Damp and Mould Services for Landlords in Liverpool

What are a private landlord’s responsibilities for damp and mould?

This is a summary, not legal advice, but several pieces of law and guidance overlap:

• HHSRSThe Housing Health and Safety Rating System, under the Housing Act 2004, lists 29 hazards. Damp and mould growth is one of them, and councils can take enforcement action where a serious hazard is found.
• Fitness for habitationThe Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 lets tenants take action if a home is not fit to live in, and dampness is one of the listed matters.
• Repairing dutiesSection 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 makes landlords responsible for repairs to the structure and exterior, including gutters, drains, and the supply of water, heating and sanitation.
• Government guidanceThe 2023 guidance on the health risks of damp and mould tells housing providers to tackle underlying causes, not to wait for medical evidence before acting, not to blame tenants’ lifestyle and to re-inspect after works.

For questions about your legal position, speak to a solicitor, your landlord association or the private sector housing team at your local council. Tenants can get independent advice from Shelter or the council.

Is Awaab’s Law coming to private rented homes?

Awaab’s Law already applies to social landlords, with fixed timescales to investigate and fix significant damp and mould hazards; our social housing and Awaab’s Law page covers those duties. For private landlords, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 gives the government power to extend similar requirements to private rented tenancies. On 9 October 2026 the government opened a consultation, “Extending Awaab’s Law to private rented tenancies and to licences”, which closes at 11:59pm on 18 December 2026. The proposed requirements and start date for private landlords are not yet set, so check the latest GOV.UK guidance. Acting promptly and keeping clear records is good practice whatever the final rules say.

What happens when you call us about a rented property?

1. We talk it through. We ask where the damp or mould is, how long it has been there, which rooms are affected, whether it gets worse in winter, and whether anyone in the home is vulnerable, such as young children, older people or anyone with asthma or other breathing problems.
2. We arrange access. We can arrange the visit with you, your agent or directly with the tenant, giving the notice you need.
3. We inspect. We look at the affected rooms, take moisture and humidity readings, check extractor fans, trickle vents and heating, and look outside for obvious causes such as gutters, downpipes, leaks and ground levels.
4. We explain the cause. You get a plain-English explanation of what is causing the problem and a written quote for the work.
5. We do the work. Mould is cleaned off and treated, contaminated materials are removed where needed, and the cause is tackled, whether that is ventilation, repairs or damp treatment.
6. We record it. We provide written notes with photos of what we found and what was done, which you can keep with your property records.

What usually causes mould in rented homes?

In our experience across Merseyside, the most common causes are not tenant behaviour but the building and its equipment. Bathroom fans that are missing, broken or too weak for the room; kitchens with no working extract; trickle vents painted shut or missing from replacement windows; cold external walls in back extensions; and heating that is expensive to run or hard to control all raise the risk of condensation. Leaks from gutters, roofs and plumbing, and rising or penetrating damp in older solid-wall houses, cause the rest.

Everyday life produces moisture, from cooking, showering, drying clothes and simply breathing. A home should be able to cope with that. Where it cannot, the fix is usually better ventilation, such as an extractor fan sized to the room or a positive input ventilation unit, combined with professional black mould removal. All electrical work is done by qualified electricians and notified under Part P.

Do landlords get written reports?

Yes. Records help you show what was reported, when it was inspected, what was found and what was done. After each visit we can provide written notes with dated photos of the affected areas, readings taken, the likely cause and the work carried out or recommended. We can send them to you, your agent or both. We cannot say how any council, court or tribunal will view a record, but clear notes make it much easier to manage a repair and to show what happened.

Where you want to keep an eye on a property after works, our humidity and mould monitoring can show whether moisture levels have settled. The 2023 guidance encourages re-inspecting after remedial work, and we can book a follow-up visit.

Rented homes across Liverpool and Merseyside

We work with landlords who own single houses and those with larger portfolios. Common jobs include Victorian terraces let to families or sharers in Kensington, older terraces close to the docks in Kirkdale, and converted flats in Birkenhead, where one flat’s leak or poor ventilation can affect another. If your property is managed by an agent, our letting agent damp services page explains how we work with them.

Whatever the property, the approach is the same as all our damp and mould specialists for Liverpool homes work: find the cause, fix it, and put it in writing.

What affects the cost for landlords?

Costs depend on the size of the affected area, the cause (condensation, leaks or rising or penetrating damp), whether materials need removing, the amount of plaster to replace, ventilation equipment and electrical work, drying time and redecoration, and whether written reports or follow-up visits are needed. We quote in writing before work starts.