property and any damage that is visible in them is not your problem. If anybody, the landlord is free to chase their previous tenants if they wish to..

The landlord can only charge you for damage YOU have caused. That brings us to the mould problem. Is there any chance you're the reason it appeared ?  From what you've written, I get it you are well versed in proper maintenance, so I'd doubt it's your fault. More so, when the handyman told you it's a faulty extractor.

The problem is there is probably no written statement by the worker, thus no evidence. However, if he was right, then if you bring another handyman he's likely to confirm the issue and then you can get him to write and sign it.

If it's caused by malfunctioning appliances and core functions of the property (for which the landlord is fully responsible), then you have an ace up your sleeve. If your roommate is getting ill frequently, try to get a doctor to confirm if it's due to the mould near his bed. If the case is so, your rented property is hazardous for your health and you can threaten your landlord with the local council.
An inspection + a note from the doctor will surely hold strong in the court, so he'll probably stop trying to get money from you and just allow you to leave peacefully.

Also, I advise you to take a look if the deposit protection procedure was properly conducted. If there even the slightest issue with it, the landlord is liable for 1-3 times the deposit amount. This is indisputable, so you might have another leverage there.

All in all, I'd remain calm  in your shoes. You're handling things pretty well and I'd be surprised to see you get ripped by your landlord.

Hope this helps,
Your friends @
Friendly Tenancy Helpers
End of Tenancy Cleaning London

Condensation leading to mould is caused by lack of ventilation and inadequate heating.  It is invariably caused by a tenant's lifestyle and nothing to do with the construction of a property.  Sadly, many tenants and most young ones have very little concept of what is needed to avoid this unnecessary problem.

There is a very useful guidance letter available from LandlordZone (  http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/2013rd/?sad-key=H5D3N9ewe2LzELhh2cBcDidl ) , which I believe should be distributed to all tenants at the beginning of a tenancy.

I'm not sure whether links are allowed, so I have reproduced the text below as well.

Damp or Condensation? Winter time and the cold weather can result in signs of
condensation inside your house. This is quite common, even in new property. The first signs
are usually the appearance of black mould spots and a musty smell in the coldest parts of
your house – usually in the bedrooms and bathrooms.
If your property has been free from these signs in the warm summer months, then it is
unlikely to be a damp problem created by defects in the property – condensation is the most
likely cause.
What is Condensation? Condensation is a process where moisture (steam) in the air inside
your house is condensing-out into water droplets on cold surfaces. This is most noticeable on
hard surfaces like glass or tiles, where pools of water may appear on window sills. With soft
surfaces like wallpaper, carpets, bedding and clothes you will not notice the water, but it will
be absorbed into these items making them cold and damp and over time resulting in mould.
What causes Condensation? There are three main causes of condensation in a house:
1 Rooms that are too cold and inadequately heated, creating lots of cold surfaces.
2 The production of too much steam from cooking, washing, showering, clothes drying
etc – all result in moisture laden warm air which will rise to the highest and usually
the coldest part of the house where condensation takes place.
3 Inadequate ventilation of the steam produced at source, which keeps it all in the
sealed envelope of the house.
Modern houses with double glazing and draft proofing are effectively hermetically sealed
boxes, with little or no venting of excess moisture where it is produced, for example a
bathroom shower or a cooker.
How can I prevent Condensation and Mould? You can do a lot to prevent condensation in
your home.
1 Maintain a minimum temperature in all your rooms especially bedrooms and
bathrooms – temperatures should not be allowed to fall below about 18c. If you are
out all day leave some heating on to keep the house warm – it costs less to maintain
the temperature than to warm-up from cold and it's much more comfortable.
2 Minimise the amount of steam you produce when cooking and washing and always
vent this to the outside, for example by opening a window or using the cooker
extractor fan. Always confine steam to the room it is produced in by keeping internal
doors closed.
3 Avoid drying wet clothes on radiators and try to keep them out by leaving them in a
porch, utility or garage. Make sure clothes dryers have an external vent.
Measures such as these will cure most problems with condensation and mould. However, if
the property has become very cold and damp over a long period it may take some time to dry
everything out thoroughly with good heating so that surfaces are no longer cold and damp. If
you are still having problems you should speak to you letting agent or landlord about
providing some additional heating, ventilation and insulation