If we find that you home has an unsafe amount damp and mould, we can help you make a claim. With AWH, you can claim for the necessary repairs to be completed, in addition to claiming compensation for any suffering and losses you experienced due to the damp and mould. Please note: We are a solicitor firm with offices in Manchester and Blackburn and can only assist in housing disrepair matters to those people who live in social housing in England and Wales.
We cannot assist you if you are in a private rental. Our expert solicitors have extensive experience with these type of cases. They can help you assess your situation and ensure that any damp and mould problems in your rented home are properly addressed. They will also be able to establish if you could be entitled to compensation for any damage and health problems caused by the damp and mould in your home.
We want to help you be able to live comfortably in your home without having to worry about damp and mould issues causing your health to decline. Mould and damp can create serious health problems, and make existing ones worsen very quickly. This means that when the damp and mould are caused by structural defects, your landlord has to carry out repairs.
Thanks to years of experience handling damp and mould housing disrepair claims, we know that the fault lies often not with the tenant, but the council or social housing landlord. If your landlord is responsible, yet fails to repair any damage to your home, we can help. Request free assessment. Tenants rights in regard to mould and damp in the UK So what exactly are landlords responsible for?
If you are a social or council housing tenant we can support you with your housing disrepair claim. What are tenants responsible for? You are expected to make sure that the property remains well-ventilated at all times, because good ventilation helps to avoid mould such as black mould in rented property from growing and spreading.
If the damp or mould is mainly down to how you have treated the property, you may want to try the following:. Even if your landlord is at fault, you should try to carry out the above steps. Are you suffering from health issues such as asthma as a result of the disrepair?
Then we can help. Types of Damp and mould in Rented Property Rising damp. Rising dampness generally occurs in older houses as a result of groundwater rising up through the walls and floors. This will cause your wallpaper to peel, paint to flake and edges of carpets to look dirty and darker. Rising damp often contains salts which will damage the wall from within, meaning the wall needs to be repaired before any cosmetic work can be done.
If your property has a problem with rising damp, your landlord will need to take action to stop the damp from reoccurring too. Only then should they re-plaster and redecorate the affected areas. Black mould. If black mould is growing in your home you must be extra careful. People who are not named on the tenancy agreement as tenants e. The Tribunal may make an order that the rent is or was excessive due to a reduction or withdrawal by the landlord of any goods, services or facilities provided with the premises e.
If the Tribunal finds that the rent is excessive, it will make an excessive rent order. It will specify:. See Factsheet Rent increases for how to prepare an excessive rent case. You may also apply for an order that the landlord compensate you for loss of enjoyment of premises you have suffered.
The Tribunal may not order compensation if you have not mitigated your losses. You must back up your claims with evidence. This may include expert reports on the presence of mould in the premises e. Such reports can be costly so you may need to rely on other evidence.
The condition report is important evidence of the state of the place at the start of the tenancy. Other evidence may include:. The Tribunal gave no weight to evidence of mould inspection by unqualified witnesses. The Tribunal found that the tenants had not mitigated their loss and were not entitled to further compensation.
If someone in your household has been made ill by mould, seek medical advice. Consult a solicitor or your local Community Legal Centre 02 , clcnsw. This factsheet is intended as a guide to the law and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice. It applies to people who live in, or are affected by, the law as it applies in New South Wales, Australia. Donate now. Download this topic as a printable PDF. About mould Moulds are fungi that need moisture and organic material to grow.
Mitigation of loss Examples of mitigation of loss include: a tenant avoiding damage to their clothes by removing them from a built-in wardrobe where mould is growing a landlord promptly fixing damage to a bathroom wall before mould growth can set in whether or not the tenant caused the damage Decide what to do You may want to: stay at the rented premises and have them repaired — see below end your tenancy and leave — see Factsheet You want to leave for how to end your tenancy agreement.
If you are going to move out temporarily while repairs are done, make a clear agreement in writing about: rent reduction how long you will be away who will be responsible for goods at the premises or how your goods will be stored. It will specify: the amount that the rent must not exceed the day from which this maximum rent applies — for a period of up to of 12 months See Factsheet Rent increases for how to prepare an excessive rent case. Evidence You must back up your claims with evidence.
As always, you should read the terms and conditions of your insurance policy carefully. If your mould problem is severe, you may have to call in a professional to get rid of it. Who pays depends on the source of the mould. Surface mould, such as that found on bathroom tiles or on the surface of kitchen cabinets, can be cleaned up fairly easily without calling in outside help.
But if mould covers a large area of your home — according to the Australian Mould Guideline , which was co-authored Neumeister-Kemp, a rough guide is one metre square — and is dense, or if householders are asthmatic or allergic to mould, it's best to call in the experts. If the problem is on the surface — on walls, ceilings or cabinets — it's a relatively simple clean-up job that could set you back a few hundred dollars.
If it's just condensation, it's cheap. If it sits on top, it's cheap. Neumeister-Kemp says badly affected homes may have mould behind walls, in and behind gyprock, in ceiling cavities and under carpets and floorboard. Once it sets into porous materials, it can be easier to replace them entirely than to treat them. Skip to content Skip to footer navigation. Top of the content. Black mould and renters' rights What are your rights when black mould takes hold?
Andy Kollmorgen andykollmorgen. Last updated: 09 March Home and contents insurance tends not to cover mould damage, particularly when it's caused by lack of maintenance, such as blocked gutters or missing ceiling tiles Amy asked her landlord to fix the underlying cause of the mould and to pay to have her belongings replaced or treated, but the landlord refused.
Amy said she was considering filing a civil court case against the landlord. Top tips for keeping your house mould-free. We care about accuracy. See something that's not quite right in this article?
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