Dear forum members,
I hope you can help me with a problem I’m having. I have been living with my boyfriend in a rented apartment for three years. Already during the first autumn/winter, I was amazed by how much the windows would fog up. As soon as the temperature drops, so much condensation gathers that it literally drips onto the floor. At first, we aired the apartment thoroughly every day for a long time despite the cold outside, but that didn’t help much. Last year, my boyfriend had the brilliant idea to sleep with the window open during winter, so we got to enjoy a little peace – and about 1300€ extra heating costs...
This year the problem has, of course, reappeared. My boyfriend refuses to talk to the landlord because he’s afraid of possible costs for inspections. I can’t do it myself since I’m not on the lease and I don’t really understand the legal side of things (I’m a foreigner studying in Germany). My boyfriend says I should just keep stacking more cloths on every window and on the floor. But I’m running out of those too! Can anyone help me? What else can I do? Is it our fault that the windows look like this? Can the landlord charge us for repair or inspection costs? This morning I took a few photos to illustrate what I’m dealing with every day (really, it looks like this day and night):
Bedroom:
Here you can see how bad the mold problem in the bedroom is, even though we have used special treatments against it:
Kitchen:
Living room balcony door:
We still have one window in the study that stays comparatively dry… Why is that?
I welcome any advice. Have a great day!
Maszka
I hope you can help me with a problem I’m having. I have been living with my boyfriend in a rented apartment for three years. Already during the first autumn/winter, I was amazed by how much the windows would fog up. As soon as the temperature drops, so much condensation gathers that it literally drips onto the floor. At first, we aired the apartment thoroughly every day for a long time despite the cold outside, but that didn’t help much. Last year, my boyfriend had the brilliant idea to sleep with the window open during winter, so we got to enjoy a little peace – and about 1300€ extra heating costs...
This year the problem has, of course, reappeared. My boyfriend refuses to talk to the landlord because he’s afraid of possible costs for inspections. I can’t do it myself since I’m not on the lease and I don’t really understand the legal side of things (I’m a foreigner studying in Germany). My boyfriend says I should just keep stacking more cloths on every window and on the floor. But I’m running out of those too! Can anyone help me? What else can I do? Is it our fault that the windows look like this? Can the landlord charge us for repair or inspection costs? This morning I took a few photos to illustrate what I’m dealing with every day (really, it looks like this day and night):
Bedroom:
Here you can see how bad the mold problem in the bedroom is, even though we have used special treatments against it:
Kitchen:
Living room balcony door:
We still have one window in the study that stays comparatively dry… Why is that?
I welcome any advice. Have a great day!
Maszka
schubert7927 Nov 2014 17:19You’ll see, this helps. And it probably won’t result in a heating cost surcharge of 1300.
Umbau-Susi27 Nov 2014 19:13Also, get a Kärcher window vacuum cleaner and consistently remove the moisture from the windows. For us, this is the solution whenever we dry laundry in the bathroom during winter. Water condenses on the windows and is then vacuumed away.
Sylvia
Sylvia
I assume that as a student, you probably won’t have a great financial situation to justify buying a Kärcher window vacuum cleaner for €60.
I think a simple squeegee for €3, a cloth, and a bucket/bowl will do just fine. It might be a bit more inconvenient, but it’s easier on the budget.
I think a simple squeegee for €3, a cloth, and a bucket/bowl will do just fine. It might be a bit more inconvenient, but it’s easier on the budget.
B
Bauexperte28 Nov 2014 12:37Hello Dirk,
When I answered, I imagined myself as the landlord being called to such an "apartment"; my possibly hard-earned home/pension! I would be really upset and definitely not able to respond with a well-thought-out argument at first.
Better to take pictures, restore everything properly and professionally, AND then inform the landlord; there is certainly an obligation to do so (at least in most standardized contracts). This way, the landlord immediately sees that the problem has been acknowledged and resolved in their interest. In the landlord’s position, that would take the wind out of my sails and make the conversation much calmer.
Regards, Bauexperte
Doc.Schnaggls schrieb:No question about that!
I would recommend addressing the issues openly with the landlord, as you are probably even obligated to do so according to the rental agreement.
When I answered, I imagined myself as the landlord being called to such an "apartment"; my possibly hard-earned home/pension! I would be really upset and definitely not able to respond with a well-thought-out argument at first.
Better to take pictures, restore everything properly and professionally, AND then inform the landlord; there is certainly an obligation to do so (at least in most standardized contracts). This way, the landlord immediately sees that the problem has been acknowledged and resolved in their interest. In the landlord’s position, that would take the wind out of my sails and make the conversation much calmer.
Regards, Bauexperte
D
Doc.Schnaggls28 Nov 2014 12:48Hello Martina,
this reasoning is of course quite understandable – as a landlord myself, I would prefer it that way as well.
However, since I don’t know the landlord of the two properties, I just wanted to point out the risk of breaching the tenant’s obligations under the rental agreement. There have been cases where landlords responded to such a tenant’s "going it alone" with a formal warning.
The keyword here is: "How am I supposed to know what’s behind the new wallpaper and whether the mold has really been properly removed?"
So it really depends on the landlord and the communication with them.
Best regards,
Dirk
this reasoning is of course quite understandable – as a landlord myself, I would prefer it that way as well.
However, since I don’t know the landlord of the two properties, I just wanted to point out the risk of breaching the tenant’s obligations under the rental agreement. There have been cases where landlords responded to such a tenant’s "going it alone" with a formal warning.
The keyword here is: "How am I supposed to know what’s behind the new wallpaper and whether the mold has really been properly removed?"
So it really depends on the landlord and the communication with them.
Best regards,
Dirk
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