Damp, Mould and the £7,000 Fine for Landlords

Councils can now fine landlords up to £7,000 over serious damp and mould. What’s changed, what Awaab’s Law means, and what to do this winter.

RESIDENTIAL LANDLORDS

10/22/20264 min read

The heating goes on, the windows start to steam up, and the first "there's mould in the bedroom" message arrives. For landlords in England, how you respond to that message matters more this winter than it ever has.

Since June, councils have had a new power to fine landlords up to £7,000 over serious hazards, and damp and mould are among the most common. And earlier this month, the government opened a consultation on bringing Awaab's Law, with its strict repair deadlines, into private renting. Here's where things stand, and what to do about it.

Your repairing duties haven't changed

Start with what isn't new. Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, you're responsible for the structure and exterior of the property, and for the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water. On top of that, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 lets tenants take you to court themselves if a home is genuinely unfit to live in, including because of serious damp or mould.

What has changed is how councils assess a property, and what can happen if they find a serious problem.

What changed in June 2026

The system councils use to rate hazards in rented homes, the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), was overhauled on 23 June 2026. The aim was to make it simpler, not to raise the bar, but it does change how your property will be judged.

• Fewer hazards. The old list of 29 has been cut to 21, including damp and mould, excess cold, falls, fire and electrical hazards.

• Simpler scoring. The old A–J bands are now High, Medium and Low. A High score is a Category 1 hazard, which the council must act on.

• Clearer benchmarks. Councils now look for practical indicators, such as heating that can keep the main living area at 21°C (and other habitable rooms at 18°C) when it's minus 1°C outside, and no room with visible damp or mould on more than 5% of its walls or ceiling.

Those benchmarks aren't strict legal minimums, but falling short of one counts against the property in an assessment.

The £7,000 fine

Since 22 June 2026, if a council takes enforcement action over a Category 1 hazard, and it would have been reasonably practicable for you to deal with it, the council can also fine you up to £7,000.

What the council will look at

How long you knew about the problem, what you did about it, and whether the tenant gave you access to carry out repairs. In other words, the question isn't just whether there's mould. It's whether you can show you acted on it.

Awaab's Law: what's coming

Awaab's Law is named after Awaab Ishak, a child who died as a result of prolonged exposure to mould in a social housing property. It has applied in social housing since October 2025, setting legal deadlines for landlords to investigate and fix hazards once they're reported.

On 9 October 2026, the government opened a consultation on extending it to private renting. The proposals are starting points rather than final rules, and include:

• Investigating a potentially significant hazard within 10 working days of becoming aware of it

• Giving the tenant a written summary within 3 working days of the investigation finishing

• Making a significant hazard safe within 5 working days of the investigation finishing

• Dealing with emergency hazards within 24 hours

The proposals cover almost all of the 21 HHSRS hazards, not just damp and mould. No start date has been set, and the consultation closes on 18 December 2026.

Why it matters now

Even before any deadline becomes law, those timeframes give a clear sense of what "acting promptly" is likely to mean. If a council or court is weighing up how you handled a report, a landlord who investigated within days is in a far stronger position than one who took weeks.

Don't write it off as "lifestyle"

It's tempting to put mould down to washing dried indoors or windows kept shut. Sometimes that's part of it. But damp and mould are expected to be investigated, not dismissed, and the cause is often a mix of things: ventilation, heating, insulation or a leak.

The Awaab's Law consultation does propose that problems caused by the tenant should be excluded. But you'd still need to have investigated properly to show that, so the inspection comes first either way.

Five things to do before the cold sets in

• Respond fast. Acknowledge every damp or mould report in writing, ideally the same day, and arrange an inspection promptly.

• Keep dated records. Reports, replies, visits, photos, contractor invoices and any problems getting access.

• Check the heating. Could it get the living room to 21°C on a freezing day?

• Fix the cause, not just the patch. Look at leaks, ventilation and insulation, not only the mould on the wall.

• Clear the backlog. If you already know of an unresolved problem, deal with it now rather than waiting for a deadline to force your hand.

Want the full picture?

Repairs and property condition are covered in Chapter 9 of Still Compliant? The Insider Edge Guide to Residential Landlord Rights and Compliance in England, alongside possession, rent increases, deposits, the landlord register and the EPC deadline. Every rule is labelled by where it stands: already in force, confirmed but not yet live, or still proposed.

When the Awaab's Law timeframes for private renting are confirmed, we'll update the book, and buyers get the new edition free.

Get Still Compliant?

Sources:

• Extending Awaab's Law to private rented tenancies and to licences, consultation (GOV.UK) – https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/extending-awaabs-law-to-private-rented-tenancies-and-to-licences/extending-awaabs-law-to-private-rented-tenancies-and-to-licences

• The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (legislation.gov.uk) – https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/571/contents/made

This article is for general information only and reflects the position in England as at 22 October 2026. It is not legal, financial or professional advice. If you have a hazard, a disrepair claim or a council notice, take professional advice promptly.