Can they charge me for mould or damage to the outside walls?

The outside of the building is your landlord’s job

Your landlord has to keep the structure and outside of your home in repair, including drains, gutters and outside pipes.¹ In a flat, this can cover the walls and roof of the whole building, where your landlord owns them.² The standard of repair takes account of the home’s age, character and where it is.³

Your tenancy agreement can’t make you repair the structure or outside, paint, point or render the walls, or pay money towards repairs instead.⁴ Any clause that tries to limit your landlord’s repair duties is void.⁵

A landlord or agent can’t charge you, or use your deposit, for damage or repairs you’re not responsible for.⁶ You’re responsible for damage caused by you, your family or friends.⁷

The repair duty doesn’t make your landlord rebuild after a fire, storm or flood.⁸ That doesn’t make the damage your cost unless you, your family or friends caused it.⁷

Damp from outside, or condensation?

There are different kinds of damp:

Penetrating damp: water getting in from outside through faults in the walls, roof, windows or floors.⁹
Rising damp: moisture from the ground rising through walls and floors. It’s usually found in older buildings.¹⁰
Condensation: moisture from inside the home settling on cold surfaces, like window frames, corners and walls behind furniture. This is the most common kind.¹¹

Whatever the kind of damp, landlords are legally responsible for dealing with damp and mould, according to government guidance.¹² Signs that the cause is outside include damaged or blocked gutters and downpipes, windows that don’t close properly, and cracks in the render.¹³

Condensation isn’t automatically your fault

Cooking, showering and drying washing all make moisture. Government guidance says it is “totally unreasonable” to blame damp and mould on “lifestyle choices”. It says the underlying cause will be problems with the building, poor ventilation, poor heating or poor energy efficiency, not normal daily life.¹⁴ You can’t be expected to keep moisture down if your home doesn’t let you.¹⁵

Your part is to take reasonable steps: ventilate, keep the home clean, and report problems early.¹⁶ Simple things help, like using extractor fans, keeping furniture slightly away from outside walls, covering pans and opening windows now and then.¹⁷

Can they take it from my deposit?

Only if they can prove it. In a deposit dispute, the landlord has to prove their claim. You don’t have to prove yours.¹⁸

For condensation mould, the landlord needs evidence that it happened because you didn’t meet your responsibilities, for example by not ventilating enough.¹⁹
The cause should be checked by an expert. Damp and mould can come from poor ventilation, poor insulation or a fault in the building. Adjudicators aren’t qualified to judge the cause themselves.²⁰
Damp or mould that was already there should be recorded on the check-in report before you move in.²¹
If they repaint, the landlord can’t end up better off than at the start of the tenancy, allowing for fair wear and tear.²² Where something has to be replaced, adjudicators may split the cost by its age and expected life.²³

What deposit adjudicators have decided

Two case studies published by mydeposits, one of the government-backed deposit schemes:

The tenant reported mould, and got the whole deposit back. The landlord’s decorator blamed the tenant for drying clothes on radiators. But the tenant had reported the mould by email and kept emailing as it got worse, the agent never came back to inspect it, and the decorator wasn’t qualified to judge the cause.²⁴
Mould in the bathroom wasn’t the tenant’s fault, but unreported bedroom mould was partly theirs. Bathroom mould was there at check-in and the broken extractor fan had been reported, so the tenant paid nothing for it. But the tenant hadn’t reported the mould in the bedroom, which let it get worse, so they had to pay part of the cost of redecorating that room.²⁵

Report mould in writing as soon as you see it. If you don’t, you could end up paying part of the cost even when you didn’t cause it.²⁶

What to do

At check-in, check walls and ceilings, especially behind furniture and in corners. Make sure any damp, mould, flaking paint or stains are on the check-in report, with dated photos.²⁷
Report damp and mould in writing as soon as you see it, with dates, photos and a description. Ask when it will be inspected and fixed, and chase it if you hear nothing in 14 days.²⁸ Use the repair letter.
If nothing happens, contact the council. See how to get repairs done.
Keep copies of every email and photo. They show when you reported it and what you were told.²⁹
If they deduct money for mould or the outside walls, ask for the check-in and check-out reports, the photos, and any expert report on the cause. If you don’t agree, use your deposit scheme’s free dispute service.³⁰ Use the letter for disputing deductions, and see who has to prove what.

For more on getting repairs done, see can my landlord ignore damp, mould or repairs?

References

Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, s. 11(1)(a). to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes) ↩
Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, s. 11(1A). the reference in paragraph (a) of that subsection to the dwelling-house included a reference to any part of the building in which the lessor has an estate or interest ↩
Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, s. 11(3). In determining the standard of repair required by the lessor’s repairing covenant, regard shall be had to the age, character and prospective life of the dwelling-house and the locality in which it is situated. ↩
Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, s. 11(4)–(5). A covenant by the lessee for the repair of the premises is of no effect so far as it relates to the matters mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (c), including a covenant (b)to paint, point or render, (c)to pay money in lieu of repairs by the lessee, or (d)to pay money on account of repairs by the lessor. ↩
Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, s. 12(1). is void in so far as it purports— (a)to exclude or limit the obligations of the lessor or the immunities of the lessee under that section ↩
Health and safety advice for private tenants. Brighton & Hove City Council. A landlord or agent cannot charge you or use your tenancy deposit to pay for damages or repairs you are not responsible for. ↩
Private renting: your rights and responsibilities. GOV.UK. repair or pay for any damage caused by you, your family or friends ↩ ↩²
Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, s. 11(2)(b). The repair duty doesn’t require the landlord to rebuild or reinstate the premises in the case of destruction or damage by fire, or by tempest, flood or other inevitable accident. ↩
Understanding and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Department of Health and Social Care and UK Health Security Agency, updated 1 April 2026. Penetrating damp is water that gets into the building from outside due to defects in the walls, roofs, windows or floors. ↩
Understanding and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home, Understanding damp and mould. Rising damp is moisture from the ground that rises up through parts of the buildings in contact with the ground (walls and floors); it is usually found in older properties ↩
Understanding and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home, Understanding damp and mould. Condensation damp happens when moisture generated inside the home cools and condenses onto colder parts of the buildings (for example window frames, corners and low points on walls behind sofas or wardrobes). This is the most common form of damp. ↩
Understanding and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home, Understanding damp and mould. Irrespective of the type of damp (condensation, penetrating, rising or traumatic), landlords are legally responsible for addressing damp and mould ↩
Understanding and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home, Internal and external checks. External checks: damaged or blocked pipes, gutters or downpipes broken seals around windows or ill-fitting windows that do not close fully visible structural or facade defects, such as cracks in render or the foundation, missing or broken roof finishes ↩
Understanding and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home, Working with tenants. We are absolutely clear that it is totally unreasonable to blame damp and mould in the home on ‘lifestyle choices’. It is unavoidable that everyday tasks, such as cooking, bathing, washing and drying laundry will contribute to the production of indoor moisture. With this in mind, the fundamental cause of damp and mould will be due to building deficiencies, inadequate ventilation, inadequate heating and/or poor energy efficiency, not tenants’ normal domestic activities ↩
Understanding and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home, Working with tenants. Tenants cannot be expected to reduce moisture levels if their home does not enable them to do so. ↩
Understanding damp, mould and condensation. mydeposits. Tenant’s duty: Take reasonable steps to ventilate and maintain cleanliness. Report issues early to prevent escalation. ↩
Understanding and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home, Addressing condensation. leaving a gap between furniture and external walls, using extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms, closing internal doors when they cook or shower, covering pans when cooking, drying laundry outdoors (if possible) and opening windows periodically. ↩
Deposits, disputes and damages (PDF). Joint guide by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, Deposit Protection Service and mydeposits, 2017. p. 5. the onus is on them to prove they have a legitimate claim to a share of the deposit, whilst the tenant has no obligation to prove their position. ↩
#AskTDS: “Can I claim for condensation damage?”. Tenancy Deposit Scheme. In order to support a claim for any decoration or damage that is believed to have been caused by condensation, the landlord would need to evidence that this issue was a result of the tenant not abiding by their responsibilities relating to maintaining the property, such as not sufficiently ventilating the property. ↩
Resolution case study: damp and mould. mydeposits. Where there is an issue such as mould, the landlord is responsible for showing that it was caused by something the tenant did or did not do, which should be objectively assessed by a specialist with expertise in this area. Damp/mould can occur through a lack of ventilation, insulation and/or a structural defect, and adjudicators are not qualified to assess the root cause. ↩
#AskTDS: “Can I claim for condensation damage?”. Tenancy Deposit Scheme. When the inventory report is carried out, the clerk should clearly detail the condition of all areas of the property, including walls and ceilings. This means that any symptoms of existing condensation, mould or damp should be raised prior to the tenancy commencing. ↩
Deposits, disputes and damages, p. 17. the landlord should not end up, either financially or materially, in a better position than they were at start of the tenancy, or than they would have otherwise been at the end of the tenancy after having allowed for fair wear and tear. ↩
Deposits, disputes and damages, p. 19. the most appropriate remedy might be replacement and to apportion costs according to the age and useful lifespan of the item. ↩
Deposit dispute case study: damp and mould. mydeposits. the report that followed this visit said that the tenant was drying clothes on radiators and not ventilating the property effectively … the tenant continued to email the agent and due to no follow up visits by the agent on behalf of their landlord client, or any mid-term inspection reports, the problem was allowed to get worse through no fault of the tenant … the contractor employed to assess the issue was not suitably qualified to carry out a detailed analysis of the likely cause … the deposit was refunded in full to the tenant ↩
Resolution case study: damp and mould. mydeposits. mould was there at the start and mid-term property visits reported on the slow spread of the spots … the extractor fan was not working and had been reported early in the tenancy. … meant that the tenant was not found responsible and no award was made. … the adjudicator decided that the tenant not reporting the problem had allowed it to escalate, resulting in increased costs for the landlord. For this reason, it was reasonable for the tenant to contribute to the work required. ↩
Resolution case study: damp and mould. mydeposits. While there was no specialist surveyor’s report to show whether there was any other cause, the tenant was found responsible for not reporting the issue. ↩
#AskTDS: “Can I claim for condensation damage?”. Tenancy Deposit Scheme. These symptoms could include issues such as blackening/spot marks to the paintwork and flaking paint. Dated photographs should also be included in pre-tenancy evidence. ↩
Understanding damp, mould and condensation. mydeposits. Notify your landlord or letting agent in writing (email preferred) Include dates, photos, and a clear description of the issue Request a timeline for inspection and repairs Follow up if you receive no reply within 14 days ↩
Deposits, disputes and damages, p. 13. These can be very helpful to the adjudicator, for example to establish dates when repairs were reported, when they were carried out ↩
Deposits, disputes and damages, p. 5. all deposit protection providers operate a free Dispute Resolution Service to decide how the deposit should be divided between them. ↩