Winter Landlord Guide — Damp, Mould and Your Legal Obligations This Winter

October 6, 2026|V-TUF

Winter is when damp and mould complaints spike in rental properties. The combination of closed windows, more moisture from cooking and showering, colder external surfaces and reduced ventilation creates the conditions that lead to condensation and mould. For landlords, this is not just a maintenance issue — it is now a legal compliance issue with real enforcement consequences.

This guide covers what you are legally required to do, how to get ahead of winter complaints before they escalate, and what good remediation looks like under the current framework.

What the law requires — right now

Awaab's Law — in force for social landlords

If you are a registered social landlord, Awaab's Law has been in force since October 2025. The timescales are not discretionary:

Investigate damp or mould within 14 days of a report
Provide a written remediation plan within a further 14 days
Begin emergency work within 24 hours
Complete urgent safety work within 5 working days

Phase 2 of Awaab's Law takes effect 30 November 2026 — just weeks away — extending the framework to additional hazard categories. If your maintenance and contractor relationships are not set up to meet these timescales in the middle of winter, now is the time to address that.

Full Awaab's Law guidance →

Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 — all landlords

This applies to both social and private landlords. A property that is seriously affected by damp or mould may be unfit for human habitation under this Act, giving tenants the right to take their landlord to court. A winter of documented complaints that were not properly addressed is exactly the kind of evidence that supports such a claim.

Renters' Rights Act 2025 — private landlords

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 introduced civil penalties of up to £7,000 for Category 1 housing hazards — which includes serious damp and mould. The extension of Awaab's Law-style timescales to the private rented sector is expected but not yet in force. The direction of travel is clear.

HHSRS 2026 — Indoor Air Pollutants

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System overhaul in June 2026 added Indoor Air Pollutants as Hazard 18 — formally scored and enforceable by Environmental Health Officers. Mould remediation that introduces biocidal chemicals without adequate ventilation can itself create an indoor air quality hazard.

Getting ahead of winter complaints

The most cost-effective approach is prevention. A tenant who reports mould in January after three months of it developing starts a legal clock. A landlord who has proactively checked properties and addressed ventilation issues before winter has a very different risk profile.

Pre-winter property checks

Check extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms are working and actually venting outside — not recirculating
Check trickle vents in windows are open and not blocked
Check loft insulation and any cold bridging on external walls — cold bridging is a common cause of persistent condensation spots
Check roof, gutters and any external pointing — water ingress from outside is a different problem to condensation and needs a different fix
If you had mould complaints last winter, revisit those properties first

Tenant communication

Sending tenants a brief winter advice note — covering ventilation, heating patterns, not drying clothes on radiators, and how to report damp or mould — is both useful for tenants and useful for you. If a complaint arises later and you can show you provided clear advice, that is relevant context. Make the reporting route clear and easy so you hear about problems early rather than late.

What good remediation looks like

When a damp or mould complaint comes in, the response that meets the current legal and regulatory standard is not a surface clean and repaint. The UK Centre for Mould Safety (UKCMS) Mould-Safe Code — which is becoming the benchmark housing associations and procurement frameworks are starting to specify — requires:

Identify and fix the moisture source — surface treatment without addressing the underlying cause means the mould will return and you will have a documented history of knowing about it
Use appropriate extraction equipment — under COSHH 2002, mould is a Hazard Group 2 biological agent. The contractors you commission must use H-Class extraction with H14 HEPA filtration during any vacuum cleaning of affected surfaces. A standard vacuum disperses mould spores into the air rather than capturing them.
Follow up — a check at least six weeks after remediation to confirm the mould has not returned. Document the outcome.
Document everything — the report, the investigation, the findings, the remediation plan, the work carried out and the follow-up inspection. Under Awaab's Law, this documentation is not optional.

Mould removal standards and UKCMS Mould-Safe Code →

Checking your contractors are compliant

If the contractors you use for mould remediation are not using H-Class extraction equipment, they are not carrying out compliant remediation under COSHH 2002. This creates a liability for you as well as for them — you commissioned the work and it was not done to the required standard. Worth asking your contractors directly what extraction equipment they use and whether it is H-Class certified.