The Generation Rent activist group has called for a series of reforms about damp and mould.
It wants the reinstatement of energy efficiency targets for the private rental sector, abandoned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in the early autumn.
The activist group says: “Introducing a higher minimum energy efficiency standard to private rented homes - which was ditched in the autumn - would lead to warmer, dryer homes, stopping mould developing in the first place.”
It also wants fixed deadlines for private landlords to rectify alleged damp and mould in properties, saying: “Not giving landlords fixed deadlines to deal with potentially deadly issues leaves private tenants the most exposed and least protected.”
And it supports the Conservative MP Steve Brine who, as chair of the Health and Social. Care Select Committee, wants recently-introduced measures imposed on social housing landlords to be extended to the private sector.
Generation Rent says: "Damp and mouldy homes are dangerous to our health and can even kill. Awaab’s law was rightly brought in to social housing last year, giving tenants the security of knowing that action must be taken in a certain timeframe when it is found.
“The UK’s 12 million private tenants however are offered no such protection.
"Awaab’s law must be extended to cover private homes as soon as possible. Issues of damp, mould, fuel poverty and poor insulation are worse in private homes than any other tenure type. We urge the government to correct this to stop people from falling ill and dying in their homes.”
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The nut 🥜 jobs are out in force again I see 😂. If they bring in the same laws into the PRS as social housing to do with mold, then any landlord staying in will be taking a big risk. The no win no fee parasitic scum will be waiting like vultures 🦅
It will be a bonanza for tenants seeking compensation and parasitic claims companies. Tenants will be growing mould to earn money 💵💷💶💴💰💴💰
Fit a Nuaire Drimaster 'Heat' Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) fan and the problem goes away. Fit a tamper proof cover over the ON/OFF switch from SSP Direct. That's what I've done in every unit I own and my own office as well. That's what social landlords have done in thousands of their units.
It's very hard for a tenant to mount a successful claim if you are EPC Grade C and have installed a PIV fan.
It's common sense.
The problem never occurs if you have an IQ 🤔
Gibbo, allow me to pick up on one of your points...
That's what social landlords have done in thousands of their units.???
Why did the poor little mite suffer then, he was in social housing!
More Gibberish from Gibbons. 🤪
He must sit there salivating whenever an article about ventilation, EPC, damp etc appears. Then the nurse has to up his meds to calm him down. 🤣
Damp is caused by tenant behaviour including not reporting blocked gutters and missing tiles, drying clothes indoors, blocking air vents, buying non-condensing tumble dryers and generally not communicating.
These crackpots should have gone to the flat I had drama with. Damp and mould in there was horrendous. Punched holes in the roof, sold the heaters, papered over the rear windows of the building because of paranoia about people looking in, smashed the sink, smashed the kitchen and set fire to it.
Who pays generation rant?
Doing random EPC upgrades without the tenant engaging and using the house appropriately will cause more mold.
Open fires, sash windows and wooden front doors provided natural ventilation.
Central heating, uPVC windows and doors need the tenant to put some thought and effort into their behaviour. Trickle vents need to be open, extractor fans need to be turned on, pan lids need to be used, heating needs to vary by no more 5 degrees to minimise condensation, laundry drying needs thought. Shutting it in a bathroom with the window open or extractor running is just about OK. Hanging it on radiators all over the house will cause mold problems. It's totally different to an airer in front of an open fire (which caused huge air change).
Martin I am totally against covering switches making them inoperable and not a safe thing to do.
I had Tenants that messed up the wiring on the stair landings of 3 floors. They put in sensor bulbs seem a good idea but then someone turns off the switch and they cannot work so they fiddled with the switch wiring making them permanently live, very dangerous even to change a bulb with live fittings.
It was expensive to put right as the wiring is a different system to the normal every day wiring like pvc twin & earth or multi. They are all single wires more like used commercially with 3 way intermediate switches now sort that lot out.
No don’t cover switches but you say thousands have done it.
Jo. I agree and if they have outside space use Lennon natural open air drier for most of the year, if it rains the washing don’t get wet.
With regards cooking and mold as I said before why is no one suggesting Air friers to give a massive reduction in Condensation & mould.
So efficient quick and clean no Steam no Smoke no Condensation at all just set it and forget it, get on with other things it will give you a tingle when it’s ready, for example an 8 oz steak 15 minutes @ 180 degrees job done no need to watch over it. I prefer the 2 drawer option sometimes only need small capacity. They are in a price range to suit any pocket £50.00 to £350.00 and also must be safer than flame cooking. This is a good alternative, instead of the currently Law making in
Parliament to further wrongly punish Landlords.
I'd never heard of the Lennon dryer so I've just Googled it. Great idea but seriously expensive and I expect tenants wouldn't bother using it.
One of mine left one of those heater drying racks switched on one day last week. I had no idea just how much electric they use. The solar panel app showed a very unusual electric consumption of 2.4kw per hour from 09:00 to 17:30. I assumed someone must have a 2kw convector heater running all day but it turned out it was the heated airer. I've pointed out the heat pump tumble drier uses a fraction of the electric to dry a load of washing and won't cause damp problems. It's staggering that these airers are being sold as a way of saving money. Just in one day it used about £4 more electric than the tumble drier would.
I have damp in one of my 11 properties.
The tenant says she opens the windows, but when I checked the rubber seals on the UPVC were stuck. It needed a degree of force to open them. So told her again “the problem is lack of ventilation “ a year later same thing again. I rest my case!
I have a similar problem I took to driving past when ever I was in Norwich and keeping a log in my desk dairy, 9x out of 10 they were all closed
Weep vents on Windows may be an issue .
HMO Licence requirements have made the risk of mould much worse with self closing almost hermetically sealed fire doors, although most students have discovered that using door wedges helps reduce this risk.
I have found that a group of boys will be much less
Iikely to grow mould as they rarely dry clothes inside. As an added bonus, the washing machine, dishwasher, hob and oven all tend to be returned pristine, almost as if they hadn't been used!
On the downside, there's a much higher risk of beds being broken and loads of bottles and take away boxes left everywhere that's out of sight but easily discoverable by smell!
A senior lawyer has warned landlords that they must not blame tenants for mould within their rented homes.
Claire Campbell, a partner at Scottish legal firm Thompsons, says blaming tenants for mould particularly during the winters months is not ‘a legitimate defence’.
She looks like another dumb blond.
I have a feeling that Thomsons are known as leftie lawyers supporting workshy in spurious claims, so supporting mould growers would also fit with what I have heard - allegedly
Jo. A natural Lennon Air Drier is not expensive and costs less than a HMO Licensing Application to put things in perspective. Of Course there is no running costs as they are as there name suggests a natural Air Drier.
Just add an Air Frier as cheap as chips no steam, efficient cooking all sealed-in therefore no moisture emitted so can’t cause Condensation
2 emails gone to Martin Lewis live TV attacking landlords why are you from landlord today not contacting him, talking through his back side and he had a Shelter Representation on mouthing off from a Charity that housed no one, disgraceful.
Meanwhile from the NRLA, tumbleweeds.
Can anyone help Me .my landlord is a good friend however failed to do repairs on time such as electrical and plumbing issues. I got council involved and now the landlord has given Me a verbal warning ..
As a landlord he has responsibilities but has communication got blurred as you are mates?
Did you initially report the problem in a formal tenant/landlord fashion or casually as a friend?
Has he got the 'he won't mind he's my friend' attitude or is he struggling to find tradespeople or pay for the repair?
Do you pay full market rent or mates rate?
Letting to friends or family can work well if everyone can work out what role they are playing at any given time - tenant/landlord or friends.
He's probably feeling pretty hurt that you have involved the Council especially if the rent is lower than it could be.
Maybe it would suit both of you better if he increased the rent a bit and paid for a British Gas Homecare 4 policy to cover all the plumbing and electrics?
Finding a suitable tradesman can be a problem and take time
My landlord is a good friend so I reported him to the Council. Who would want a friend like that, the back bone is missing.
I’d never let to a friend or relative. Too many potential problems.😟
I have, occasionally, had a landlord wanting to rent a property to a relative. I have always suggested that I manage the property so that when a problem occurs, they can hide behind me. 😉 Especially useful if there are rent arrears. The landlord just has to say that they pay an agent to deal with the property and cannot interfere. 😀
I am not so sure Andrew is a genuine person in need.
Nick play back Martin Lewis’s money program of tonight and see Shelter’s Representative (the Charity that houses no one) slobber telling Tenants to Claim back thousands from landlords .
No landlords Represented on the program only showing graphs of Sky high Rents no mention of all the costs imposed on landlords.
I will watch it. Thank you.
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