Is mould the responsibility of the tenant or the landlord?

[Guest alexbullen]

i recently relocated from the UK to Sydney and I've had major issues around mould growing in my bathroom and moving into the bedroom...

 

i haven't come across this problem before because back home we have central heating... i've asked the estate agency to put an extractor fan in the bathroom - initially after being told essentially to bugger off, they've asked the landlord who is attending meetings with housing groups etc to find an answer. the initial complaint was lodged around 5 months ago, and has been ongoing for the last 3-4 months (after saying that the landlord was making enquiries).

 

now my question is, is it illegal to have a bathroom without an extractor fan? we were told (in the height of winter) that we had to regulate it ourselves and open all of the windows in our house, and that we must keep the flat well ventilated - even though they haven't provided an extrator fan to remove the condensation...

 

i've searched the web and haven't found any legislation around the matter.

 

any help would be appreciated.

[calNgary]

Hi in QLD we have the RTA who are great for helping tenants with the rules and regulations. I had a quick google for you and found this -

Tenants NSW

Give them a try and fingers crossed they will give you the answers you need.

 

Cal x

[Cerberus1]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I'm not aware on any legislation which explicitly mention mold, but there are some documents on the internet about tribunal cases about mold.

Have at look here

 

In the tribunal case it states

Nevertheless there is considerable support in the NSW cases for the proposition that once a tenant has informed the lessor of mould in the premises, the mould becomes a lessor’s problem and they have a duty to remove it and prevent its reoccurrence. Once the need for repair is communicated to the lessor, the lessor is obliged to put the premises into a reasonable state of repair: this may involve work to both treat the build up of mould and steps to prevent a reoccurrence of the mould. Watsemwa v Ayoub (Tenancy) [2004] NSWCTTT 215 (7 April 2004). In some circumstances this will involve the installation of fans and other works that would otherwise be regarded as improvements. The Tribunal notes that the lessor is entitled to have regard to the condition of the premises at the commencement of the tenancy. The obligation to repair is essentially an obligation to restore the premises to a state which reasonably approximates their condition at the commencement of the tenancy and does not extend to renewal or replacement

[starlight7]

As an interim measure ( because it is not very healthy living with mould spores) I would go to the supermarket and get either a bottle of exit mould or bleach and wipe it off. That usually works for at least a few months. My daughter used to have the same problem in an old house she lived in in Melbourne and that is what we did- it cleared it from the ceiling and window frames at least.

[Guest TA01085]

Hi in QLD we have the RTA who are great for helping tenants with the rules and regulations. I had a quick google for you and found this -

Tenants NSW

Give them a try and fingers crossed they will give you the answers you need.

 

Cal x

 

 

We found that the RTA were very good at sorting out the issue we had. However you have to realise that over here the Rental Agent considers the owner to be their customer not the renter so they will always be looked after first.

[olly]

The advice about the bleach is good, given that mould can make you very sick, hopefully it will be sorted out for you soon.

[ajs604]

Hi I had the same problem when I lived in cobram - I rented an old weather board house with someone I worked with. The bathroom always had mould on it during the winter. We had no heating - coldest winter even and was terrible place to live. We used to just bleach it every so often. We had an extractor but it never seemed to get rid of it!! Godd luck with your dilemma - its cant be very pleasant to live like that. Keep bombarding them with letters and emails!! Good luck.

[tisme]

There probably isn't anything illegal about not having a bathroom extractor fan in NSW.

Here in WA the only time an extractor fan HAS to be installed in a home is when there is NO window to the outside of the home of a bathroom or toilet, and it has to come on with the light.

Bleach or exit mould will work or you could invest in a dehumidifier, a cheapy is around $200.

[starlight7]

As my old Mum used to say

 

God helps those wot helps themselves