Damp and mould in a rented property: a landlord's guide

Statutory position verified 4 November 2026

Landlords in England are responsible for damp and mould caused by disrepair, structural defects, or heating and ventilation the property cannot sustain, and that duty runs from the first day of a tenancy to the last. Tenants can enforce it through the council and the courts, and, from 2027 at the earliest, through Awaab's Law repair deadlines. The tenant's own duty is narrower: to heat and ventilate the home reasonably and to report problems promptly. The English Housing Survey for 2024 to 2025 found that 10 per cent of privately rented homes had experienced damp, so most landlords will handle a damp report at some point.

Who is responsible, the landlord or the tenant?

The landlord is responsible for damp and mould caused by the condition of the building, and the tenant is responsible only for using the home in a reasonable way. Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, a landlord must keep the structure and exterior in repair and keep the installations for heating, water and sanitation in working order. Rising damp and penetrating damp almost always fall to the landlord because they originate in the fabric of the building. Condensation is the grey area. Where it follows from a property that is hard to heat or poorly ventilated, solving it is the landlord's responsibility; where it follows purely from how a tenant lives, with no underlying defect, the tenant carries more of the day-to-day management.

The line is rarely clean, and a landlord cannot dismiss a complaint as a lifestyle issue without investigating it first. Government guidance for social landlords is explicit that everyday activities such as cooking, washing and drying clothes are not, on their own, a reason to avoid acting, and that is a sensible standard for private landlords to hold themselves to as well.

Start by identifying the cause, because it decides who pays

Identifying the cause is the first practical step, because the cause determines both the fix and who carries it. Condensation, the most common cause in rented homes, forms when warm, moist air meets a cold surface, and the remedy is usually better ventilation, more consistent heating and adequate insulation rather than a structural repair. Rising damp occurs where groundwater travels up through walls that have no effective damp proof course, leaving a tide mark up to about a metre from the floor, and repairing or installing a damp proof course is the landlord's responsibility where an existing one has failed. Penetrating damp comes from water getting in through the building, often through a damaged roof, blocked gutters, failed pointing or perished window seals, and it too sits with the landlord because it is a repair to the structure.

What the law requires

A private landlord already carries clear duties on damp and mould, well before Awaab's Law reaches the sector. Section 11 of the 1985 Act covers the structure, exterior and key installations. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 requires a let home to be fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and throughout it, and serious damp or mould can make a home unfit. Local authorities can also assess hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System created by the Housing Act 2004, and damp and mould are among the hazards they can act on. Our guide to landlord and tenant repair obligations sets out how these duties fit together, and the wider standards package arriving for the sector is covered in our property standards and compliance overview.

What counts as serious damp and mould?

Damp and mould growth is one of the 29 hazards councils assess under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), and the hazard rating decides how firmly the council must act. An inspector weighs the likelihood of harm over the coming year against how severe that harm would be. A Category 1 hazard, the most serious band, places the council under a duty to take enforcement action under section 5 of the Housing Act 2004. A Category 2 hazard gives the council a power to act, which it commonly uses where the occupiers are vulnerable.

In practice, severity turns on extent, persistence and who lives in the home. Mould spreading across walls or ceilings, mould that returns after cleaning, damp linked to a leak or a failed damp proof course, and any damp in a home with a baby, an older occupier or someone with a respiratory condition all push a case towards the serious end. The government's guidance on the health risks of damp and mould is explicit that damp and mould are not the result of tenants' lifestyle choices and that landlords must find and fix the underlying cause.

From supporting self-managing landlords on August, the reports that escalate are rarely the ones with the worst mould. They are the ones where weeks passed between the tenant's message and anyone visiting. If ventilation is in dispute, a humidity sensor in the worst-affected room gives you hard evidence either way. Our roundup of the best damp and mould sensors for landlords compares the options.

How quickly must a landlord act?

For social landlords, Awaab's Law now sets explicit deadlines, and they are the benchmark private landlords should expect to inherit. Under the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025, in force since 27 October 2025, an emergency hazard must be investigated and made safe within 24 hours. A significant damp and mould hazard must be investigated within 10 working days, the tenant must receive a written summary of the findings within 3 working days of that investigation ending, and safety works must begin within 5 working days where a significant hazard is confirmed. If the home cannot be made safe within those timescales, the landlord must offer suitable alternative accommodation.

Awaab's Law does not yet apply to private landlords in England, but the timetable is now taking shape. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 gives the government the power to extend it, and on 9 October 2026 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government opened a consultation on applying Awaab's Law to private rented tenancies, which closes on 18 December 2026. The government has said 2027 is the earliest feasible start date, and the requirements will be written into private tenancies as an implied term. The consultation proposes the same hazards as social housing, with overcrowding excluded. It also asks whether landlords who cannot make a home safe in time should fund alternative accommodation, and whether the new Landlord Ombudsman, expected in 2028, should be running first.

Until the rules commence, the private sector test remains section 11: repair within a reasonable time of becoming aware, judged by how serious the problem is. Working to the social housing clock now (investigate within 10 working days, report back within 3, start safety works within 5) is the safest preparation, because it is the benchmark a council or court is most likely to reach for. Our guide to when Awaab's Law will apply to private landlords tracks the consultation as it progresses.

In Scotland, separate damp and mould timescales took effect on 6 October 2026. See our guide to the repairing standard in Scotland.

How to treat damp and mould

Treating the visible mould without fixing the cause only buys a few weeks, so the order of work matters. Surface mould on hard, non-porous surfaces can be cleaned with a fungicidal wash, but porous materials such as saturated plaster or soft furnishings usually need replacing, because the growth runs deeper than cleaning reaches. The real fix addresses the cause: repairing or installing a damp proof course and replastering for rising damp; repairing the roof, gutters or pointing for penetrating damp; and improving ventilation, heating and insulation for condensation. For anything beyond minor condensation, a moisture survey from a damp specialist earns its cost twice over, because it identifies the true cause and gives you evidence if responsibility is later disputed.

How to prevent damp and mould

Prevention is cheaper than cure and is largely a maintenance discipline. Keep gutters clear and downpipes draining away from the walls, since blocked guttering is one of the most common routes to penetrating damp. Check the roof before each winter and commission a roof survey if you suspect slipped tiles or failed flashing. Make sure the property can genuinely be kept warm and ventilated, with working extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom, trickle vents that are not painted shut, and insulation that holds wall surfaces above the temperature at which condensation forms. Setting these expectations with the tenant in writing at the start of the tenancy heads off most condensation disputes later.

What happens if damp and mould are not dealt with

Ignoring a damp and mould complaint exposes a landlord to enforcement, claims and reputational damage. A council that finds a serious hazard can serve an improvement notice requiring specified works, and failing to comply is an offence under section 30 of the Housing Act 2004. Since the Renters' Rights Act 2025 reforms commenced on 1 May 2026, the maximum civil penalty for that failure is £40,000, up from £30,000, applied under the government's guidance on civil penalties under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Ignoring an improvement notice also exposes a landlord to a rent repayment order of up to 24 months' rent, double the previous 12. Where the damp is prejudicial to health, a tenant can additionally bring a statutory nuisance complaint under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Damp and mould also surface regularly in deposit disputes, where the question of whether the landlord maintained the property or the tenant failed to ventilate it is decided on the evidence each side can show.

Compensation and disrepair claims

A tenant living with unrepaired damp and mould can claim compensation through a housing disrepair claim in the county court, and most of these claims now start with a solicitor's letter rather than a conversation. Before issuing, the tenant must follow the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims (England). The landlord should respond within 20 working days of receiving the letter of claim, disclosing repair records and stating whether liability is admitted. Missing that deadline breaches the protocol and leaves the tenant free to issue proceedings.

Damages usually cover the loss of comfort and use of the home, often assessed as a proportion of the rent for the period the problem went unfixed, plus damaged belongings and any personal injury. Under section 11, liability generally runs from the point the landlord knew about the defect, which is why the date of the first report matters so much. A claim for breach of the repairing obligation can generally reach back six years under section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980.

Keeping records: a landlord's best protection

The landlords who come out of a damp dispute well are the ones who can show what they did and when. Log every report, the date you became aware, your inspection findings and the works you carried out, and keep the photographs and contractor correspondence alongside them; getting the basics of reporting a repair right is what makes that record stand up. You can log every repair and report against the property, with reminders for follow-up inspections, and track recurring inspections and certificates in one checklist. Landlords using August consistently tell us that the single organised timeline is what makes the difference when a case reaches adjudication, because it speaks for itself. If you are not yet using software, our free repair request and repair log template gives you a ready-made format for every report, visit and fix.

Frequently asked questions

Is the landlord or the tenant responsible for condensation mould?

It depends on the cause. Where condensation results from a property that is hard to heat, poorly ventilated or inadequately insulated, it is the landlord's responsibility to fix. Where it results purely from how the tenant lives, with no underlying defect, the tenant is responsible for managing it. The landlord must still investigate a report before reaching that conclusion.

Does Awaab's Law apply to private landlords yet?

Not yet. Awaab's Law has applied to social housing in England since 27 October 2025. The government opened a consultation on extending it to private rented tenancies on 9 October 2026, closing on 18 December 2026, and has said 2027 is the earliest feasible start. As of 4 November 2026, no commencement date has been confirmed. For the likely timing and how to prepare, see our guide to Awaab's Law for private landlords.

How long does a landlord have to fix damp and mould?

A private landlord must act within a reasonable time of becoming aware, judged by the severity of the problem. For social landlords, Awaab's Law sets fixed deadlines: 24 hours for an emergency, investigation within 10 working days for a significant damp and mould hazard, and safety works within 5 working days of that investigation.

Can a tenant withhold rent because of damp and mould?

Withholding rent is risky and does not remove the obligation to pay, so it can simply tip the tenant into arrears. The more effective routes are reporting to the landlord, escalating to the local authority's environmental health team, and pursuing a disrepair claim. Our entry on withholding rent explains the tenant's legal position. A landlord who responds promptly and keeps records is well protected against all three. If you would rather not chase paperwork across spreadsheets and email, you can start for free and keep every repair report, inspection and certificate in one place.

How much compensation can a tenant get for damp and mould?

There is no fixed tariff. Courts usually award a proportion of the rent for the period the landlord knew about the disrepair and failed to fix it, plus the cost of damaged belongings and any personal injury. Where a council improvement notice was ignored, the tenant can also seek a rent repayment order of up to 24 months' rent.

Disclaimer: This article is a guide and not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice, or as a substitute for it. August does not accept any liability for any errors, omissions or misstatements contained in this article. Always speak to a suitably qualified professional if you require specific advice or information.