Mould in Flat: Help please!

[shonabee]

I am a tenant in a flat which has suffered mould problems shortly after I moved in. I notified the landlord who gave me advice on how to prevent and clean it. We did our best to stop it spreading but anyone who has dealt with mould knows once it starts, it is quite a tricky thing to deal with. Are we entirely to blame for the mould in the flat? And can the landlord keep our deposit money once we move out next week for something I feel was beyond our total control?

[Velvetee]

My tenant has the same problem, but I believe it's because she keeps the heating off most of the time in the winter, due to the expense and also leaves wet towels to dry on radiators, when they are on. I think she is to blame, but I can't make her keep the heating on.

If you are in the UK, your landlord is not supposed to be holding your deposit, it has to go into a special deposit scheme. This is to protect tenants from unscrupulous Landlords, who just want to pocket their tenant's deposit without good reason.

[shonabee]

Thanks for your answer. There didn't appear to be any signs of mould when we moved in but within a month or so nearer winter some patches started to appear around windows, lightswitches and sockets, and a few patches behind furniture mainly on outside facing walls. Some belongings such as shoes have been damaged by the mould. Also, when attempting to remove some patches of mould from the walls, the paint comes off a little and seems to be revealing mould behind it, despite the landlord convincing me in the six years he has had the flat it has never had a problem.

I will certainly try and get an Environmental Health Officer in to take a reading and see how big a problem it is.