Wall Water Features

tenants rights, what can i do?

ok here goes! ive been living in a property now for 8weeks and despite having several problems and them being short term fixed i have a few questions that i need answers for but don't know where to turn! as we have had such a bad winter the maisonette im living in is like and indoor water feature! its a 2 bed ground floor with 4 people and 2dogs living in it. the day we moved in was the day the problems started, we had noticed that the windows in all bedrooms and living room had steamed up then after a few days the water just started pouring from the windows (like it was raining on the inside), i tryed several things like window seal de huminidfiers, table salt pots, wiping them down daily, but nothing seems to work. weve even opened windows when the kids are in another room but even that dont clear them. waking up to puddles on the window seals has become a pain as it started dripping onto the floor so ive now got bath towels on all the window seals! due to the water inside the front door and also the porch door had started to swell so the land lord had come round on several occasions and shaved the wood down so the door could shut! so come the summer the doors will now swing open!!!! the most worrying thing of all is the mould! when pulling the sofa out the whole wall and back of the sofa was covered in mould as well as a book unit i have to! the mould was black, green, white, red and fluffy so had been there a while. i informed the land lord who advised to clean with bi carbonate of soda. same happened in the wardrobe the botom of it plus everything inside was also blanketed with mould.After removing a coat also from the porch the coats were also covered in mould and several items had been so damaged they had to be thrown away. since cleaning all of this the mould has returned and is now starting to damage the property to which the land lord is aware. The agent and landlord advised to use a de humidfier which we have done but un fortunatly it has not worked! when i took the agreement out it was with an agent, i wouldnt acecept a contract without one as and agent is extra security if anything goes wrong and i cant contact the landlord (which has happened several occasions) as of yesterday the landlord had sacked the agents which im extreamly not happy about! i expressed my feelings to the landlord who said that i could move out if he had another tenenat moving in. when i asked when i could moved he simply said " i dont know when someone else wants to move in you can move out" he seems to think that the estate agents will find him a new tenant despite sacking them?!!! what id like to know is if i have any rights in getting out of the tenancy, i signed the tenancy with the agent not with the landlord and now the agent is no longer nothing to do with it is the tanancy still legal! just to clarifiy i have also had environmental health in who are monitoring the state of the property and trying to contact the land lord to help but again he will not answer the phone. sorry for the klong post but i dont know what to do or where to go. thank you

Public Comments

1. Move somewhere else.
2. "i have also had environmental health in who are monitoring the state of the property and trying to contact the land lord to help but again he will not answer the phone." Apart from that I really don't know, other than suggest a visit to Citizens Advice, sorry.
3. Whether you can lawfully break your tenancy without penalty will depend a lot on what the environmental health officer concludes. If they agree that the property has a severe underlying damp problem they'll be able to order your landlord to resolve the problem, or else give you legal advice about ending the tenancy if the landlord refuses. You can also consult Citizens Advice and Shelter regarding your housing rights as tenants. Condensation on windows is a common problem, especially in winter. It's not something your landlord can do much about, unless they're willing to replace all the double glazing in the property. First, prevent as much as you can. Drying washing indoors or cooking can contribute a lot of moisture to the air, as can bathrooms and showers. Dry washing outdoors if you can, when cooking open a window in the kitchen and keep doors to other areas closed to confine the moist air to the kitchen. Keep bathroom and shower room doors closed while in use, and open window when finished and keep doors closed to confine moist air to bathroom or shower. Keep doors closed and windows open for as long as possible after use. When weather permits, open as many doors and windows in the house as you can, even if only a little to give 'trickle' ventilation. I appreciate that it may be inconvenient, but under-ventilation is the most common reason for household mould.
4. You need to read the tenancy agreement you signed. This is a legally binding contract and it will set down terms and conditions that you agreed to. The fact that the landlord has sacked the agent is irrelevant , if the tenancy agreement you signed was for twelve months then even if you move out you could be liable to pay twelve months rent. Best to ask the landlord if he will allow you to end your tenancy asap and if so on what terms eg if you find him another tenant ? Get a solicitor for legal advise - but if its like what happened to me, i was told it was a case of buyer beware and it cost me to terminate my tenancy.