Housing issue for son

[tastyjane]

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right place to post but I really need some help from anyone who has experience of landlords and leasing. My son and his girlfriend moved into an apartment in July; he has been waiting for an appointment with an ENT specialist for a problem with his throat. Over the past 12 weeks he has been getting progressively poorly - to be honest we have all put it down to his throat problem and if I am being honest I thought he was becoming depressed from it which was causing the exhaustion and lifelessness he was presenting. It has got to the point that he is unable to function - is suffering terrible headaches and is completely wiped out - so much so that the doctor wants to sign him off work.

Anyway - they have been to stay with his girlfriends parents and its like he is a different man - the fog in his head has lifted and he feels he is totally different. Chatting with her parents Josh just happens to mention that the "mold" on their bedroom ceiling is getting worse and worse.

Anyway 24 hours of googling and I believe he is suffering from a severe allergy to black mold (he hadn't mentioned the mold on their bedroom ceiling before!). He has all the symptoms and as his exposure increases he is getting worse and worse.

I have arranged for a test to be sent to them to establish what type of mold it is and he is going to make an emergency appointment with his doctor tomorrow to see if they can do further blood tests (he has been undergoing extensive tests for the symptoms which we all thought was related to his throat) after explaining about the mold.

My worry is that they have signed a 12 month lease, if it is this mold that is making him so ill then I don't want them to stay there - honestly he has changed from a very healthy 24 year old who played football 3 times a week and thought nothing of working 18 hour shifts to someone who is chronically ill and cannot function!

Can anyone with any housing experience give me any advice how we approach this with the landlord and their agents? The last tenants had de humidifiers all around the apartment but Josh didn't think to question it at the time!

Thanks in advance.

Jane x

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Housing issue for son

You need planB. Send her a quick PM.

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: Housing issue for son

Hi honey,
Dear me, sorry to hear your son has been going through this.
It sounds very much like allergic aspergillosis. Aspergillus is a mould which forms in damp, be it buildings or rotting vegetation etc.
Have a look here: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Aspergi...es/Causes.aspx

It is treatable with antifungal medication, thankfully. He definitely shouldn't be going back to live there until it's sorted out. My first step (after the doctor's) would be to have a word with Environmental Health, who would investigate and possibly declare the house unfit for habitation until rectified. I would think that and proof of his illness would get him out of the contract.
See what PlanB has to say - she may have come across this situation before.
Hope he gets this sorted out and feels better soon

[tastyjane]

Re: Housing issue for son

Thanks both, I have PM'd PlanB and will see what she says.

Elsa, I think it is this mold - Stachybotrys Chartarum - the symptoms of an allergy to this mold are classic to what Josh is experiencing

Mental and Neurological Symptoms From Toxic Black Mold

The trichothecene mycotoxins
produced by toxic black mold are neurotoxic. This means they can kill neurons in the brain and impair a person's mental ability. They also cause nervous disorders such as tremors and can cause personality changes such as mood swings and irritability.

Symptoms:

• Confusion
• Brain fog
• Shortened attention span
• Difficulty concentrating and paying attention
• Slowed reflexes
• Disorientation
• Dizziness
• Memory loss and memory problems
• Impaired learning ability
• Hallucinations
• Shock
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Aggression and other personality changes
• Tingling
• Trembling
• Shaking
• Seizure
• Numbness

luckily he has only got to the Dizziness stage and I hope that we can sort this and he can get better. It has been horrific to see a really healthy young man change over the weeks - it is putting his relationship at risk as well as his job as he is just too exhausted to function properly even though he is still trying to go to work they have had to take him to A&E once as he passed out!




Jane x

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: Housing issue for son

Good grief! That's the toxin that was used as biological warfare (Yellow Rain).
It's a good job you were on the ball Jane! Poor lad.

Elsa x

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Housing issue for son

Yellow Rain. God that brings back memories from O Level Geography/Physics !!!!!

[PlanB]

Re: Housing issue for son

You need planB. Send her a quick PM.

I've received a PM signed by "very neurotic fussy mum". Sorry but that name's taken

I would move my daughter out of the property until it gets a clean bill of health (if ever) from the Environmental Health officer. Contact your council's Health & Safety Team at 9 am tomorrow morning and tell them it's urgent and life threatening. They will send an inspector who will take samples of the mould and bring a prosecution against the Landlord if it is found to be poisonous.

Environmental Health can slap a notice on the property saying it's not habitable. No one pays rent on uninhabitable properties despite what it says in a tenancy agreement. In fact the tenancy agreement is your friend right now because it will set out the Landlord's obligations to keep the place safe etc. If he's breached the terms of the tenancy agreement then not only will you not have to pay rent, but you will sue the arse off him for it

Here's some info on your son's legal rights. In this link you will find a template letter to write to the Landlord. I would upload the PDF on here but I don't know how to do that

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_ad...e_safety/hhsrs

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: Housing issue for son

Thanks PlanB

To upload a pdf...first download it onto your desktop, then click Go Advanced next to reply. Scroll down and click Manage Attachment. Top right of the box that comes up click Add Files. Bottom of the next box that comes up click Select Files. This takes you to your computer, go to desktop (or wherever it's saved) and click the pdf to select it. It will appear in the box. Then click Upload Files. Once uploaded click either Insert Inline (If you want it in a particular place in the text) or Done to have it at the bottom of the post. Try it now to practice if you want and shout if you need help .
Once you've uploaded something once it will stay in your attachments on your profile so you can quickly add it again by clicking Manage Attachments.

[tastyjane]

Re: Housing issue for son

PlanB, thank you so much - I know its not conclusive yet but all the pennies have dropped with regards to his health.....

We will phone environmental health first thing tomorrow and speak to the letting agents to warn them... I just want him out of there now.

Jane x

[PlanB]

Re: Housing issue for son

Just in case you're feeling hesitant to move your son out of the flat read this story of two Hollywood stars who were killed by mould poisoning this year. I don't want to alarm you but speaking as one very neurotic fussy mum to another I'd say it's better to be safe than sorry. Get them out of there while everything is being checked out, and then move them back in afterwards if it's a false alarm. I'd be inclined to withhold rent for the period while the health checks are taking place. Put that in your letter to the Landlord.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...A-mansion.html

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: Housing issue for son

Would it be better to wait till you've spoken to Environmental Health and they've inspected before warning the Landlord, so he doesn't bleach the evidence?

[PlanB]

Re: Housing issue for son

Thanks PlanB

To upload a pdf...first download it onto your desktop, then click Go Advanced next to reply. Scroll down and click Manage Attachment. Top right of the box that comes up click Add Files. Bottom of the next box that comes up click Select Files. This takes you to your computer, go to desktop (or wherever it's saved) and click the pdf to select it. It will appear in the box. Then click Upload Files. Once uploaded click either Insert Inline (If you want it in a particular place in the text) or Done to have it at the bottom of the post. Try it now to practice if you want and shout if you need help .
Once you've uploaded something once it will stay in your attachments on your profile so you can quickly add it again by clicking Manage Attachments.

That tutorial is very helpful Elsa, but I fear you're wasting your time with this mission

Both Niddy and IF have spent years (literally) trying to teach me how use a computer to no avail But I'll give it a go tonight when nobody's watching me

[PlanB]

Re: Housing issue for son

Would it be better to wait till you've spoken to Environmental Health and they've inspected before warning the Landlord, so he doesn't bleach the evidence?

So young yet so cynical

You're right of course. There was me thinking that all Landlords are honest like me, but maybe I'm a rarity

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: Housing issue for son

Hey less of the young!

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Housing issue for son

That tutorial is very helpful Elsa, but I fear you're wasting your time with this mission

Both Niddy and IF have spent years (literally) trying to teach me how use a computer to no avail But I'll give it a go tonight when nobody's watching me

To test such things where only you & I would see; go to the upload your agreement section and create a "your_username tester thread". I know then to ignore it, nobody other than you & I can see it and its good to practice things in.

Feel free - this applies to all users. It's the only place on the whole forum where the content is locked to the user that creates the thread and me. No mods or site team can see the content either.