Newspaper names agency in middle of high profile mould dispute

An online newspaper has named the lettings agency at the heart of a high profile dispute with tenants over mould.

The i newspaper has given extensive space to tenants Elsa Beckmann and Luke Waldock who received a bill from their landlord via their lettings agency – Hamptons – which allegedly included £2,300 for black mould and damp damage caused by “insufficient ventilation”.

The i claims that the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 sets out that mould and damp caused by structural problems should be the landlord’s responsibility. However, the newspaper says email correspondence between the agent and the tenants suggests that the couple are considered responsible for the mould and damp damage in their East London apartment, because they did not do enough to keep it at bay with ventilation and mould spray.

The tenants dispute that suggestion, with Waldock quoted as saying: “We bought a dehumidifier and kept it running almost 24-7 in the colder months entirely at our own expense, even when our energy bills went up.”

Hamptons told the i that it advised all of its tenants to open doors and windows to ensure ventilation and prevent mould and damp. The agency also said it believed that this met the requirements of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, which says homes should be free from mould and damp as well as adequately ventilated.

Catherine Westerling, head of Hamptons Residential Lettings, told Letting Agent Today last evening: “Hamptons takes issues relating to the presence of damp or mould in rented homes extremely seriously, and acts rapidly to address these where we are managing the property. 

“We provide guidance and support to tenants and landlords before, during and after tenancies on this subject and work extremely closely with our landlord clients where corrective action is required. In this case, we are working hard with both the landlord and tenant to settle the current matter of this deposit.”

In addition, Letting Agent Today has seen guides, produced by Hamptons for landlords and for tenants, which set out detailed advice on condensation, mould and growth. 

The i claims it knows of “dozens” of similar cases and cites Giles Peaker, expert housing lawyer and partner at solicitors firm Anthony Gold, as saying: “You shouldn’t have to have your front door open to stop condensation and mould,. If the mould is due to a problem with the property, like inadequate ventilation, lack of insulation or damp, then the landlord is liable for it.” 

Peaker is additionally quoted as saying that the only way renters could be “liable for mould growth” is if they had “taken active steps to have caused it or made it worse, doing something outside the usual use of a home or doing something to cause the problem such as closing vents.”

He added that in the Beckmann and Waldock cases, the tenants may actually be owed compensation if the mould and damp they experienced “was serious enough to make the property unfit for human habitation.”

You can see the full i story here.