Hi, i recently asked an online lawyer a question regarding lack of property maintenance and damp in my girlfriends hose where she has two young children, but I cannot find a link to the lawyer who I spoke to, I will ask another question as some starting from the top.

My girlfriend moved into a private rented two bed terraced house on march 7th 2012 (she is on housing benefits) the contract is for 12 months with a break clause after 6 months on a shorthold tennancy.

There has been a damp problem in the house and she feels it is not healthy for the childrens health, there is water ouzing out of the walls in places and now there is mould growing in some small areas but it is getting worse every day, the damp extends into the bedroom walls and has a strong smell which irritates the throat, every day i am noticing new patches, the landlords were informed of the problem not long after she moved in, they said they had a damp course two years ago and arranged for the company that carried out the work to have a look and rectify the problem, they came a month later in may and did a poor job, just sanding down (not even beyond the paint layer) and applied some kind of solution, but in the last couple of weeks the damp have gotten 10 times worse.

One land lady came and visited the property and said there is no damp, so my girlfriend arranged a local company to take a look, they said there is lots of damp and are writting a report to that effect, i have also been taking pictures, after the landlady came she has been complaining of the problem, now they will no longer accept her calls and have said that any contact made to them must be through her solicitor or by text message, but the solicitor will only reply, not the landlords (the solicitor shares the same surname as one of the landladys) so my girlfiriend no longer has direct contact to her landlords, the solicitor said an email to him is good enough and that he is now acting as the landlords agents (but this is not stated anywhere in the contract)

In the last few days she has been sending lots of emails and pictures, hes first comment on the pictures said it is purely cosmetic when clearly it is not, she has sent further pictures to which he replied he will get the damp company responsible to come and have a further look, but he has not said when, i am concerned as it took the landlord 3 months to unblock a gutter and i am concerned for the health of my children, she has had to move her furniture to the middle of the room to stop it getting damaged and now her clothes in the wardrobe are damp to the touch as are all the beds and bedding, she has told the solicitor that this is not acceptable, but she cannot directly contact the landlord, so if she had an emergency she would have to email her solicitor and wait for a reply, she has stated to him that she is not happy and they have made a fundamental breach of contract and she will be moving out on the 16th july, she has paid 4 months rent, so she will be leaving two months before the break clause, the deposit is in a scheme where both parties have to agree to release it, where does she stand, she is worried that is she leaves the landlords will sue her, but if she stays her childrens health will suffer and her property and clothes will get damaged, thank you, Russell.

Optional Information:
Province/Country relating to question : UK

Already Tried:
cab, but they cannot help, she cannot afford a solicitor as she is on benefits, council but they cant do much, environmental health have done nothing as yet.