Damp and mould in rented property

Overview

Serious mould or damp in a rented student house is a common problem, and you have real legal rights to force your landlord to deal with it. The key point is that repairing damp and mould is almost always the landlord’s responsibility, not yours, unless the problem is genuinely caused by how you are living in the property. Below I explain the legal duties on your landlord, how to work out whether the problem is really their responsibility, and the practical steps to get it fixed in a sensible order.

Who is responsible for damp and mould

Most student lets are assured shorthold tenancies with a private landlord or letting agent. Your landlord’s obligations come from several sources.

Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, your landlord must keep in repair the structure and exterior of the property and the installations for water, heating and sanitation. Damp caused by a defect such as a leaking roof, defective guttering, penetrating damp through walls, rising damp or a broken pipe falls squarely within this duty.

Under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, which amended the 1985 Act, your landlord must ensure the property is fit for human habitation at the start of and throughout the tenancy. Freedom from serious damp and mould is one of the specific matters the court looks at when deciding fitness. This gives you a direct right to sue the landlord for repairs and compensation if the home is unfit, and importantly you do not have to prove a specific breach of the repairing covenant, only that the property is unfit.

Damp and mould are also a recognised hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), which local councils enforce. If mould is serious enough to pose a risk to health, the council can require the landlord to act.

You should be aware that Awaab’s Law, brought in by the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025, which came into force on 27 October 2025, sets strict fixed timescales for investigating and fixing damp and mould. However, that regime currently applies to social housing (council and housing association tenants). If you rent privately, which most students do, those specific statutory deadlines do not yet apply to you, although the underlying repairing and fitness duties above still do. If you are in fact renting from a housing association or the council, Awaab’s Law does apply and gives you tight timescales: significant damp and mould must be investigated within ten working days of being reported and made safe within five working days of the investigation finishing, with alternative accommodation offered if the landlord cannot meet those deadlines.

Is it the landlord’s problem or “lifestyle”?

Landlords and agents frequently claim that mould is caused by the tenants, for example through drying washing indoors, not ventilating, or not heating the property enough. Before you assume wrongdoing or a clear breach, it is worth identifying what is actually causing the damp, because the answer affects your remedy.

Penetrating damp (water getting in through walls or the roof), rising damp (moisture rising from the ground where there is no or a failed damp-proof course) and damp from plumbing leaks are structural problems that are the landlord’s responsibility to fix. Persistent black mould in a property with inadequate ventilation, single-glazed windows with no trickle vents, no working extractor fans, or cold uninsulated walls is very often a building defect (condensation caused by the design or condition of the property) rather than genuine tenant fault, and courts increasingly treat this as the landlord’s responsibility.

Pure lifestyle condensation, where the building is otherwise sound and adequately ventilated but the occupiers generate a lot of moisture and do not ventilate at all, can in principle be the tenants’ issue. In practice, though, if there are no or broken extractor fans, poor heating, or no way to ventilate without letting in cold or damp, the landlord cannot simply blame you. The distinction matters, so try to identify the likely cause honestly, because it shapes how strong your position is.

Gather evidence

Whatever the cause, good evidence is what makes your complaint effective and protects you if there is a dispute later.

1. Take clear, dated photographs and videos of all the affected areas, including inside cupboards, behind furniture, around windows and in corners.

2. Keep a short diary noting when the mould appeared, whether it returns after cleaning, any leaks, and any effect on health or belongings.

3. Note the condition of extractor fans, window vents, heating and insulation, and whether they work.

4. Keep every message to and from the landlord or agent in writing. If you have spoken to them by phone, follow up by email summarising what was said.

5. If anyone in the house has health problems made worse by the mould, keep a record and any relevant note from a GP, as this strengthens both a complaint and any claim for compensation.

Report it properly to the landlord or agent

Your landlord’s legal repairing duty is generally triggered once they are given notice of the problem, so you must report it clearly and in writing. Email or write to the landlord and letting agent describing exactly where the damp or mould is, when it started, what you think is causing it if you know, and ask them to inspect and carry out repairs within a reasonable time. Attach the photographs. Keep a copy.

Be specific about what you want, for example an inspection, identification and repair of the cause (not just painting over the mould), and any necessary works such as fixing a leak, installing or repairing extractor fans, or dealing with rising or penetrating damp. Simply cleaning or repainting without addressing the cause is not a proper repair, and you are entitled to point that out.

If the landlord does not act

If the landlord ignores you, delays unreasonably, or only papers over the problem, you have several escalating options.

Complain to the letting agent’s redress scheme. If a letting agent manages the property, they must belong to a government-approved redress scheme (either the Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme). You can complain to the scheme after exhausting the agent’s own complaints procedure. This is free and can produce an award of compensation and an order to act.

Contact your local council’s environmental health team. This is often the single most effective route for private tenants. The council can inspect under the HHSRS and, if the damp and mould is a serious (category 1) hazard, they have a duty to take enforcement action, which can include serving an improvement notice requiring the landlord to fix it by a deadline. Councils have strong powers here, and this costs you nothing. Search for your council’s name plus “report a private rented housing complaint” or “environmental health damp”.

Consider retaliatory eviction protection. Many students worry that complaining will lead to eviction. Where you have a fixed term, the landlord generally cannot evict you during it except on specific grounds. For assured shorthold tenancies, the Deregulation Act 2015 gives some protection against so-called retaliatory (revenge) eviction: if you have made a legitimate written complaint about disrepair and the council serves a relevant notice, a section 21 no-fault eviction notice served within six months can be invalid. Note that the law in this area is changing significantly with the Renters’ Rights reforms, which are set to abolish section 21 no-fault evictions, so the exact protections depend on timing.

Court action for repairs and compensation

If informal routes and the council do not resolve it, you can bring a claim in the county court for a court order requiring the landlord to carry out the works (an order for specific performance) and for compensation for the disrepair and any damage to your belongings and health, and for the reduced value of living in an unfit home. You can rely on both section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.

Before issuing, you would normally follow the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims, which involves sending a detailed letter of claim, giving the landlord a chance to inspect and to agree to a single joint expert surveyor, and only litigating if that fails. Court action is powerful but slower, more stressful and carries litigation risk and cost, so it is usually a last resort after the council and any redress scheme have been tried. For a student let with a limited remaining term, the practical value of a repairs order may be limited, but a compensation claim for the period you have lived with the problem can still be worthwhile.

Rent, repairs and what not to do

Do not simply stop paying rent because of the disrepair. Withholding rent without following the correct legal process can put you in arrears and expose you to eviction and a claim against you, which is a particular risk where there is a joint tenancy and guarantors, as is common with students. There is a limited lawful procedure allowing a tenant to carry out repairs and offset the cost against rent, but it has strict steps (formal notice, quotes, and a proper opportunity for the landlord to act), so take care before relying on it.

Watch the joint tenancy point. In most student houses everyone is jointly and severally liable, and often parents have signed as guarantors. That means responsibilities and any rent risk are shared, but it also means you are stronger acting together. It is far more effective for all the housemates to report and pursue the problem jointly, in one set of correspondence.

If the property is a house in multiple occupation

If five or more of you from more than one household share the house, it is likely a large house in multiple occupation (HMO) requiring a licence, and even smaller shared houses may need a licence under local schemes. Licensed HMOs carry additional management and safety obligations on the landlord, and letting an unlicensed HMO is an offence. If your council confirms the property should be licensed and is not, this both strengthens your position and can, in some cases, allow you to apply for a rent repayment order to recover rent you have paid. It is worth checking the licensing position with your council.

Practical next steps

1. Photograph and document everything now, and start a short dated log.

2. Report the damp and mould to the landlord and agent in writing, describe it precisely, attach photos, and ask them to inspect and fix the underlying cause within a reasonable time (for something serious, around fourteen days is reasonable to at least inspect and start acting).

3. If nothing happens, contact your council’s environmental health team and ask them to inspect under the HHSRS, and complain to the agent’s redress scheme if an agent is involved.

4. Check whether the house needs an HMO licence and whether it has one.

5. Keep all correspondence, and only consider court action, following the Pre-Action Protocol, if these routes fail.

6. Speak to your students’ union or university accommodation advice service, as many run free housing advice for exactly this situation and can help you deal with the landlord.

Key facts that would sharpen the advice

The strongest advice depends on a few details: whether your landlord is private, a housing association or the council; whether an agent manages the property; the likely cause of the damp (leak, rising or penetrating damp, or condensation linked to poor ventilation and heating); how many of you share the house and whether it is or should be a licensed HMO; how long is left on your tenancy; and whether anyone’s health is being affected. If you tell me these, I can give you more targeted guidance and, if you want, help you draft the written complaint to the landlord or council.