Rented house: Floorboard rotted through

[aMooseLoose]

I'm living with 2 other people in a rented house while at uni. It's cheap and convenient for us. The landlord owns around 20 houses in the area and all are of reasonable standard...

 

This afternoon we decided to move the lounge furniture around to make an improvement to the living arrangements. While doing this, my housemate stood to the side of the sofa to lift it and the floorboard gave way. We lifted the tiles to see what had happened and discovered that the boards were severely damp and covered in mould.

 

He twisted his ankle but is okay now. We are aware of a bit of damp in the property and put this down to previous tight **** tenants who didn't use the heating...

Phoned landlord and he said he'd get someone out on Monday to inspect it. Meanwhile, we have a hole in the floor to allow slugs/rodents in...

 

Question: Is there anything the landlord should be doing to help us? Obviously our lounge is unusable to an extent (sofas piled up). Also, the damp affecting our health?

We're unsure where we stand regarding it and would like some advice.

 

We're going to give the landlord a chance to rectify it.

 

Pictures show floorboards, both intact and rotted through and also the wallpaper above, damp with mould spores visible.

 

[bullet1747]

Damp horrible stuff

He should do something but bet he doesn't , the last lot of students properly complained and got no were

good luck

Edited January 17, 2015 by bullet1747

[figgy]

I'd be looking for somewhere else to live.

 

There is a reason for that damp and lack of heating ain't it.

[aMooseLoose]

Bullet, he's having his house 'engineer' maintenance man come in on Monday to look at it and repair it... I.e. Cut out the rotten section and replace it.

 

Now that someones put their foot through it, he is doing something about it.

They have a hold on the local student housing market as it's only one college that needs it, approximately 120 students.

 

I'm not one for putting up with bull honky... He's earning £1k every month off each house, minimum.

Edited January 17, 2015 by aMooseLoose

[malkiserow]

put a board over it to make it safe for now but chase him to get it sorted or move out.

[onatangent]

contact the fair rental team, part of your local council and will inspect and mandate what the landlord has to do. This will cheese your landlord off in most cases so approach as a last resort if your landlord isn't playing ball.

[Mungler]

Your landlord can only take action on stuff he knows about, so wait and see what he does to fix the situation before going postal.

 

That being said, if I had property I rented to students I wouldn't want to spend any money on it or make it nice as there's a better than fair chance of the place getting a hard time.

 

I'd be interested to know how / why there is so much damp. How old is the house roughly and does it have a DPC? I take it that the corner in question faces onto an external wall.

[Vince Green]

There is probably more of a health issue with mould spores because floor boards don't go like that unless water is getting in. Replacing the boards wont solve the cause. If you want to contact the local Environmental Health they will probably take quite a serious view on it .

[rjimmer]

The whole floor may have to come up and everything fumigated for dry rot to do the job properly, so you had better be prepared to move out. All the air bricks are possibly blocked, especialy likely if the cavities have been filled with insulation.

[aMooseLoose]

Your landlord can only take action on stuff he knows about, so wait and see what he does to fix the situation before going postal.

 

That being said, if I had property I rented to students I wouldn't want to spend any money on it or make it nice as there's a better than fair chance of the place getting a hard time.

 

I'd be interested to know how / why there is so much damp. How old is the house roughly and does it have a DPC? I take it that the corner in question faces onto an external wall.

 

The wall is between the lounge and hallway. the wooden box next to it is the gas cupboard.

I'm a mature student (23), the other two are younger than me, but I keep them in line!

 

There is probably more of a health issue with mould spores because floor boards don't go like that unless water is getting in. Replacing the boards wont solve the cause. If you want to contact the local Environmental Health they will probably take quite a serious view on it .

I'm more concerned about the mould spores also, he seems to think that it's condensation due to lack of heating in the property, which admittedly, we don't use that often due to costs.

The council won't be contacted until action starts, or lack of.

 

 

contact the fair rental team, part of your local council and will inspect and mandate what the landlord has to do. This will cheese your landlord off in most cases so approach as a last resort if your landlord isn't playing ball.

 

That's a last resort, we're going to give him a chance to rectify it, however I don't believe that remove and replace is the solution to it.

 

He has just visited the property and inspected it. According to him, the mould is from the condensation, nothing to do with the rotten floorboards beneath it...

[Fisheruk]

It is covered by Section 11 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.. Google it and if you need any more advice send me a PM

[crowdie2013]

Whole host of possible reasons but I'd bet a pound that its due to a combination of the following:

Lack of sub floor ventilation which will have been ongoing for years along with an unsealed solumn.

Wallpaper painted many many times acts as a barrier to the wall breathing resulting in peeling paper and mould spores.

Is it plastered on hard? Could be a combination of condensating damp and wall not breathing.

Has the cavity been filled with blown insulation? That's why cavities shouldn't be filled.

Lack of or defective dpc

 

In terms of a permenant fix floor needs lifted completely, floor sealed, reinstated in either suspended or conc slab/floating floor.

Walls stripped/investigated/sorted.

 

However I bet lanlords handyman will cut out immediate rot affected area and ply over.

[aMooseLoose]

It is covered by Section 11 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.. Google it and if you need any more advice send me a PM

Thanks FisherUK,

 

You may be getting a pm from me if nothing gets done about it, to my approval anyway.

My main concern is that a sofa leg was located over this section of flooring, which could have resulted in serious damage or injury should it have given way at some point in time.

The landlord thinks the student tenants are daft, which most of them are to be honest, but I'm not. We are only on 6 month rentals due to the nature of our course, 50/50 college and sea time.

[muffin]

New legislation local councils now have responsibility to engage and prosecute private landlords if standards ot met. First port of call

[spinach]

What type of heating is there?

Condensation in places with poor insulation and low levels of heat and moreover high moisture from baths and boiling pans followed by no heating.

The hole in the floor can be easily botched the only thing to worry is about your deposit.

John.

[Fisherman Mike]

The wall between the lounge and hall.. looks like the source of damp..

 

Below floor level do the bricks seem damp, looks to me like this as been a problem before as the boards have clearly been removed and refixed

 

I would be confident moisture is rising up this wall because there is no DPC

 

Un heated houses can get mouldy but generally not damp, lack of ventilation will cause mould growth particularly in vulnerable areas, and sofas tight against a wall are typical of these.

 

The pale patches on the floor boards are typical of wet rot.

 

let us know what the Landlord does about it...

 

But if it is wet rot the source of the moisture needs to be traced and eradicated the existing boards treated and replaced..

 

Simply replacing the boards without treating the cause would be a complete waste of time..

 

Its likely that the property would have to be vacated to carry this out properly.

Edited January 17, 2015 by Fisherman Mike

[aMooseLoose]

Thanks for the replies!

 

My concern is that he will try and do a quick fix, not a proper job of it. Where do I stand with this?

He won't redo the wallpaper or paint as it's only a student house, and our fault due to condensation...

 

Deposit wise, it was only £70. I can live without that. But I'll certainly be withholding my rent until it's sorted.

[Fisherman Mike]

You must give the Landlord reasonable opportunity to action the repairs in a reasonable timescale.

 

Its very important that you must also continue to pay your rent, if you do not you will be in breach of contract and will give him reason to terminate your tenancy without having the works completed.

 

If you do not believe the remedials have been completed to your satisfaction then you need to raise this issue with the Landlord and then if not resolved contact the Local Council Environmental Health department.

 

If they are of the opinion the problem is detrimental to your health, that of other occupants or the public they are empowered to act accordingly.

 

There is a Government website I believe which explains your rights.

 

Its in his interests to get it sorted because it will be unletable otherwise.

 

Best of Luck

Edited January 17, 2015 by Fisherman Mike

[keg]

Friend has several student properties in Leeds an the biggest issue is condensation, mainly through the students not putting the heating on so they can save money. All his properties have newish GSH.

[Mungler]

We mostly see problems with lets to foreign families - the usual one inside the M25 is a 3 bed house ends up housing 3 generations of the same family, and such that the person on the AST then sub lets (like an HMO) to half a dozen more people. This then means lots of cooking of electric rings in rooms, the washing machine all the time and no one opens a blummin window

 

I thought the first rule of building was keeping the water and wind out (or more particularly property dealing with water and moving it away from the property as required). I'm amazed when property owners knowingly ignore water / wet issues.

[aMooseLoose]

Friend has several student properties in Leeds an the biggest issue is condensation, mainly through the students not putting the heating on so they can save money. All his properties have newish GSH.

 

I make sure that the windows are opened every couple of days if not too cold. But the wood rot is an underlying issue, not down to condensation build up.

[vampire]

You have had some very good indepth responses to your question,big up to the pw massive.

As has been said its rising damp/wet rot, that then this gets worse by condensation as any moisture in the air will go to the coldest spot to cause intersticial damp,this will need exploring to find the cause and could be a host of things,photo underneath the floor boards and of where the wall joins outside may help to solve it,but if there is mould growing on the boards then it will be on the joists and plate they sit on,so could be looking at replacing whole lot.

Have done several of these type jobs,cause of those has been build up of dust/dirt/insect/worm deposits that build up against wall and sleeper wall that joists sit on,that then allows damp to bridge into the timber and on you go till it looks like your floor.

Remedy could be as simple as clear out void and ALL air bricks,but big job and not a five minute visit from handy man,as all may need replacing.

Asda sell a green trigger bottle of mould killer,spray it on and it will disappear before your eyes.

Enviromental health/council have powers to sort this out for you,mould is a serious problem to health.

Good luck

[aMooseLoose]

You have had some very good indepth responses to your question,big up to the pw massive.

As has been said its rising damp/wet rot, that then this gets worse by condensation as any moisture in the air will go to the coldest spot to cause intersticial damp,this will need exploring to find the cause and could be a host of things,photo underneath the floor boards and of where the wall joins outside may help to solve it,but if there is mould growing on the boards then it will be on the joists and plate they sit on,so could be looking at replacing whole lot.

Have done several of these type jobs,cause of those has been build up of dust/dirt/insect/worm deposits that build up against wall and sleeper wall that joists sit on,that then allows damp to bridge into the timber and on you go till it looks like your floor.

Remedy could be as simple as clear out void and ALL air bricks,but big job and not a five minute visit from handy man,as all may need replacing.

Asda sell a green trigger bottle of mould killer,spray it on and it will disappear before your eyes.

Enviromental health/council have powers to sort this out for you,mould is a serious problem to health.

Good luck

 

I agree, and am very thankful of it!

I think the landlord thinks he can get away with it as we are only a short term let, but a few words with the college and his name will be struck off the approved list of accommodation providers.

 

I've asked him to hold off any work until I am present so I can inspect the area underneath the boards.

 

So you think the damp has bridged from the DPC (or lack of) and to the joists/boards?

[Fisherman Mike]

I agree, and am very thankful of it!

I think the landlord thinks he can get away with it as we are only a short term let, but a few words with the college and his name will be struck off the approved list of accommodation providers.

 

I've asked him to hold off any work until I am present so I can inspect the area underneath the boards.

 

So you think the damp has bridged from the DPC (or lack of) and to the joists/boards?

That would be my first point of inspection...

 

Are all the external rainwater drops free and running well. ?

[sako751sg]

 

I agree, and am very thankful of it!

I think the landlord thinks he can get away with it as we are only a short term let, but a few words with the college and his name will be struck off the approved list of accommodation providers.

 

I've asked him to hold off any work until I am present so I can inspect the area underneath the boards.

 

So you think the damp has bridged from the DPC (or lack of) and to the joists/boards?

 

Could be many different causes and as Vampire says even the smallest bridge in the airspace can transfer the damp.Have a look at the area and hopefully something is obvious.Presuming ground levels are not an issue so hopefully its not a major problem.Some of these old houses are a haven for damp and some of them need majors to rectify.

That would be my first point of inspection...

 

Are all the external rainwater drops free and running well. ?

 

Something so simple yet overlooked.Even a leaking spoot over time can create issues.