Damp and Mould: Your Rights as a Tenant

Yes. Private and social landlords must adhere to a number of regulations related to damp and mould, and a lack of compliance can place a landlord at risk of prosecution or financial penalties.

The main rules are:

• ✓Yes: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11: in a lease to which the section applies, there is an implied covenant by the landlord to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house, and in repair and proper working order the installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity, for sanitation, for space heating and for heating water
• ✓Yes: Housing Act 2004: if a local housing authority considers that a category 1 hazard exists on any residential premises, it must take the appropriate enforcement action
• ✓Yes: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 9A: in a lease of a dwelling in England there is an implied covenant that the dwelling is fit for human habitation at the start of the term and will remain fit during the term
• ✓Yes: Defective Premises Act 1972: a landlord who knows, or ought to know, of a relevant defect owes a duty to take reasonable care to see that people who might be affected are reasonably safe from personal injury or damage to their property
• ✓Yes: Awaab's Law: social landlords in England have had to address emergency hazards and significant damp and mould hazards to fixed timeframes since 27 October 2025

GOV.UK says a private landlord is always responsible for repairs to the property's structure and exterior, fire safety issues, basins, sinks, baths and other sanitary fittings including pipes and drains, heating and hot water, gas appliances, pipes, flues and ventilation, electrical wiring, and any damage they cause by attempting repairs. GOV.UK's guide to the Homes Act asks whether there is a problem with any of 29 listed things, including damp and mould growth.

This page covers England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own housing law, which this page does not cover.

Awaab's Law is named after Awaab Ishak, a 2-year-old who died in 2020 as a result of a severe respiratory condition due to prolonged exposure to mould in his home. Section 42 of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 says the Secretary of State must make regulations requiring a landlord to take action on prescribed hazards within the periods specified, and GOV.UK says the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 are commonly referred to as Awaab's Law.

For a significant damp and mould hazard, a social landlord must:

• Investigate within 10 working days of becoming aware of the hazard
• Give the tenant a written summary of the findings within 3 working days of the investigation concluding
• Complete the relevant safety work within 5 working days of the investigation concluding
• Complete the safety work within the stated timeframes, or secure suitable alternative accommodation until it is completed
• Begin any further preventative work to stop the hazard recurring within 5 working days of the investigation concluding, or if that is not possible, physically start it within 12 weeks

For an emergency hazard, a social landlord must investigate and make the property safe within 24 hours of becoming aware of it.

Phase 2 will come into force on 30 November 2026, subject to Parliament approval, extending the significant hazard requirements to excess cold, excess heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards and domestic hygiene. The government says the third and final phase will be introduced in 2027, covering the remaining Housing Health and Safety Rating System hazards except overcrowding.

Damp serious enough to be a statutory nuisance can be reported to the council, which must serve an abatement notice if satisfied a statutory nuisance exists, and a tenant can also apply directly to the magistrates' court if the council does not act. GOV.UK says you might be able to get legal aid for problems like homelessness, eviction, losing your home, or serious disrepair. See the guides to housing disrepair claims and housing repairs for more.

A court may make your landlord pay you compensation. There is no fixed limit on how much may be awarded, and it will be judged by the court depending on facts such as how bad the problem is, the mental or physical health problems it has caused and the length of time the problem has existed for.

GOV.UK says the evidence you gather before going to court can include:

• A copy of letters or emails you sent to your landlord or letting agent and local council about the repairs
• Photographs of the problems
• A doctor's note setting out any mental or physical health problems that have been caused or made worse by your home being unfit for human habitation
• Receipts of items you have had to replace, for example wallpaper that has been damaged by mould, or carpets suffering water damage from a faulty pipe
• A copy of your tenancy agreement if you have one, or proof you are paying rent to your landlord
• A report from any experts you have paid to look at the problem

The government's guidance for landlords says it is totally unreasonable to blame damp and mould in the home on lifestyle choices. Everyday tasks such as cooking, bathing, washing and drying laundry unavoidably produce indoor moisture, so the fundamental cause will be building deficiencies, inadequate ventilation, inadequate heating or poor energy efficiency, not tenants' normal domestic activities.

The law and guidance on the cause of damp and mould:

• Ventilation is one of the matters that must be taken into account in deciding whether a home is fit for human habitation, alongside repair, damp, lighting, water supply and drainage
• Landlords should identify and tackle the underlying causes of damp and mould, including building deficiencies, inadequate ventilation and condensation, because simply removing surface mould will not prevent it reappearing
• If you think your home's unsafe, the council will do a Housing Health and Safety Rating System assessment and must take action if it thinks your home has serious health and safety hazards

From 1 May 2026 a tenant in England can no longer be evicted using the Section 21 'no fault' process, even if the tenancy agreement says the landlord can use it. The government's guide to the Renters' Rights Act says section 21 meant a significant minority of tenants were forced to live in substandard accommodation due to a fear that, if they complain, their landlord can simply evict them in retaliation. A notice to leave a privately rented property received from 1 May 2026 is a section 8 notice, and landlords must use a section 8 ground for possession.

GOV.UK also says:

• Your landlord cannot ask you to leave within the first 12 months of a new tenancy because they or their close family member need to move in or because they intend to sell
• It is a crime for your landlord to harass you or try to remove you from a property without following the correct process
• Harassment can include stopping services like electricity, withholding keys, refusing to carry out repairs that are the landlord's responsibilities, threats and physical violence, and threatening to change the locks