Damp and mould in rental property: landlord's guide | August

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

Statutory position verified as of June 2026

In a rental property, damp and mould are mainly the landlord's responsibility wherever they stem from disrepair, a structural fault, or inadequate heating and ventilation. The tenant's duty is the narrower one of ventilating the home reasonably and reporting problems promptly. That distinction decides who pays and who must act, and the law now sets firm timescales for acting once a hazard is reported. This guide explains who is responsible for damp and mould, what the current law requires, how Awaab's law changes the picture, and how to prevent and treat the problem before it becomes a dispute.

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 on the landlord because they come from the fabric of the building. Condensation is the grey area: where it results from a property that is hard to heat or poorly ventilated, it is the landlord's problem to solve, and where it results purely from how a tenant lives, the tenant carries more of the responsibility for managing it day to day.

In practice the line is rarely clean, and a landlord cannot dismiss a complaint as a tenant lifestyle issue without investigating it. 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 principle is a sensible standard for private landlords too.

The three causes: condensation, rising and penetrating damp

Almost all damp in rented homes comes from one of three causes, and identifying the right one determines both the fix and who pays for it. Condensation forms when warm, moist air meets a cold surface, and it is the most common cause in rented homes; the remedy is usually better ventilation, more consistent heating and adequate insulation rather than a structural repair. Rising damp occurs when groundwater travels up through walls where there is no effective damp proof course, leaving tide marks up to about a metre from the floor; 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 legal duties on damp and mould, well before Awaab's law reaches the sector. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires repairs to 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 set up by the Housing Act 2004, and damp and mould rank among the hazards they can act on.

Awaab's law adds fixed statutory timescales on top of those duties. Named after Awaab Ishak, the two-year-old who died in 2020 after prolonged exposure to mould in social housing, Awaab's law has applied to social landlords in England since 27 October 2025. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 contains the power to extend it to the private rented sector, but no regulations bringing that extension into force have yet been made, and no commencement date has been confirmed as of June 2026. The government has indicated the private sector rules are likely to mirror the social housing ones, and the extension is expected alongside the rollout of the Decent Homes Standard to private rentals. The practical message for private landlords is to treat the social housing rules as a preview rather than to wait for a date.

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. 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 the 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.

For private landlords, the current test under section 11 is to carry out repairs within a reasonable time to carry out repairsonce the landlord is aware of the problem, with what counts as reasonable depending on the severity. From working with self-managing landlords across the UK, the safest approach is to act as though the Awaab's law clock already applies: acknowledge a report the day it arrives, inspect quickly, and keep the tenant informed in writing throughout.

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 is worth the cost, both because it identifies the true cause and because it 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 actually be kept warm and ventilated: working extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom, trickle vents that are not painted shut, and insulation that keeps wall surfaces above the temperature at which condensation forms. Setting these expectations with the tenant at the start of the tenancy, in writing, 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 local authority can serve an improvement notice requiring the work within a set period, and failure to comply can lead to a civil penalty; under the Renters' Rights Act, civil penalties for breaches reach up to £7,000, rising to as much as £40,000 for serious or continued breaches. A tenant living with unaddressed disrepair can also pursue the landlord through the courts and, in some cases, seek a rent repayment order of up to twelve months' rent. 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.

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. You can log every report and repair against the property, with reminders for follow-up inspections, using August's maintenance reporting, and track recurring inspections and certificates with the compliance checklist. Landlords using August consistently tell us that the single organised record is what makes the difference when a case reaches adjudication, because the timeline speaks for itself.

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?

No. As of June 2026 Awaab's law applies only to social landlords in England, where it has been in force since 27 October 2025. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 allows it to be extended to private landlords, but the regulations have not been made and no date has been confirmed.

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 for a tenant and does not remove the obligation to pay, so it is not a reliable route and can lead to arrears. The more effective routes are reporting to the landlord, escalating to the local authority's environmental health team, and pursuing a disrepair claim. A landlord who responds promptly and keeps records is well protected against these.

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.

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.