Mould and damp in rented property - the end of tenancy problem

I wanted to share with you a great article written by a fellow professional letting agent Sally Asling who is the director of Surrey Lets. Having been a Bristol letting agent myself in Bristol for over 15 years, I would have to agree with everything she says.


Hopefully this will help towards tenants understanding the big difference between the two, enabling you to alleviate the problem or understand the problem before it even starts. 


Mould and Mildew at the end of a tenancy is one of the most debated issues that I come across at the end of a tenancy. 

The tenants blaming the property and the landlord wanting to hold the deposit for redecoration. So who is right? What are the processes in resolving this?

Firstly, there are two types of mould and mildew that can develop during a tenancy:

A) Low level damp penetration to outer walls normally creeping up the walls from the bottom.In most cases this indicates a maintenance issue for the landlord.
B) High level mould normally seen on ceilings, silicone sealant around bath fittings and window frames. This is almost certainly caused by a combination of high humidity and lack of ventilation.

The problem being that some tenants simply don't understand that mould and mildew is not the same as damp. When they first see the ugly black spores they contact the Landlord or the Letting Agent to complain that the property is damp. In many cases, particularly if a poorly experienced property manager is involved, it becomes a costly exercise involving a damp report being commissioned to determine if the property has damp. Nine times out of ten the property is not suffering from any external damp and the mould spores are from a lack of ventilation.

In these cases it is not the Landlords responsibility to supply dehumidifiers etc (though they can help), it is a tenant's responsibility to wipe down condensation with a mould / mildew product and ventilate the property as is necessary. I have been to inspect properties for Landlords with this issue many times and found the property all shut up, heating on low and wet washing hung on radiators and over doors to dry. Well, the moisture has to go somewhere, and it does. It is absorbed into the fabric of the building which provides a breeding ground for mould and mildew.

I advise landlords to supply a dryer for this very reason. Washer dryers are not the greatest inventions, but a good condensing dryer is a solution. It will certainly help reduce the risk of mould and mildew and it can be written in the contract that the tenants must use it to dry clothes. Most tenancy agreements have standard clauses about properly ventilating a property and behaving in a tenant like manner. So, at the end of a tenancy there is no reason the property should not be given back as it was found. 

At this point I acknowledge that a 60's built flat with aluminium windows is going to be much more susceptible to mould and mildew situations that a new home with double glazing which has trickle vents and air vents, so this should be a consideration made by tenants when taking a flat to rent. It is more maintenance work, the windows will need wiping down daily and the flat will need to be aired. It is however, no excuse for letting it build up.

Therefore, at the end of the tenancy, if the property looks like this:



then yes, you are able to deduct monies from the tenants deposit to go towards redecoration, and most certainly the cost of cleaning the mould and mildew away. How much you will be able to claim on redecoration depends on the overall condition or the decor at check in, a landlord can not be seen to get betterment from deducting from a deposit, however some cases of mould an mildew are so bad, there is no option but to redecorate at a majority cost to the tenant.

For more help and information on Letting out a Property, please dont hesitate to get in touch.