Updating post from Reddit.
Had a message from my landlord that my rent is going from £650 to £850 and that will become effective in 2 months time. I have chronic illnesses and don’t work, I’m on PIP and have no other sources of income. My daughter and her 2 year old live here too and his bedroom is unusable. This has been an ongoing issue for years that he’s sent out people to ‘fix the roof’, do the gutters etc but it’s to no avail because every year my house gets worse, it’s never quite doing the job. I suspect that there’s a huge job that needs doing or the roof replacing as it’s so old, but the landlord seems to be cutting costs.
I wallpapered the front room and it literally peels off because of how damp the walls are. To my knowledge there’s little to no effective insulation in the attic and that is a huge part of the problem along with roof issues and gutters (?)
Where do I stand? I physically don’t have that amount of money to pay and I feel I’m being taken the p*** out of when the house is so mouldy and a health hazard.
Slightly off topic but if they’re polystyrene ceiling tiles they’re also dangerous in the event of a fire, highly flammable and will melt and drip hot polystyrene on anything below. In some cases if they’re not polystyrene ones they could contain asbestos which maybe why they’ve not already been removed.
They are not illegal per se, but… under HHSRS if they are identified as a fire risk they can be subject to an improvement notice from the Council. Failure to comply with a notice carries a fine of up to £30,000.
It might be worth contacting the Council about this and the damp. Just be aware revenge evictions are not uncommon
You have certain protections from revenge evictions, especially if you have complained of disrepair. If the Council serve an improvement notice you can't be given a Section 21 for another 6 months
Yes you do, but only when an improvement notice is served. If they rectify the problem before then, or just serve notice before the, there is no protection
So get your complaints into Environmental health ASAP folks!
Worth it.
Came to say this as a sparky nearly 30 years in the trade. You need to get in touch with your council and letting agency.
I'd start by following the guidance around how to deal with mould and damp, start with shelters guidance doc here https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/damp_and_mould_in_rented_homes
If it's been going on for years and you have evidence of trying to get the landlord to sort it then the council should be able to step in.
Rent wise you can use the tribunal and show them the evidence and they may find in your favour (note may), if hope that mould and damp to that scale would be seen as a large impacting factor to the rent level a landlord could expect.
If it's been a few years and you can afford to move on then I'd move on, no one deserves to have a landlord treat them like that.
I would move out for sake of your health.. as this this is caused by condensation... not easy to solve
Landlord is likely upping the rent in a bid to push them out so he can regain the property and get it professionally cleaned and rented back out to someone who is going to look after it.
This level of mold isn't caused by lifestyle issues or not caring for the property.
It's hard to say to be honest.
It could be a structural case but judging by the mould under the window and surface mould that hasn't been cleaned (despite having 2 young children living there and health issues) i'm inclined to believe it's also a bit of neglect at play.
The pics show where condensation will form when ventilation is inadequate and there is humidity from breathing in an enclosed space, drying clothes, showering cooking etc.
From the state of the mould it has very clearly been there for a long time, well over a month. Lots of the visible stuff could be cleaned off but by this point it definitely goes all the way through the wallpaper.
The fact that it has got this bad suggests a lack of care from whoever is living there. If my house had a bit of mould showing the first thing I'd do is sort it out, not let it spread over half a wall. There may well be a problem with guttering that needs to be cleaned or a roofing or pointing issue leading to damp, but the fact is the pictures show a lot of surface mould which should be cleaned up as a priority. Especially with young children living there.
Therefore i don't think one can say with certainty that it's nothing to do with lifestyle or care.
If there was care for the property and their family's health, surely the wallpaper would have been stripped already and the mould would have been cleaned up. Or at the very least the surface stuff would have been wiped off? Takes about 30 seconds to do.
If it's not their house they might not have the permission to strip wallpaper. Landlord seems a bit shit.
I have a similar problem in my house but I do have the ability to redecorate. I bleached the walls, painted with council approved MCS additive in the paint, leave the window vent open constantly, have the door open to our bedroom all day, have a passive dehumidifier on our window cill and still every morning I have to window vac the condensation off my window and the walls get surface damp all over.
This problem hasn't gotten way worse since the council here re-did our attic insulation and resurfaced the wall.
Haha saved me 20 minutes typing up that response 😅
Crazy to think people actually look at that level of mould and think, yeah, nothing to do with the cleanliness of the person in general... yes it could be outside factors but that shit doesn't grow overnight, that's months of build up and as they're on PiP, I'm inclined to say they probably can't reach up and clean it but they do get paid by the government to hire a maid if they lack mobility etc or they'll have a carer... either way, she lack of cleanliness is most definatelt playing part in how out if hand that mold had gotten.
Best of the time, opening the window daily for 30mins, solves these issues
Not in my experience. When I lived in a flat with a mold problem, it was actually caused by the rotten window frames and a flat roof on the bay window that wasn't maintained, along with issues with the gutters. I'm sure the fact that the kitchen didn't have any windows or other ventilation didn't help, but it was more to do with the landlord than me.
Depends, though OPs last pick suggest it's coming from upstairs so maybe there's a house leak.
I also had a leak in the roof of the apartments and as I was top floor it was leaking through. Took ages to get it sorted by building services.
One thing I noticed when I moved from renting to owning, from a house to a flat, was the drying the clothes in the house and not opening the windows (because it's cold) led to the problems I had with mold. Vastly improved when I started opening windows and the little vents on the windows itself.
When I rented that flat out, I had to reiterate this.... I lived in it so I knew it would and can happen.
Current tenants do it now and haven't had any problems with mold I also did a cleanup of roundup and repaint anyway for their (and my) peace of mind.
Found the slum landlord
Ahh can't always be right can you bud... an observation doesn't mean anything about me
Have you actually tried cleaning it? White vinegar spray is a good one
As well as opening windows during the day, using a dehumidifier, etc. Mould is a human problem in the majority of cases.
Not to this extent. Opening windows and dehumidifiers don't massively help if there are structural causes for the damp.
Obviously it's already way too late for that now. Should've been doing it for years (OP already said he/she moved in back in 2008).
The way they’re pulling that curtain back I’m wondering if they’re always shut
Are they polystyrene tiles? I was told I had to remove them before I let my property?
</P>
Yes I moved in in 2008
Would depend whether they are the later ones. There are some variants that are pretty much fireproof. Of course it's hard for OP to test without burning the house down.
slightly off topic but, that mould looks quite dangerous for your health
Have you sought help from anyone? Council, shelter, citizens advice etc?
Have you done anything to try and push the landlord to sort it, or just asked?
Thats fucking embarrasing. I'd never let a tenant live in appauling conditions like that.
You haven't met many landlords, then.
Pretend landlord spotted
I'll leave others to the legality.
But mould of this type is normally caused simply by lack of normal ventilation. Like blocking air bricks, closing weep vents and not opening windows.
Often I'm afraid it's caused by the occupiers actions.
In response to the comments saying mould is her fault this is clearly a issue with the building itself as she has stated about the roof, I wouldn't be surprised if there were issues with the brick work and water absorption as well as the roof. I have a similar issue and no amount of window opening or dehumidifying solves the problem.
Because you've said you have chronic illness and that your grandson lives there contact the environmental health dept ay your local council and get them to come out to do a house assessment and see what they can offer you ,they might be able to help push the landlord to actually do something.
I would also write to your landlord to dispute the increase of rent because of the damp and give photos of the actual damp like you've posted here. Also check if he is legally allowed to increase rent as depending on the tenancy depends on what they're allowed to do.
These links should also be useful for reference and extra info:
Getting repairs done if you're renting privately - Citizens Advice
sure if you agree, and TBH even if you don't.... but clearly your AST is coming to an end, leave and rent somewhere nice
but complain to the council they'll make them do something
AST? What’s that sorry.
Your tenancy agreement.
Dude. Ring shelter or citizens advice. If you're not familiar with AST then I think you'll definitely benefit from some hand holding from either of these people.
"Assured Shorthold Tenancy", which is what you probably have if you live by yourself in the flat and you started renting this place this century: https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/assured_shorthold_tenancies_with_private_landlords
Ask your landlord if, would he like to live in these conditions if it was his property?
Would make sure to get lots of correspondence confirming that you've complained about this, it's been ignored and that until conditions in your flat are improved and black mold isn't a saftey hazard, you're not going to pay any more money.
Contact Kwajo Towenboa too, he might be able to help.
You need to take action asap, you may have a disrepair claim against your landlord. Try to find out the root cause of the problem, have you tried a dehumidifier / not airing clothes in the room. Are there extractor fans that aren't working not in use?
Compile evidence that you have notified the lanlord, all letters, emails and texts. Keep sending him notifications and make a chronology. You can approach the council for them to investigate, if they took action would make you immune from s.21 (temporarily). It's probably worth looking at legal advice if you're happy with them taking a cut.
What temperature is it inside the house?
I have lots of electric heaters on because I can’t afford gas
Normally it will be much more expensive to use electric heating compared to gas central heating, assuming the whole house is being heated.
In damp British weather, mould is inevitable if the place isn't kept hot enough. It's a very common problem.
Okay, hear me out, but electric heaters cost more to operate than gas.
OK but what temperature are you heating the house to?
Uhmmmm… gas is like 95% efficient and electric 100%, but electric costs 3x more than gas
My gas is 4.5x/kWh currently.
Gas is normally much cheaper for heating than electric heaters... Do you have a dehumidifier?
Surely you get plenty of benefit money and support?
> Can my landlord up my rent by 200
Yes, if you agree or agree via signing a new tenancy.
or they have served you a Section 13 Notice.
> hen these issues aren’t being sorted?
If they are not being sorted contact the Environmental Health team at your Local Council, they can complete a HHSRS report which will get the landlord to take action.
That landlord action may be to fix issues (if there are any), or evict you if they cant repair it, or look to evict you if your lifestyle is incompatable with the property.
In your situation id not be agreeing to any new Tenancy Agreements and start looking elsewhere. You may want to talk to Local Authority about council housing.
This is not a place where you want to live.
Tell landlord you’ll be going to council and environmental health if it isn’t sorted and that you won’t pay the increase until it’s all fixed!
Hello, I work for a housing association. Please don't spend money on expensive products.
Biological washing powder is what you need.
Please clean this while you wait for your landlord to get his arse in gear
If you paid me £200 a month I wouldn’t live there. Sorry to be harsh.
Hey OP - post this over in r/legaladviceuk or really anywhere else.
Personally i'd contact any of the number of advocacy groups.
This place has a bias. You won't find much help
Insulated attic would likely make it worse. Some might be condensation, so would need ventilation (windows open) each day for some time. But some of it definitely is a leak of some sort. The gutters could be not deep enough causing splash back. But ventilation would help with some of it. Also, make sure you kill that mold since it will spread.
wife is EHO, thats probably a category 1 damp and mould hazard under the housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS) Housing Act. Contact Env health (local council) and they will do an inspection, they cant stop the rent going up though unfortunately but can make sure he fixes what he needs. this is what the government expect LLs to do with damp and mould: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/damp-and-mould-understanding-and-addressing-the-health-risks-for-rented-housing-providers also those ceiling tiles are a fire risk under the same legislation as above.
Will be your “usual” landlord thats for sure
I’m really sorry you have to deal with this situation with your landlord. The fungi caused by the dampness can be harmful to your health. You absolutely shouldn’t have to accept this; it’s disgusting given how much you are paying for rent and maintenance. It is the landlord's responsibility to ensure their properties meet a suitable living standard, and clearly, this isn’t one.
While polystyrene ceiling tiles aren’t illegal in the UK, they may not comply with building regulations due to fire safety concerns. Many local authorities and safety experts discourage their use because they can be highly flammable and release toxic fumes if they catch fire. Under the Tory government, landlord standards have regressed to a point reminiscent of the Rachman era, where landlords were infamous for renting out accommodations that were far from suitable. If you’re not familiar with Rachman, he was a notorious Polish landlord who rented out properties in a state worse than what you are experiencing now. He contributed to the creation of slums in London, and even today, the name Rachman is synonymous with terrible landlord practices.
Honestly, for what you’re paying, this is unacceptable. The problem is that if you complain to the landlord, he has the legal right to give you notice of eviction, which is indeed unfair. Unfortunately, this kind of situation happens often, and tenants deserve better protection than they currently receive. A good landlord takes care of their properties, while a bad one neglects them, sometimes even worse than your current situation.
Generally speaking, the rent increases and the mould issues are separate. The fact that the property is in bad condition doesn't legally prevent your landlord from raising the rent (even if morally they shouldn't). The important question here is:
You can see what the landlord's obligations are here: https://www.gov.uk/renting-out-a-property
Yes, they might be allowed to raise rent, but they might also have a legal requirement to fix some of these things. Look at the law, see if you have a claim, and negotiate with your landlord. The key is to figure out your position, and negotiate to not raise rent. If push comes to shove, you might have leverage.
The vast majority of damp and mould issues are occupier-caused.
Heat and ventilate your accomodation more often, Jesus Christ.
That’s utter bull, sorry. There’s no way you can tell from these pictures.
I’ve seen plenty of cases where that level of black mould has been caused by failed render and breached CWI at ground level, and roofing/guttering/finlock issues at roof level, as well as simple and manageable occupant-caused condensation.
Ongoing leaks also make controlling relative humidity far more difficult and costly than it needs to be for occupants.
There is a way to tell from these pictures, actually. There's a dehumidifier in picture 3, so OP is actively trying to prevent damp, and yet the property still looks like that.
Probably the landlord supplied it but the tenant realized that it ups his electric bill and doesn't use it. Happens a lot
Found the landlord.
Found the moldy tenant.
Actually, there isn’t a way to tell. We can see one dehumidifier in one picture, but there are four pictures. Is the dehumidifier running? For how long and how often is it used? Is it heated?
I’ve been in plenty of homes with dehumidifiers where they also boil pasta with the cooker hood off and the windows shut, or shower with the extractor off.
It needs a competent person to assess it. I’m a surveyor specialising in legal disrepairs in social housing and there is often a plethora of factors which lead to this level of mould.
It’s in everyone’s best interest to get the issues sorted, regardless of where that blame might lie.
At those levels, OP has done absolutely nothing to mitigate it.
There is a dehumidifier in the 3rd picture
Crammed into the corner with the back touching the wall and therefore doing fuck all, and no mention when they started using it.
Or perhaps moved out of the way for the photo.
Either way we don’t know. I’m choosing to assume the landlord is taking advantage of the person asking for advice and you’re assuming the blame lies with the person seeking help.
Perhaps moved because that's the only place to put it where it's not a trip hazard.
They certainly haven’t been cleaning it as regularly as they should have, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t defects to rectify. It also doesn’t mean there are, but you cannot tell from the pictures alone.
Whilst a lot are, this seems to look more like water is being absorbed which is then moving through a particular path.
That's not a tenant issue...
For a start, telling people who don't work to "just" put the heating on and let it piss out the window is dumb as fuck. I work and there's no way I have the money to put the heating constantly on and just let it escape out the window. Obviously more money than sense!
The amount of times I see middle class people comment on how working class people should spend their money is absolutely staggering. Don't spend it on holidays, avacardos, having a nice dinner and so on, ya know, shit that makes you feel human once in a while but you don't even twitch telling people to throw their money out a window to look after a place they don't even own. Not only do you not even twitch, you make out their a twat for not doing it lol?!
I do delivers to many classes of houses. Working class houses with heating on and windows open ALWAYS have mould. The ones that don't have heating on and windows open don't have mould. How does that work lol?!
Middle class houses with no windows open and heating on full whack NEVER have mould.
Upper class houses with no heating and no windows open never have mould.
It's almost as if the owners of renting properties, with mould don't give a shit and don't want to actually pay to sort it out.
Fucking cum bubble
Triggered.
Enjoy your mouldy residence.
Triggered, yea mate. Fed up with spoilt middle class people lol. The fact you don't even get that shows how entitled you are.
My place ain't mouldy. Landlord ain't a cunt lol
Just because I'm nice and toasty at 22.5C, and have no mould or landlord, doesn't make me entitled.
You're entitled because; You think everyone is in the same boat and can just piss away money, letting it go out the window. (which you don't do lol)
You think the tenant (who doesn't own the property) should be the one to waste their money but don't think the owner should pay to get the mould sorted. In other words, you think poor people should pay for fixing the house for richer people/owner. Already pay their mortgage, plus more, for this exact thing.
22.5C and no mention of open windows. Kinda proves my point I made earlier. You don't waste money on opening windows but you don't have mould.
You're a cunt because: You completely ignored most of what I've said.
"Enjoy your mouldy residents"
Calling a poor person triggered for a valid reason to be pissed off about.
What makes me laugh is you're obviously triggered too lol. Acting like I'm a twat for being triggered and then gets triggered themselves lol?!
Typical spoilt middle class, runs mouth on here/Internet but probably shit themselves doing it irl lol
Paragraph after paragraph of hate and rage on a Friday tea time.
Mould riddled HMO resident confirmed. Enjoy your respiratory diseases.
Hate and rage from a bit of emotion and swear words, yea deffo spoilt middle class.
Bro, everytime I put something you've not answered and just tried to made a joke of it. Belittling what I've said, reducing it down to "Ohhh the working class person is screaming with anger". Trope has been done to death mate
Practice what you preach bro and then go round telling people to do it. Don't tell people to do what you don't even do.
Tl:dr You're original advice is bullshit. You have heating on and don't open windows, and don't have mould
Of course I don't have mould, I have a PIV, dehumidifier, extractor fans and of course I open my windows.
I just got myself down to a cosy 21 by opening them. Bliss.
Why are you arguing when you have underpants to be drying on your lukewarm radiators?
Yea, course ya did mate
Why ya down voting that bro lol. I don't have mould because I'm not dirty init
I don't do any of that and don't have mould
You are a dickhead.
This ceiling has polystyrene tiles which say enough about this landlord never mind the mould and damp.
I can also assure you, that ventilation and heat will not solve that mould issue.
Again, you are a dickhead.
At some point a claims company has to start pursuing landlords, surely? It’s like the easiest guaranteed win- there’s an asset to secure the fees against?!
OP - those conditions are illegal. Seek legal advice, use chat gpt, take them to court.
You should ask for this to be remedied immediately.
JFC that’s disgusting. So sorry.
No
Just say no. What are they going to do? They're not going to find anyone else who wants to live with that
They just paint over it
Off topic but that mold looks extensive and long standing
You can get a 2 litre bottle of thick bleach from Tesco/Aldi for £1:29
looking at those ceiling tiles i would be surprised if u have a gas certificate and a EICR cert as your landlord is a sheister.
Some fluffy wallpaper its artsy
If that’s black mould you want to move out of there as soon as possible.
Maybe the landlord has a mortgage on that property and the repayments have gone up and he / she has passed that increase into you. I can understand the increase if this is the reason for it.
Looking at that mould though, I would be looking to move out.
That’s rank. And I see you’re also burdened with the electricity cost of running a dehumidifier. Tell them to stick the rent increase up their damp patch.
Dettol do a great mould spray which works on walls with little effort. What have you used to clean the mould? It's dangerous so worth giving it a regular clean for the sake of your health.
It's also not advisable to wall paper bathrooms.
In short, yea, they can.
Is it fair, especially living in those conditions? No.
Email your local authority/ council with pictures of the mould and explain that your landlord hasn’t taken appropriate action.
I had a similar situation when the letting agent kept saying that our damp wasn’t a priority for months.
As soon as the council got in touch with the landlord/letting agent after our complaint, surprise surprise, the letting agent emailed us saying they needed to sort it the next day.
It won’t help with the rent increase but hopefully resolve the mould. Also try and negotiate with the landlord in the first instance.
Why steps have you taken to address the mould in your home?
You couldn’t find a different place to rent in all these years? I don’t understand why you are extending the contract and not moving out. 🤔
Have you considered ventilating the property?
You need to ventilate the rooms in the morning and heat them in the evening.
I open my bedroom window about 10am and close at 1 it lets the damp air out
I have the central heating on in the evening (it heats every room ) if I'm cold any other time I use more clothing or I heat just the room I'm using
Mould is down to you,open windows now and again
This just isn't true or helpful. It can be caused by structural issues and this must be investigated before leaping to the conclusion it's "just the tenant's lifestyle".
Heat, ventilate and clean it up. HG mould spray works a treat, even Asda stock it these days. As for your rent, depends on the tenancy etc
This looks like a tenant caused issue tbh
Mould is usually a maintenance issue I.e. your not airing out your home and cleaning it properly, if that's the case, your landlord isn't responsible for this.
If it is a case of rising damp of something along those lines, contact your local authority and complain, they'll come out and do an assessment & if it falls into the realms of something the landlord needs to fix then they will be ordered to do so... if not, then you'll be advised how to stop it happening I.e. clean better, open your windows to air the room out etc..
As for rent, yes, they can increase it if it's coming to the end of your fixed period, it may depend how much in your contract but they can charge whatever they want if your contract doesn't specify something like 10% max etc...
Mould is a tenant lifestyle issue... ask your landlord for a leaflet on humidity and condensation... don't forget to air your house/flat twice a day by opening all doors and windows for 15-20 minutes... run your heating properly...indoor temperature should always be minimum 18 degrees....also get a dehumidifier... problem solved.
p.s. I am surprised you just let the mould build up like that... get a bottle of bleach and a rag and clean it! Whats wrong with you?
how on earth can that much mould and the clear amount of damp around the ceiling tiles be a tenant lifestyle issue? i feel sorry for your tenants, you're a monster.
Looks like you need a leaflet on mould & condensation too
Condensation is caused by moisture laden air coming into contact with cold walls. They say "lifestyle" as its the moisture generated from living in the house.
Can be remedied by keeping house warm/er... not drying clothes inside, more airflow, and having good extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom where there are sources of moisture.
I would keep bathroom and kitchen doors closed, unless when airing out. A dehumidifier would help as would PIV vents. Opening doors and windows, 1st thing in the morning and late in the afternoon, to let moisture laden air escape out, will also help.
I've had a dehumidifier on. Heating on twice a day. Not lived in a room for a week, and mould appears. But only from below. I've never had to move everything away from exterior walls to avoid major mould, apart from now. Just Ventilating doesn't seem to work, so I've got an oil radiator next to the wall to dry it out and then opening the windows periodically. My grandparents place however because it's properly insulated and structurally sound has rooms never heated and never ventilated but yet no mould.....
Mould can be a tenant and/or landlord issue. Keeping a property 18 degrees all the time in a property with single glazed windows, etc is an absolute nightmare.
Having said that, from the pictures it appears that OP basically just lets the mould stay on
A decent dehumidifier in any room will solve all mold issues, even if the building has small/medium structural issues which add damp on top of tenant behavior.
No it won’t
Yes it will
Can confirm it absolutely will not. I've had one on continuously for weeks and it hasn't budged below 70
Next time buy a proper dehumidifier. Not one from TEMU for £5 😆
And surely you don’t expect people to run dehumidifiers in every room to combat structural/cheap landlord issues?
Either that or keep the windows open more often and stay cold... or you know... don't be a cheap tenant and move to a more modern house which has HVAC / insulation etc.
I’m not a tenant at all. Maybe you shouldn’t be a slumlord?
You know.... there is a good saying... "A pig in a palace is still a pig".... if a tenant cant look after the house/flat he lives in and simply wipe the mould. It doesn't matter where you put him... it will look like a doghouse after a year or two 😂
Thanks slummy
Ah, darling. Let me break this down for you with the clarity your elevated intellect clearly demands. If you're not a tenant, why are you so triggered? But since you've decided to grace this conversation with your wisdom, perhaps you can use some of that free time to grab a bottle of bleach and a rag and channel your energy into actually cleaning the mould you definitely have all around the dog house you inhabit.
Thanks Slums
Have you seen how bad the mould is? This is far beyond opening windows and putting the heating on and you know it. Shirking your responsibilities as a landlord is disgraceful.
You're a nasty person and I feel sorry for any of your tenants.
The ceiling has a spreading puddle. This isn’t tenant this is a leaking roof.
Nope. Thats not leaking roof
It’s either failed flashing on the chimmey, overflowing gutters and failed pointing or a leaking pipe.
Op I would get the council involved rather than asking on a landlord subreddit. I’ve had several landlords try and say their rotting house is due to me drying clothes indoors and being unwilling to leave windows open in November . Funnily enough it only seems to be an issue in badly maintained houses and not the ones where landlords have actually done maintenance.
You definitely need a leaflet on humidity and condensation
Funnily enough it’s never been an issue for me now that I can afford to stop renting from shitty landlords. Despite drying all my clothes indoors and not running dehumidifiers.
Still can't afford a tumble dryer though can you? 😀
Bad for the environment and don’t need one mate. Everything dries fast enough in my damp free house.
And where does all the water go after it evaporates from your clothes?
>p.s. I am surprised you just let the mould build up like that... get a bottle of bleach and a rag and clean it! Whats wrong with you?
Given that they are receiving PIP they presumably have a disability that makes it difficult to do that.
Surely they have a friend / family / neighbor who they can call to wipe it down... 10 minute job... leaving it like that and living with it is the equivalent of soiling yourself and doing nothing about it....
Mould like that will occur through condensation, sure, but are the surfaces colder/damper than they need to be because of defects? That’s the question to ask, and it can only be answered with proper investigation.
Cleaning clearly needs to be upped in this property by the tenant to combat the buildup of mould, but this kind of blinkered approach is ignorant and dangerous.
A leaflet doesn’t stop render from failing, cavity wall insulation being saturated, finlocks from leaking, damp proof courses from failing/never being installed etc.
Knock the house down, start from scratch.
And when it’s mid-terrace? Or listed? Proper investment into property maintenance is the way to combat the defects before they emerge. It also means it’s nice and easy to deal with when it is solely tenant lifestyle.
Listen... this type of house isnt designed to have UPVC windows etc....
The house was built with a Chimney which would create a venturi effect that would pull the air through all the gaps in the floorboards... windows etc and constantly circulate the air... this makes the house cold but keeps humidity at reasonable levels... when you need some heat get the fireplace going