What your landlord should do about damp and mould

Your council or housing association should inspect if you tell them about damp or mould.

Your landlord should always look for the cause of damp and mould in your home.

They should not blame you for the problem.

Damp and mould in social housing: tenants' rights

Your landlord should:

treat you with respect
not blame you for damp or mould
always look for the cause of damp and mould
keep you updated about repairs and what happens next
give you advice on how to reduce damp and mould if it's caused by something you do

Video: What should your landlord do about damp?

Video transcript

Your council or housing association should inspect damp and mould in your home as soon as you tell them about it.

They should not just clean off the mould, but deal with the cause.

For example, if a roof leak causes mould in your bedroom, your landlord should fix the roof and not just remove the mould and repaint.

If it's not obvious why there's damp and mould in your home, your landlord should ask an expert called a surveyor to check it. You do not have to pay for this.

How soon your landlord has to fix the problem depends on:

how serious it is
if it's putting someone's health at risk

For example, small children or older people might be more at risk from damp and mould.

If mould is caused by condensation, your landlord should make sure your home has enough insulation and can be heated and ventilated.

Your landlord can ask you to take simple steps to reduce condensation.

For example:

put central heating on when it's cold outside
use extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom
cover pans when cooking

Tell your landlord if you're struggling with the cost of heating your home. They might refer you for help with bills and benefits.

Our adviser explains what your council or housing association should do when you tell them about a damp problem. [Video length: 01:13]

How soon should your landlord fix damp?

Your landlord has a reasonable time to fix problems in your home.

Simple problems that cause damp should be fixed quickly. For example, blocked gutters or missing roof tiles. But other jobs can take longer.

Councils and housing associations often set their own time limits in their policies.

Check your landlord's:

repairs policy
damp and mould policy

You can make a complaint if your landlord does not follow the time limits in their policy.

How soon your landlord has to fix damp and mould also depends on:

what's causing the problem
how serious damp and mould is
if you or someone living with you is vulnerable because of age, disability or health issues

Tell your landlord if:

children live with you
you or someone you live with is an older person or has a long term health condition

Does your landlord have to rehouse you?

Your landlord does not usually have to find you another home because of damp and mould.

But they might ask you to move out if the property needs to be empty to do repairs. For example, if they need to fix rising damp.

Your landlord should tell you straight away if you might have to move out.

You can usually move back in when the problem is fixed.

Find out more about moving because of damp and mould.

If your landlord does not deal with damp

You can use our letter templates to write to your landlord about problems first. Your landlord might fix damp and mould if you show them you know your rights.

You can also:

You can ask for the repairs to be done and for compensation.

All housing associations and councils are members of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme.

The Housing Ombudsman can look into complaints from social housing tenants.

How the Housing Ombudsman expects social landlords to deal with damp and mould.