My tenant has reported mould in my property - who's responsibility is it?

Question

Answer

Mould and condensation are issues that most landlords face at some point in time, both in new build and period properties!

The issue can be highly problematic if your tenant has asthma, allergies or there are young children in the property, so it is good that they have notified you quickly, and it’s important that you work together to rectify the problem.

If you have not experienced any mould in the property before, it might be worth speaking to your tenants about the way they are utilising the room that the mould has appeared in.

In many cases, it will be a lifestyle issue that your tenant will be responsible for:
Does your tenant dry wet washing in the room? If so, make sure the room is well ventilated whenever damp washing is set up, otherwise the damp air has nowhere to go!

Is the room shut up and not used very often? Make sure your tenant knows to make sure the room receives a regular air flow, opening windows and doors whenever possible.

Sometimes however, the issue can be more structural. This may require you to take a more hands-on approach. But you do of course have to find the culprit first!

Has there been a leak or flood in the room, or in the space above the room recently? A de-humidifier may be needed to properly dry out the plaster work, ridding the room of residual water.

Is the mould in the bathroom or kitchen? This is probably down to poor ventilation from steam caused by showers/baths and cooking, you should consider installing a ventilator, or repainting with a special anti-mould kitchen or bathroom paint will help keep the situation under control.

Whatever has caused the mould problem, best practice would suggest that you make sure the area is cleared of any mould spores as soon as your tenant notifies you of the issue.

There are plenty of disinfectant washes available on the high street hardware stress which will do a great job of removing any mould without damaging your property.