What action can be taken when tenants fail to manage damp?

As soon as I’m aware of a problem I ask the tenant to watch a video on damp prevention and supply them with a dehumidifier and a hygrometer. I also offer to subsidise the electricity for a month or two until the damp is under control.
It shouldn’t be necessary, but at that point it’s cheaper and easier for me than dealing with the risk of black mold.
The government should recognise that 9 times out of 10 damp and mold are caused by tenants not knowing or understanding how to keep their homes healthy because the cure, windows open and heating on, doesn’t sound like the cheaper way to live and keep warm.

“Can we take action against recalcitrant tenants to enforce them to make remedies as required by the contract?”

Unlikely. If the actions required by the contract were “reasonable” and the tenant has refused multiple times to comply and the landlord had taken all possible steps to damp proof the property, such as installing PIV systems, condensing driers and dehumidifiers, then.. maybe. If the contract requirements are things like dont dry clothes indoors or open windows, then no chance. In fact the boot will be more likely on the other foot, with the landlord in the firing line.

the LL has to ensure the fabric of the property is not at fault and so ultimately not the root cause of any D&M issues.

The LL is not responsible for how the T lives in the property. If tenant action can be shown to the course of the resulting D&M, or indeed lack of tenant action to prevent D&M from forming in the first place, then the LL cannot be held to account.

The reality is its not about the D&M itself – its about the LL taking action when the cause could be structural and dealing with this in a timely manner.

D&M claims by the T need to be investigated – but if the cause is ultimately down to the T then there is very little you can do, but log, educate and keep reminding.

Councils themselves are finding out that tenant actions/inaction/lack of looking after the property properly is the biggest issue and they also have no way of controlling this.

Aawabs Law is set to cost millions, only to find that a lot of this is down to tenants not having a clue how to live in a property in the first place.

The wet damp weather so far this year is going to cause more issues very soon. No one has been ventilating enough….

LL checks should now include a record of the weather and temp outside and temp and humidity levels in each room inside. Also notes for the record are if the windows are open/air vents free/trickle vents not obstructed. A read of the gas and electric meter too for usage since the last inspection.

Reluctant landlord is absolutly correct. The first action on report of D/M is to investigate the fabric and not assume tenant problem. As an agent we responded to a complaint of M in a flat (owned by my parents) which had just been redecorated and was in excellent condition. My first reaction was their management but we put in an expert ( benifit of running a medium size agency was many favours from professionals) who highlighted a split down pipe (at rear of pipe so not noticeable) easy fix dehumidifier to tenants plus contribution to cost of power all sorted and because it was noted quickly minimal damage.
Always check first!!

Having been required to refurbish property due to tenants lifestyle choices and the condensation, so damp and mould that results, i would strongly advise against reliance on relevant tenancy agreement clauses alone. All of that goes into the torment of education, detection, enforcement and deposit claim inadequacy.

Much better to do avoidance of the conditions by automated ventilation that is not controlled by the tenants. Hydrostatic fan control wired into the mains electricity functions whenever required with no effort by the tenants.

So a mandatory fit to showers, bathrooms and toilets.
More expensive than the usual fan unit but worth every penny for peace of mind that the property condition is safeguarded. Utility rooms with washing machine or dryers are also relevant.
Modern kitchen extractors are also available to work automatically on air quality and humidity.
This hydrostatic automation is the logical solution for the forthcoming Law addressing damp and mould. Much cheaper than fixing a broken property.

Reply to the comment left by PAUL BARTLETT at 20/02/2026 – 00:41
I understand all of this, but, at what point does the tenant become actually responsible for how they use and look after the property they rent?

All this does is almost ensure that the LL is taking full responsibility for everything that happens in the property.

If we say that a property’s fabric is perfect (no leak from the outside inwards and no structural faults) then the reality is humidity/resulting condensation/lack of condensation removal etc is due to internal factors.

Taking ‘mitigation’ actions to deal with this as you suggest, takes away from the fact that the cause is attributable to the tenant.

If the cause is not related to the tenants action/in action, then by default if the house were empty the problem would not occur.

Reply to the comment left by Reluctant Landlord at 20/02/2026 – 09:10
Is it better for your business and state of mind to be right about defect attribution, or to avoid defects despite poor lifestyle choices?

I would prefer property resilience and business continuity..

Use of logging capabilities would also enable evidence of the tenants poor choices should you wish to have that conversation to address their tenancy agreement breaches. [Assuming that the imminent Damp and Mould law compliance results in new TA tenant responsibility to ventilate]

After May 26, Section 8 eviction will require that objective evidence of TA breach…

Agree with Paul B – recommend landlords install a remote data monitoring unit in the proerty, and see from the results of a short period the internal environment. Depending on the make, they measure temperature, humidity, CO2, air quality and (I think) draughts. The data says whether the condensation and mould is being caused by the property, or by the way it is being used. There cannot be much argument over who is at fault. This is important because where damage is being caused by insufficient heating and ventilation where both are provided, a tenant may not accept or admit that they don’t use them properly. In the absence of proof of that fact, as Paul B says, the landlord cannot establish a breach of tenancy. That assumes that your agreement containts a covenant by the tenant to ‘use the property in a tenant-like manner’ or similar. In an ideal world, an agreement might contain a duty to maintain the internal environment within certain parameters. No doubt that would be seen by some as too prescriptive but landlords need to protect themselves against Awaab’s Law being misused against them.

Reply to the comment left by PAUL BARTLETT at 20/02/2026 – 00:41
I am a bit confused…do you mean humidistat fan? I have those but haven’t heard of a hydrostatic fan…