A Leeds student has hit out at his “cartoonishly pathetic” landlord after severe damp has made it impossible for his housemate to get into her 'sopping wet bed' most nights, and this comes after months of complaints.
Third year University of Leeds student and asthma sufferer Niall MacDougall , 23, has slammed the “health” hazard infesting his home since October last year and has said surveyors had to intervene to order his “annoying” private landlord to take the necessary action at the six bed shared house.
The history buff lives in Burley where he pays about £450 a month for his room. Rolling his eyes, Niall relived the moment his landlord eventually arrived to deal with damp after months of complaining.
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Niall said: “There’s damp he’s constantly said that is going to be dealt with but it’s not and it’s just a situation that’s been ongoing.
“The damp has been going on since late October, and he arrived [almost half a year later] with poor quality anti-damp wipes. It’s sort of cartoonishly pathetic. So then there were surveyors in who said the damp had to be dealt with and that it’s not suitable.”
Niall has said while most of his housemates are students, there’s a couple of young professionals living there as well. One is a schoolteacher who he says can’t even get into bed most nights because it’s sopping wet due to all the damp.
Niall said: “If you’re paying that amount of money and we’re mostly students. The girl affected the most is a schoolteacher and she’s not able to get into bed most of the times because it’s wet. It affects her skin, like rashes.
“I have asthma, so I feel I’m breathing heavier and I’m wheezier, so it’s a health issue as well. I have to use the more powerful blue inhaler sometimes. It’s annoying about landlords and how society is organised in their favour.”
The private landlord has hired roofers to find out whether the damp is arising from a structural issue. Niall said the landlord didn’t even warn them when the roofers would be arriving and woke up with a shock to the sound of banging and noise come from the roof.
Niall said: “I was woken up today by the sound of banging by roofers. There was no prior warning from the landlord.
“The girl I live with, her window was open from the outside by these roofers without any warning! It’s not a great situation.”
Niall was demonstrating with union ACORN, which advocates on behalf of low and moderate income households, in a bid to make housing more affordable. He was protesting with the union outside of Leeds Civic Hall on Wednesday (February 22).
Worried about the future after he graduates, the history student said: “I’m involuntarily going to have to pay 40 to 50 percent of what I earn back to a landlord.
“That prospect is just sort of insecure. I feel like I’ll be trapped into the cycle of the way society is organised in the favour of private landlords.”
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