My (French) cousins had a very similar issue (worse because it also involved some sewage) and it took 12 months to get all the work sorted, partly because the walls were wet like yours and they took ages to dry, and partly because of the complexities between various insurers and owners, especially with regard to previous work. You can't just remove the mould because the walls have to dry and it will regrow as fast as you remove it. I believe, though, that you should be entitled to temporary accommodation whilst this is going on and I would strongly recommend you pursue that with your insurers.

 

EH is right.

At the end of the day you are moving out one way or another. If the wall is that wet it will come back.

Your health is not risk. Move out.

Anyway, whatever you decide.....STOP STOP paying rent.

 

Agreed we have to move out ASAP.

We are just waiting on any information from agent or my employer. We have the added complexity that the apartment lease is actually with my employer, with us named as occupants. The person that manages my expat contract agrees that we should relocate ASAP but she is waiting to determine whether we have grounds for immediate termination or we have to wait it out the regulation 1 month. On top of this she needs to find out if the company HR department is willing to pay for the relocation or we have to fund it ourselves. Her estimate was up to €10,000 to cover relocation consultant to assist with finding new apartment and assisting with moving utilities, etc.; the cost of removals (6th floor, tiny elevator, 100sqm apartment) and another agents fee.

All quite stressful.

 

Are you sure it's 3 months notice where you are renting?

If the apartment lease is with your employer, then the notice period should not be a concern for you - plus I'm sure they would have taken out some kind of insurance. €10,000 to cover costs is potentially on the high side IMO.

But who has taken out the 'habitation' insurance on your apartment? Irrespective of whose name it is in, though, the insurer should pay for temporary accommodation (hotel, furnished holiday-type rental, other).

 

Agreed, cleaning the walls is not the answer, even it's a mistake! IF you get all the mould cleaned off the various landlord, insurance, legal etc inspectors will say "no problems!"

Agree also that cleaning is only addressing the results, not the cause. Humidity in walls and ceilings is difficult ot trace....I speak from experience! There are many possible causes, and if you think you've found the cause it can take at least a month before you see an improvement to prove that you made the right diagnosis.

DejW.....happily dry in a very wet Normandie.

 

Update: So, I was informed that the insurer will not pay for temporary accommodation as the problem is not considered "dangerous". What we got was my employer agreeing to pay for a cleaner. The cleaner turned up Saturday morning with no cleaning materials or ladder so I had to supply with what I had. Most of the mould has been removed, but we know it will come back pretty quickly.

I still have no definite answer as to what is being done, or the direction from here. It seems that the property agent/owner is not responding to any of my employer's requests. I am pretty sure that the tactic they use is if they ignore the problem for long enough it will go away. I do have agreement from my employer that we really do need to get out ASAP. I have tentative agreement for them to pay for removal costs and some of the agents fees on any apartment we find. They will also provided a relocation agent to assist with lease negotiation and utilities transfer. This seems pretty fair to me, however the frustrating thing is even after almost a week we still have no idea if we are moving in a week or two, or a month.

 

The cleaner turned up Saturday morning with no cleaning materials or ladder so I had to supply with what I had. Most of the mould has been removed, but we know it will come back pretty quickly.

Welcome to France

 

Thanks for the update, but sad to hear that things have not progressed.

Personally, I'd lean harder on your employer....they are French?? and understand the rules...and they have an interest in keeping you happy.....but, I agree, not easy, not easy at all. Are you the only person they have moved into France? If not they must have some experience of difficult situations?

DejW

 

I am leaning a bit on my employer, need to not press to hard as I need to keep some goodwill. They are a very, very large (French) organisation that have plenty of experience with expats so they have some idea what to do. They have confirmed that they support our relocation, we just don't know by how much financially as this time of the year is the annual budget review for HR and they are copming up with all the usual excuses. Should find out more tomorrow.

 

I don't know if it has been suggested to you to visit your local mairie (or if you already have) and lodge a complaint with them for 'Habitat Insalubre'.

I have been having a look on the service-public site and came across this:

https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F16158

Habitat insalubre
Vérifié le 27 juillet 2016 - Direction de l'information légale et administrative (Premier ministre)

Lorsqu'un immeuble présente un danger pour la santé ou la sécurité des occupants, le préfet peut engager une procédure d'insalubrité à l'encontre du propriétaire d'un logement ou du syndic de copropriété lorsque l'immeuble est en copropriété.

L'insalubrité implique une appréciation qui associe la dégradation d'un logement à des effets sur la santé des occupants.

Tout locataire (ou autre occupant) d'un logement insalubre doit le signaler à la mairie.

En principe, c'est le service communal d'hygiène et de santé (SCHS) ou des agents d'une agence régionale de santé (ARS) qui interviennent pour visiter le logement et réaliser un rapport concluant ou non à l'insalubrité.

Relogement
Le propriétaire doit assurer le relogement des occupants. Le nouveau logement doit être décent et correspondre aux besoins des occupants.

I hope this can help.

 

Just thought I would close the loop on this one.

We have now relocated out of our moldy, water damaged, apartment in the 5th and are now settled in a very nice apartment in the Marais.

Total cost of the move was actually in the order of €7000 :shocked:

Just over €3500 for the moving company, which included a lift at each end, the agents letting fee on the new place plus a relocation agent that assisted with some of the tricky stuff.

Fortunately my company came to the party on this one and covered the costs as it was deemed to be an emergency relocation.

 

Thank you for the update....glad it worked out, but it was a bit expensive!

DejW

 

Hello, Do you know of someone or a company that does mold inspection in Paris? My daughter who is allergic to mold is about to buy an apt in France that looks like it could have a lot of mold in the bathroom, but the realtors nor the owners will check for it. <snip>
Thanks,
Frances Restuccia

 

If it looks like it has mould in the bathroom then it has mould in the bathroom. I suggest you check the agenda and minutes of the body corporate that manages the building going back a few years or ask the body corporate manager direct to try to find out whether there have been problems with leaks. Or perhaps get a renovation company to inspect the apartment to see what they recommend and how much it might cost to renovate the bathroom to eliminate the mould (your daughter could negotiate the cost of work against the asking price).

But really there are no firm guarantees and if she is concerned then perhaps she should pass on this purchase.

 

If someone has a recommendation for you they can post it on the message board, or they can contact you using the forum PM system.

 

She should not buy it -it would be like a person who is allergic to peanuts eating a Snickers frankly

 

We rented an apartment in Paris for 4 years. It had been recently renovated when we rented it. The first 2 years were great. However, in year 3, a mold problem began in one of the closets. The owner called in professional who inspected and said they could not begin the repair work until Summer as the cold walls would not dry and cleaning would fail. So, we waited, the mold spread to the entire room and then into the kitchen. It was pretty bad. By Summer, they attempted to make the repairs. Things were better, but it all ended up coming back after about 6 months. The owner played hell trying to source the problem and trying to get the Syndic to address the issue as the exterior walls of the entire building were covered in mold. The insurance company also had a hell of a time. By year 4, we moved. The owner had the place cleaned up - again - and sold it.

I'd pass on the apartment. It isn't worth the risk, health or otherwise.

 

It's been exceptionally wet in Paris since the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games plus Spring was cool, so the mould will keep growing. In addition it will likely be very difficult to get tradesmen to come out until the Paralympics are over, let alone to actually start remedial work. I seriously think your daughter should not buy this apartment.

 

Does anyone have name/contact information for specialized cleaning service for black mould? Ravalement recently finished, so when I reported mold on wall and under window to our syndic (Debayle) they sent rep from ravalement company who told me it wasn't their fault. Insurance company cannot send anyone before Christmas. Usual "bricoleur" says syndic has to send specialist. Syndic is sending no one. I am owner, age 80: where do I find specialist cleaning service?