By Laura McGuire

Copyright thescottishsun

RENTING a house or flat with damp or mould? You could be entitled to £1,000s in compensation.

Dealing with mould can be a hugely stressful issue, especially if you feel like you are not being taken seriously.

Knowing your rights as a tenant can prevent getting messed around by a shoddy landlord who is ignoring your calls and emails.

Whether you rent privately or through the council, every tenant has rights.

You could even claim and win back £1,000’s for your troubles.

When is mould in a property a serious issue?

It is not uncommon for small patches of damp to develop over time.

Especially if you dry your laundry inside as evaporating moisture from the clothes increases humidity and water vapour in the air.

This can lead to condensation on surfaces such as walls and windows, creating a breeding ground for mould.

More often than not this issue can be treated with wiping away the fungus with a special mould spray or white vinegar.

Keeping your house well ventilated by opening windows and using a small dehumidifier can help fight off build up.

But if you are noticing large patches of black mould, have wet walls and ceilings, peeling wallpaper or crumbling plaster it is likely you have a bigger issue on your hands.

Damp cupboards or wardrobes that leave a bad smell on your clothing and cutlery can also be a sign you are dealing with excess moisture in your home.

Time to take action

If you rent your property, your landlord has an obligation to sort these issues as it can seriously impact your health.

For those renting privately, your first point of call is getting in touch with your landlord and sending an image of the issues.

In an email or letter also tell your landlord the following:

Exactly what the problem is

Exactly where the problem is

What you have done already to try to solve the problem

That you need them to help

If your issues have not been resolved you can then contact the letting agent who rented you the property on behalf of the landlord.

If the issue has not been resolved after this you could contact your local council.

You can find the details for this on your local authority’s websites.

You will find either an email or online form you need to fill out.

The council will then get in touch with you directly to assess the issue and send someone to inspect the problem.

The council will then contact your landlord before an officer can inspect the property and you are legally obliged to allow your landlord access to the property to carry out repairs.

Councils can support with enforcement action, meaning they can put pressure on the landlord to fix the problem within the home.

In some instances, if landlords do not comply with action from the council they can face fines up to £30,000.

Claim back cash

If landlords do not comply with the enforcement order, tenants can also apply for a rent repayment order.

This is an order requiring a landlord who has committed certain offences – such as failing to comply with an improvement notice – to repay rent.

You can apply for a rent repayment order even if your landlord has not been convicted of the offence. Only private tenants and the council can apply for RRO.

To apply, you need to fill in an application form to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).

You can find the form by visiting : http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-rro1-application-by-tenant-or-local-housing-authority-for-a-rent-repayment-order-housing-and-planning-act-2016.

Here you will need to detail why you are making the application, what offences has the landlord committed and the amount of repayment you are looking for.

You may also need to pay a fee to the First-tier Tribunal, which is around £100, and if there is to be a hearing you will need to pay a further hearing fee of £227.

There could be a hearing either virtually or in person at the Tribunal offices in which you will have to present your case and the landlord will present theirs.

However, the Tribunal may decide not to have a live hearing and make its ruling based on the paperwork from both sides, depending on both parties and the Tribunal agreeing to this.

After the hearing, the First-tier Tribunal will then make their decision and reasoning in around six to eight weeks, which will be sent to both the tenant and the landlord.

What other options are available?

You can also take your landlord to court if they refuse to fix issues with damp and mould in your home.

For example, you could get compensation if you lost money or had stress because of delayed repairs or things not being fixed.

You may also have a case if they do repairs badly and the problem keeps coming back or you have damage to your belongings when fixing things in your home.

But you need to have evidence to prove they did not fix the problem within a reasonable time and knew about the problem, or that you told them about it.

If you win the case, the court could order you landlord to do repairs and tell them to pay you compensation.

But it is not always guaranteed that you will win the case, and you could also be at risk of a revenge eviction.

A Shelter spokesperson said: “Many of our frontline staff hear from tenants in private rented homes who don’t complain about damp and mould out of fear their landlord will evict them in response.

“Our research shows that private renters who complained to their landlord, letting agent or local council were more than twice as likely to be handed an eviction notice than those who had not complained.”

“Ending Section 21 no-fault evictions through the Renters’ Rights Bill is a great start to improving conditions in the private rented sector, as tenants will be better protected from a retaliatory eviction for complaining about disrepair.”

The Renters’ Rights Act should put a stop to revenge evictions and other ‘no fault’ eviction but these changes are not expected to happen until 2026.

If you are on a low income or claim certain benefits, you can apply for legal aid.

For more information you can visit http://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-legal-aid.

You can also look for a “no-win no fee” solicitor. It means a solicitor will not charge you if you don’t win your case.

But if you win you will have to pay them a fee from your compensation.

What if I live in social housing?

Social housing landlords must deal with problems within a set timescale.

This does vary from landlord to landlord, but most repairs fall into the following categories:

Emergency – to be seen within a few hours.

Urgent – a maximum of three to five days

Routine – this can be a bit longer and usually varies between landlords

For example, a minor leak would be expected to be seen within three days, while major leak within a few hours.

It’s up to landlords to be clear with residents about these timescales, so they can be held accountable if they aren’t met.

But if you’re a social tenant, and you’re having problems, you should complain to the Housing Ombudsman.

The Housing Ombudsman makes the final decision on disputes between residents and member landlords.

You could get compensation if your landlord fails to carry out repair work within a reasonable time.

How much you’ll get will depend on the severity of the issue, time taken and other circumstances such as how vulnerable the resident is.

And you can get £1000’s of cash back for your troubles.

One young mum told The Sun how she got £3,000 worth of compensation after her home was riddled with black mould.

Another parent got got £5,500 compensation after her house was invaded by slugs slithering up the walls.