House we renting been damaged and damp/mould for months
Hi there,
A less wordy timeline is at the bottom.
My wife and I rent a property in Cornwall, it was a winter let originally.
We moved in 10th November 2025.
The weather was horrific and all the storms over winter.
Early December there was a large leak inside the property, water literally dripping consistently within the property. It was via the window frame. Felt like it was raining inside.
We placed towels and Tupperware to catch it all the best we could.
Estate agents sent worker in to try and find the problem. They were unable to do so.
They came in a handful of times over the next couple of months trying to figure out what to do.
All this time we had it leaking.
The removed parts of the wall around the window, they removed the framing, all trying to find the leak.
This left the window an eyesore as well as leaking and now with no shutters for privacy leading onto the road.
The interior was very damp, we worried about mould as there was black on the walls surrounding it where it has clearly leaked for a long time before we moved in.
We have scrubbed it continuously to try and limit having to live among that.
This is also in the open plan living area so our living space where we are meant to cook, eat and have quite relaxation.
They then investigated the window in our bedroom directly above the leak and discovered this was the source. They dug out the flooring around the window next to our bed. The removed the framing again leaving it uglier and exposing discolouration which we worried could be mould.
This was done about 6-8 weeks ago so we have had floor boards damaged and window affected in our bedroom also. Right next to the bed.
Yesterday they replaced the window in the bedroom. All the damage is still present.
There has been minimal rain for quite a while now so there hasn't been an active leak for a good few weeks.
The agent has mentioned compensation in the past and we have perhaps foolishly been going forwards under the pretence that everyone will do the right thing and compensate us appropriately.
Recently though the agency has been quite abrupt and rude with us just in general in phone conversations about other stuff so I am starting to get a bad feeling.
We are meant to depart some time between 9th June and 31st of June so I wanted to ask now for some advice as I don't want to leave and it all to just be swept under the rug.
The landlord himself is actually very nice, he lives up London way. The agents are who id consider the main issue with regards to expediting the whole process.
During the process we were originally dealing with a specific agent, she would take sometimes a week to respond to my emails when we were clearly distressed about the living situation. She told us at one stage it was all resolved when it clearly wasn't, it was still leaking and all damaged... She was eventually taken off our case and a different agent has been dealing with us, he is much more professional so far.
This is long I'm sorry but I'm just hoping for some advice as to what to do, who to contact, what to expect in terms of compensation etc.
Timeline:
Early November - move in
Late November/Early December - leak occurs
December - issue reported, window covers removed, becomes ugly and lost all privacy. Living room (open plan) becomes partly unusable
December - February - nearly 3 months of disruption, no proper updates from the estate agent, contractors visiting occasionally, no timelines, no diagnosis, damage spreading, heating costs ballooning. Leak consistent. Ugliness consistent. No privacy as shutters have been removed.
March - contractors lift floorboards around window in bedroom, hack out flooring leaving 2 crevices at either end. Ugly, discoloration exposed (possibly mould?) downstairs still unrepaired.
April - Estate agents tell us that contractors have updated em throughout, and that the "property has been made good"... Still leak, still all damaged, still no privacy etc, nothing has been made good yet.
April/May - we send through a bunch of the photos showing it is still in disrepair showing leak still active, downstairs wall exposed, damp/mould still present, floorboards lifted, window frame exposed, no shutters/blind installed.
Later May (now) - New upstairs window installed. Weather has been dry so leak not noticeable but all existing damage remains.
The agents have never offered to help manage any of the issues, we've gone through our own towels, tupperwares, cleaning products and we also are new to renting, we don't know what to do so I'm starting to think we are just being taken for mugs.
Please any advice on what I should do is welcomed.
edit: tried to attach some photos but failed
