When a tenant reports damp or mould, record the report and any health concerns, arrange an investigation, and keep a dated record of findings, works and follow-up. Your response should explain the cause found and the action taken or planned, supported by records. Do not assume the tenant caused it or that a completed job means the problem is resolved.
Start with the downloadable records checklist and worked damp example. The legal framework below is for England; the property's tenure and the dates matter.
The legal framework in England
Fitness for human habitation (section 9A). Since the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, most tenancies in England include an implied covenant that the dwelling is fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and throughout it. Section 10 lists what's taken into account, and freedom from damp is one of them, along with ventilation, repair and prescribed hazards. A tenant can enforce this through the courts.
The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (Housing Act 2004). Local councils assess hazards in residential property, and damp and mould growth is one of the listed hazards. Where a council finds a serious hazard it can take enforcement action, such as an improvement notice.
Repairs (section 11). Where damp results from disrepair (a leaking gutter, a failed roof, a broken pipe), the repairing covenant applies.
Awaab's Law. Strict timescales for investigating and fixing damp and mould hazards now apply to social landlords. The government has said similar requirements will be applied to private renting; check the current position before relying on it either way.
Common points of dispute
- Cause. Condensation, penetrating damp and rising damp have different causes and different fixes. The complaint often turns on which it is. An inspection with findings recorded is worth more than an opinion.
- Lifestyle advice. Advice about ventilation and drying clothes can be appropriate, but a response that only blames the tenant, without investigating the building, rarely lands well with a redress scheme.
- Delay. As with repairs, when the problem was reported and what happened next is usually central.
Records to pull
- When it was first reported, photos, and every follow-up.
- Inspection notes, moisture readings, and the likely cause identified.
- Ventilation and extractor fan checks.
- Works done, by whom and when; and what was advised to the tenant.
- Any health concerns raised, and any council involvement.
Answering it
Set out what was reported, what was inspected and found, what's been done and what will be done, with dates. Where the tenant cites the law, match their point to the provision: fitness under section 9A is different from a repair under section 11, and a council's hazard assessment is different again.
Casebriar separates a tenant complaint into its issues, checks each legal claim against legislation.gov.uk and lists the records you’ll need. You decide each issue; it drafts the reply.
Open a sample caseSources
- LawLandlord and Tenant Act 1985, s.9A (fitness for human habitation)
- LawLandlord and Tenant Act 1985, s.10 (matters relevant to fitness)
- LawHousing Act 2004, s.2 (Housing Health and Safety Rating System hazards)
- LawLandlord and Tenant Act 1985, s.11 (repairing obligations)
- GuidanceGOV.UK: understanding and addressing damp and mould health risks