Advice sought about leaking roof nightmare

[mc37]

Hi, I'm seeking some advice about a leaking roof in a property I am renting.

Background

I've been renting a bungalow for the last three years. Ever since I moved in, there was a patch of damp on the ceiling in the kitchen. It was patched up around three times, but would always reappear after a few months.

It appeared again in June of last year. The landlord arranged for some people to fix it, but three times they were scheduled to visit and each time the people didn't turn up. The landlord arranged with someone else, but then told me that that had fallen through and no further arrangements were made.

So winter came, and, when the snow appeared, it cracked the roof and I woke up to find water damage to the ceilings of three rooms, with very large pools of red water on the floor in two rooms (fortunately, the tiled kitchen and bathroom). The landlord arranged for the whole roof layer to be redone, which was a bit of a nightmare for me and my neighbours as it was the days around Christmas, and also because the roofers trashed my front garden.

Current situation

In March this year, a new damp patch appeared in my living room. The roofers came and did a bit of repairing, but when rain came again, the damp patch grew and new ones appeared.

Five months later, there are now eight damp patches in three rooms. The roofers have been back five times now to "do repairs", but the patches keep growing and new ones appear.

It's really getting me down as it's not pleasant spending time in a room with lots of growing damp patches, and so I've not been spending much time in my living room. I like to play the piano, and I have one in the living room, but haven't played for months now because of the damp patches.

My tenancy contract finishes in a couple of months and I'm in two minds about whether to renew. The one previous damp patch, upon freezing/cracking, caused damage to the ceilings of three rooms and let large amounts of red water reach the floor in two rooms. As things stand, with eight damp patches in three rooms, I fear a disaster when snow comes again. Many of my possessions could be destroyed and the bungalow could even become uninhabitable.

So my questions are:

1) How can this roof nightmare be resolved and the damp patches be fixed?

2) I have no confidence in either these roofers' professional integrity or competence, and therefore have little confidence in the quality of the work done on the roof. If it can be confirmed that the damp patches have stopped - repair work done, ceiling repainted, and no new damp patches appearing - do you think the roof will be safe come winter?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[Someone-Else]

Move out.

Sorry, but either your landlord does not care, or does not / can not want to spend the money

[Rorschach]

Report the landlord.

[Someone-Else]

Report the landlord.

Not being awkward, but to whom should he report them and what for?

Could the LL say is he has had builders round and it should be fixed.

[Rorschach]

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housi ... -landlord/

I hope you have been taking notes and pictures of the problems. You would be well within your rights to take your landlord to court for damages to your proporty, loss of your time and probably emotional distress.

If you don't feel you are up to this then move and make sure afterwards you spread the news about him/her far and wide. The best way to hurt a landlord is in their pocket.

[wine~o]

Red water ??? is that correct ?

[mc37]

Thanks for the feedback.

The landlord will say, as he has said, that he spent 4,000 pounds re-layering the whole roof when it cracked last winter, and that he has a 10-year guarantee on the work done. Although, with eight damp patches now, the roof seems to be in a clearly worse state than it was before.

What about the roof itself? How could it be fixed for sure? Also, what in your opinion do you think is a reasonable timescale for getting a roof fixed properly after a leak - as I say, it's now five months since the latest leak appeared. Last year's leak was not fixed, and over six months passed before the roof cracked.

Red water ??? is that correct ?

Yeah, it was orangey-red water, presumably picked up as the water passed through the roof layer.

[wine~o]

orangey/red water would suggest oxidised/rusted water to me. Could it be a leaking CH pipe in the loft space rather than a roof leak ?

Have you been into the loft to check for leaks in either the roof or elsewhere ? damp insulation should be a giveaway.

[Bob225]

well I think you have answered your own question - start looking for somewhere else

If its not getting repaired now what makes you think its going to get sorted anytime soon - what ever you do, Do NOT withhold rent

[mc37]

orangey/red water would suggest oxidised/rusted water to me. Could it be a leaking CH pipe in the loft space rather than a roof leak ?

Have you been into the loft to check for leaks in either the roof or elsewhere ? damp insulation should be a giveaway.

It's a flat-roofed bungalow without any loft space or high pipes.

[mc37]

well I think you have answered your own question - start looking for somewhere else

If its not getting repaired now what makes you think its going to get sorted anytime soon - what ever you do, Do NOT withhold rent

I got an email from him a week ago saying he wants to get the roof fixed "as soon as possible", although I haven't heard from him since. He also said it was "very fixable", presumably what the roofers told him, although since they've already tried to fix it five times without success, this would not seem to be the case.

[wine~o]

Flat roofed bungalow ? in that case get some pics up internally and externally.

[mc37]

Here are some photos documenting the progression of the main damp patches in the living room over the last five months.

1. mid-March 2018. Damp patches appear. Can also see one on the wall on the left.

1. living room ceiling mid march 2018.jpg (594.14 KiB) Viewed 2677 times

2. Early April 2018

2. living room ceiling early april 2108.JPG (508.23 KiB) Viewed 2677 times

3. Early June 2018.

3. living room ceiling early june 2018.JPG (504.1 KiB) Viewed 2677 times

4. Late June 2018.

4. living room ceiling late june 2018.JPG (555.81 KiB) Viewed 2677 times

5. Early August 2018. Three new damp patches appeared in two other rooms between this photo and the previous one.

5. living room ceiling early august 2018.JPG (510.08 KiB) Viewed 2677 times

6. Mid-August 2018. For scale, the largest area of damp is around a metre long.

6. living room ceiling mid august 2018.JPG (530.42 KiB) Viewed 2677 times

[wine~o]

Pics of the roof above these areas please. Not tonight obvs.

[mc37]

Pics of the roof above these areas please. Not tonight obvs.

I think it might not be so easy for me to get on the roof.

What practical steps can be taken regarding the roof? I don't have much knowledge on this subject.

It seems that it would make sense to me to put some primer paint or something over the damp patches to better assess whether there is further damp coming through. Sensible course of action?

I've also read about taking a hose to water sections of the roof at a time to see whether water comes through. It seems as if this could be a slow process, though, as the damp patches appear to grow in appearance the day after rain.