Tenant loses mould case against landlord

Ms Love said she was leaving Guernsey as it was becoming an unaffordable place to live.

A woman has been found responsible for causing mould in her rented flat after a judge dismissed her petty debts case.

Aeva Love had claimed she was owed rent back because of mould and damp in her accommadation.

Landlord Ted Nial suggested this was caused by Ms Love’s actions – something the judge agreed with.

The court heard much of the condensation in the flat had been caused by Ms Love’s lifestyle.

In Guernsey’s Magistrates Court Mr Nial was represented by Advocate Robin Cowling, while Ms Love represented herself.

Ms Love said the condition of the flat was affecting her health and it had impacted her breathing.

In his judgement Judge Martin Thornton said “in my judgment a failure to meet minimum living standards would amount to a breach of quiet enjoyment by the Landlord.

“Simply because a property is let at the lower end of the rental market does not mean that it is permissible to provide or permit living conditions that are harmful to health.

“There is enough doubt in my mind that the condensation could have been mitigated and possibly cured for the property to be regarded as properly habitable.

The judge ordered her to pay £763 in arrears.

Ms Love lived at Flat 4, 57 Victoria Road for two and a half years.

Speaking outside court, Ms Love urged Guernsey’s government to speed up work to protect tenants.

She said the situation which led her to going to court against her landlord highlighted what she described as a “power imbalance” for tenants when trying to confront landlords.

She said: “People in my position from low socio-economic backgrounds in Guernsey aren’t in power, so if you can’t afford a lawyer to represent you, you’re likely to be intimidated in court.

“Trying to fight a landlord in my opinion is difficult.”

Ms Love has urged the States to adopt similar protections to those available for rental tenants in the UK.

What is the States doing?

In 2018 the President of the Environment and Infrastructure (E&I) Committee Barry Brehaut declared an intention to start work on a deposit protection scheme for tenants, like in Jersey.

Two years later Guernsey’s States passed a general housing law would establish a health and safety rating system for rented properties, based on fitness for human occupation criteria.

Current E&I President Lindsay de Sausmarez said a consultation is set to be launched in summer, ahead of changes to the law.

She said: “The lack of a deposit protection scheme is felt by tenants in Guernsey, we’ve all heard horror stories, so we know the need for that. But it is a complex piece of work and we have limited resource.

“One of the most relevant subjects at the moment is the rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords. It’s a huge but of work and is incredibly important.

“We’re also doing some overlapping work about a minimum standard for rental properties, which we hope will identify something our reports showed was really lacking in Guernsey, which was around the quality and protections in the private rental sector.”

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