Hi,

Our family of 4 are living in a 4 brm bungalow. We had a very long, damp, cold and (heating-wise) expensive winter (heating = £500+ per quarter) - the walls and windows ran wet, the oil heating ran almost continuously and still the house was cold and damp. So we put it to our landlord that there was a problem.

The response was, somewhat unbelievably, that we ought to open some windows (yes, in the middle of winter), run a dehumidifier and even - wait for it - use the kitchen extractor fan!

Well, being unwilling to further the debate without more evidence, I contacted the local council to ask if there was an independent authority that could assess our cold/mould/damp issues. They sent their expert around and he assured us that we couldn't realistically change our behaviour to prevent the internal damp because the issue was caused by a lack of wall insulation and huge air leaks through old 1950s single glazed windows on all but the patio doors.

After a couple of weeks we received a copy of a letter addressed to our landlord, from the council, stating that the property had been declared a category one health hazard and that they *must* install cavity wall insultion and double glazing. Which is all great for the *next* tenants - but our tenency is due to expire in July, the middle of Summer. So we are not going to benefit from the improvements.

So we are looking around now for a new place, and to cut to the chase, I would like to know if given our circumstances we have got any rights to terminate our 1-year shorthold tenancy early due to the hazard. This would allow us to take on a new tenancy in a better property, without being IMHO unfairly inconvenienced by the ructions currently underway.

So if anyone can advise, it'd be much appreciated!