damp floor

[greendragon]

Hello, would appreciate any relevant advice please!
Moved in to a privately rented house nearly three years ago owned by a private estate. The house is over 100 years old and has the original tiled floor in hall, bathroom, dining room and kitchen. As the floors were in poor condition we had lino fitted to improve appearance and safety and nothing was ever said about this by the Estate. About 6 months ago we started to notice the most awful smell in the dining room which was crossed between oil and damp. We had the estate surveyor out to investigate as we were worried it was something to do with old oil pipe, but were told it was because the old tiles were originally laid directly on top of dirt and in order to let damp rise and escape, no covering should be placed on top of them. We can not have the tiles exposed as they were as they are in terrible condition and very uneven/sharp & broken in places. We also thought it odd it was only in a small area of the room and that it has not happened in any of the other rooms. The smell is awful and is also tainting anything placed near it (i.e. suite/cushions etc) and the lino has become discoloured - almost like a burnt colouring. I have telephoned a damp company for advice who tell me that yes the lino should be lifted, but that if the property has not got a damp course and because of the way it has been laid, that the problem will not disappear. I am concerned about what effects (if any) this can have on health as we have 2 children and am not sure where we stand in regard to what we can get the landlord to do. Any advice appreciated - desperate to know what to do
Many Thanks

 

[^woody^]

If the property was built without a DPM under the floor, then there is no obligation on the landlord to fit one, and a tenant has no right to require one to be fitted.

Basically, the landlords duty is to maintain, not to improve ..... there is actually no defect, nothing wrong with the floor - it was built that way

However, if the tiles are red quarry tiles with cement grout, then these do provide a barrier, and if there is a smell and "excessive" dampness, then it would be a defect, and the landlord obligated to repair it

Complain again to the landlord and insist on a repair under their repairing obligations (under s.11 Landlord and Tenant Act), alternatively complain to the local council environmental health dept as it may be a statutory nuisance, in which case the landlord will have 21 days to rectify the problem

 

[Nige F]

are they 6 inch square quarry tiles.....unless it`s a mansion or vicarage with patterened tiles..I`ll bet the quarries were laid on top of the original pavers sometime in the 60`s

 

[alittlerespect]

The house has been in place for around 100yrs with no problem, then a crowd move in and decide it would be nice to lay a vinyl floor covering which does not breath, end result water vapour that had previously evaporated into the air becomes trapped behind the vinyl flooring. The trapped water vapour/moisture now has nothing better to do than interact with the vinyl and any adhesive if it was stuck down. Assuming the vinyl was stuck down, over time the trapped water vapour reacts with the adhesive and ammonia vapours are released in a gaseous state which gradually permeates the vinyl floor covering and/or leaches out around the edges of the vinyl, end result you have a smell something akin to bad eggs!

Solutions:
Option 1 - take up the vinyl floor covering, lay coir matting or some other form of breathable floor covering or just leave the tiles exposed and your problems are over!

Option 2 - dig up the existing floor and overiste (to reduce levels) and lay an insulated concrete floor slab with vapour proof dpm, and complete with tiles or vinyl flooring.

Only problem - option 1 is relatively cheap (even in hindsight) and easy to carry out, whereas option 2 is highly disturbing and hellishly expensive when compared to option 1 and your landlord will likely prefer to go with option 1, unless of course you have a cunning plan to put forward!

Regards