Who is responsible for damp and mould?

Three different problems

They get treated as one thing and they are not, which is why the responsibility question gets muddled.

• Rising damp comes up through the structure where a damp proof course is missing, bridged or failed. Structural, and entirely the landlord's.
• Penetrating damp comes in through the fabric: failed pointing, a leaking gutter, a cracked roof tile, defective window seals. Also structural, also the landlord's.
• Condensation forms when warm moist air meets a cold surface and cannot escape. This is the contested one, and the honest answer is that it usually reflects the building as much as the occupants.

A tenant is not expected to diagnose which they have. Describe what you see and where, and let the landlord establish the cause.

What the landlord must do

In England, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act requires the property to be fit to live in throughout the tenancy, and damp and mould that makes it unfit engages that duty directly. Serious damp is also a recognised housing hazard that a local authority can enforce against.

In Scotland, the repairing standard applies throughout the tenancy and is enforced by the First-tier Tribunal, which can order works. Applying costs a tenant nothing.

In practice the landlord has to investigate the cause rather than treat the symptom. Painting over mould without addressing why it grew is not a repair, and it tends to be treated as evidence of inaction rather than action.

What the tenant should do

There are reasonable steps, and doing them strengthens your position rather than weakening it.

• Use extractor fans where they exist and work, and report them when they do not.
• Ventilate when cooking and washing, where the property allows it.
• Avoid drying laundry indoors on radiators if you have an alternative.
• Leave a gap behind large furniture on external walls.
• Heat the property to a reasonable level if you can afford to.

That last point matters. Where heating is unaffordable because the property is poorly insulated or the system is inefficient, that is a property problem, and the energy rating is part of the picture.

Why lifestyle is not a defence

The common response is that the tenant dries washing indoors or does not open windows enough. Sometimes there is something in it. It is rarely a complete answer.

The test is whether the property can cope with ordinary occupation. A home with no working extractor in the bathroom, single glazing, cold external walls and an expensive heating system will grow mould whoever lives in it. Ordinary living is the standard, not exceptional behaviour to compensate for the building.

Where a landlord does raise it, the constructive response is to ask what the property provides: is there a working extractor in the kitchen and bathroom, are the windows openable and functional, what is the insulation and energy rating, and when was the damp proof course last checked.

Reporting it so it counts

1. Report in writing, even after a phone call, so there is a dated record.
2. Photograph it, dated, and again as it spreads.
3. Say where it is and when it appears. Behind the wardrobe on the north wall, worse after showering, is far more useful than there is mould.
4. Say who lives there and whether anyone has a respiratory condition, because that changes how urgent it is.
5. Keep every reply, including the ones that blame you. If it goes further, that correspondence is your evidence.

Escalating

Complain to the agency in writing first, under its own procedure.

In England, escalate to the redress scheme if unresolved after eight weeks, and contact environmental health at the council where the property is genuinely unhealthy. The council route is faster where health is at risk and carries powers no scheme has.

In Scotland, apply to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, Housing and Property Chamber, for a repairing standard breach. It is free and it can order the work. A letting agent that handled the reports badly can also be taken to the same tribunal under the Letting Agent Code of Practice.

If you are worried that complaining could cost you your home, our post on eviction after complaining sets out what protection exists.