Tenants & Landlords · Updated July 2026
Damp and mould stopped being a grey area of housing law. Landlords in England now face some of the clearest legal duties they’ve ever had — including, for social landlords, fixed deadlines with the force of law behind them. Here’s who is responsible for what in 2026, in plain English.
This guide covers England, where the recent changes apply (housing law differs in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). It’s general information rather than legal advice — for a specific dispute, get advice from a housing adviser, Citizens Advice or a solicitor.
The short answer
Your landlord must keep the structure and exterior of the home in repair and keep it fit for human habitation — which the law says includes freedom from serious damp. If damp comes from disrepair, a structural defect, or the building itself (a leaking roof, failed pointing, a bridged damp-proof course, inadequate ventilation), fixing the cause is the landlord’s job.
You, the tenant, must use the home reasonably — heat it, ventilate where you actually can, and report problems promptly. Reporting in writing matters: most legal duties start from the moment the landlord knows.
And condensation mould is not automatically your fault. More on that below, because it’s the single most common dispute — and the guidance now takes the tenant’s side more than most people realise.
The three laws that protect tenants in England
1. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (section 11). The long-standing duty: landlords must keep the structure and exterior in repair, along with installations for water, heating and sanitation. If damp comes from disrepair — a leaking gutter, a cracked render, a broken extractor — this is the law that makes fixing it the landlord’s problem, within a reasonable time of being told.
2. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. This closed the classic loophole. Some damp isn’t “disrepair” — nothing is broken; the building was simply built without adequate ventilation or insulation. The 2018 Act requires the home to be fit for human habitation throughout the tenancy, and freedom from damp is explicitly part of that test. It applies to both private and social tenancies, and tenants can enforce it directly through the courts.
3. Awaab’s Law. The newest and sharpest of the three — fixed, legally enforceable deadlines, introduced after the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak from prolonged mould exposure in his social housing flat. It currently applies to social landlords in England, and it changed the game enough to deserve its own section.
Awaab’s Law: the deadlines, correctly stated
Awaab’s Law has been in force for the social rented sector since 27 October 2025. Once a social landlord becomes aware of a potential hazard, a legal clock starts. For damp and mould, the deadlines are:
If the home can’t be made safe within those timescales, the landlord must offer suitable alternative accommodation at its own expense until it is. Landlords must also keep records of everything — and if a tenant’s landlord misses these deadlines, the tenant can take legal action for breach of contract, because Awaab’s Law writes these duties directly into the tenancy agreement.
It’s arriving in phases. Phase 1 (live now) covers emergency hazards plus significant damp and mould. Phase 2 lands in October 2026 — three months from now — extending the same deadline framework to excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire, electrical and hygiene hazards. Phase 3 follows in 2027, covering the remaining hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. For the full detail, timescales and compliance requirements, see our complete guide to Awaab’s Law and the Phase 2 changes explained.
Does it cover private renting? Not yet. The Renters’ Rights Act contains the provisions to extend Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector, but at a later date — on current expectations, not before 2027. Private tenants aren’t unprotected in the meantime: the two Acts above still apply, and the council can inspect and order works. Private landlords who want to get ahead of it should read our guide to Awaab’s Law for private landlords.
“It’s condensation — it’s your lifestyle”
This is the most common line in damp disputes, and it no longer works the way some landlords think. The government’s own Awaab’s Law guidance explicitly tells social landlords not to assume damp and mould are caused by tenant “lifestyle factors” — a direct response to years of mould being blamed on drying washing indoors while the real contributors went uninvestigated.
The honest technical picture: condensation mould almost always has both behavioural and building-related contributors. Yes, moisture from cooking, washing and drying clothes matters. But whether that moisture becomes mould depends on things tenants don’t control — ventilation provision, insulation, cold bridging, heating adequacy. A tenant can’t ventilate with extractors that don’t exist, and can’t warm cold external walls the building fails to insulate.
Which is why the answer to “whose fault is it?” is a proper investigation, not an assumption in either direction. The cause of damp is a diagnostic question — rising, penetrating and condensation damp look similar and get confused constantly, including by people paid not to look too hard.
If you’re a tenant: how to report and escalate
Report it in writing — email or your landlord’s portal, with photos and dates. The legal clocks start when the landlord becomes aware, and writing proves when that was. Keep everything. Then allow access: landlords need to inspect to comply, and refusing reasonable access weakens your position.
If nothing happens: use the landlord’s formal complaints process first. Social tenants can then escalate to the Housing Ombudsman, which now takes Awaab’s Law breaches seriously. Private tenants can ask the council’s environmental health team to inspect — councils can order landlords to carry out works. And under both the 1985 and 2018 Acts, tenants in either sector can ultimately take court action for repairs and compensation. If your health is being affected, tell your GP and say it’s housing-related — medical records carry real weight in these cases.
One thing not to do: stop paying rent. Withholding rent puts you in breach of your own tenancy and can lead to eviction proceedings even when the landlord is clearly in the wrong. Escalate through the routes above instead.
If you’re a landlord: what compliance actually looks like
The pattern in every case that goes wrong is the same: symptoms treated, causes ignored, nothing documented. The pattern in every defensible case is also the same: respond promptly, diagnose properly, fix the cause, document everything. Wiping mould off a wall and repainting is not remediation — if the moisture source remains, the mould returns, and now there’s a paper trail showing you knew.
Get the diagnosis from someone competent and accountable. An evidence-based survey — moisture readings, cause identified, written report — is what protects you if a case ever reaches the Ombudsman or a court, and it’s what stops you paying for the wrong fix twice. Every professional on our Find a Specialist register is independently vetted, insured and accountable to a Code of Conduct — and if you’re choosing a contractor for remedial work, our guide on how to choose a damp proofing company covers the checks that keep you off the wrong end of that paper trail.
Housing providers have the bigger job: Phase 2 in October 2026 multiplies the hazards on statutory clocks, and the Ombudsman expects staff who can recognise and triage damp and mould correctly. Our Awaab’s Law compliance checklist covers the process side, and we deliver damp and mould training programmes for housing associations and councils — including teams at Newcastle, Manchester and Thanet councils — to build that competence in-house.
Get the cause diagnosed properly
Whichever side of the tenancy you’re on, everything in this article starts with one thing: knowing what’s actually causing the damp. Start with the free checker, or go straight to an independently vetted specialist.
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