How to report mould to your landlord
A good first report is short, dated, specific and written. It names the room, describes what you can see, says when you noticed it and who lives in the home, and asks for an inspection. This guide gives you the template, the three photographs to attach, and what a proper response should look like.
In short
Report mould in writing to the landlord or agent named on your tenancy agreement, with the date, the room, a plain description, when you first noticed it, any household member with a health condition, three dated photographs, and a request for an inspection with dates you can do. Keep a copy. The written report is what starts any legal timescale and what every later step relies on.
- Private tenants (including through a letting agent)
- Council and housing association tenants
- Lodgers and licensees can use the same format, though their legal rights differ
- Find the correct contact in your tenancy agreement or the agent's repairs email
- Write the report using the template below and attach three photographs
- Send it in a way that leaves a record: email or portal, or a letter you keep a copy of
- Note the date sent in your case file
- Follow up in writing if you have no reply within a week, sooner if anyone is unwell
- UK-wide. The report format is the same everywhere; what happens afterwards differs by nation and tenure (see the Awaab's Law hub for England and Scotland).
- A report describes what you can see; it does not diagnose the cause and should not try to
- If you only telephone, you may have no proof of the date
- Template wording is a starting point, not legal advice
Create a dated record before you send the report, then keep the reply and follow-up attached to the same case.
Start a dated case freeWho to send it to
Use the repairs contact in your tenancy agreement or the agent's repairs email or portal. If you rent from a council or housing association, use their repairs line and follow up with the online form or email so there is a written trace. If you are not sure who your landlord is, you are entitled to ask the agent for the landlord's name and address in writing.
What to include
- The address and the room or rooms affected.
- What you can see, in plain words: colour, roughly how big, where on the wall or ceiling, whether the surface is wet.
- When you first noticed it, and whether it has grown or come back after cleaning.
- Anything you think is relevant: a window that will not open, an extractor that does not work, a leak, a previous repair.
- Who lives in the home, and any breathing condition, young children, older people or pregnancy.
- A request for an inspection, with two or three dates and times you can do.
- Three photographs: wide, medium, close-up. Date them in the filename or in the message.
Template
Copy, edit, send
Subject: Damp and mould report, [address], [room]. Dear [landlord or agent], I am writing to report damp and mould at [address]. In the [room] there is [description: e.g. black mould on the external wall behind the wardrobe, about 40 cm across], which I first noticed on [date]. [It has grown since / It came back after I cleaned it on [date].] [The extractor fan does not work / The window does not open / There is a smell of damp.] [Name] who lives here has [asthma / is under two / is 78], so please treat this as urgent. Please arrange an inspection; I am available on [dates]. Three photographs are attached. Please confirm receipt in writing. Yours sincerely, [name], [phone], [date].
The three photographs
A wide shot places the problem in the room: the whole wall, the floor and any window or radiator. A medium shot shows the affected area with something for scale, such as a hand or a ruler. A close-up shows the growth itself. Take them in daylight with the flash off if you can, and keep the originals. Our guide on photographing mould evidence covers what makes a photograph useful and what weakens it.
What a proper response looks like
You should get an acknowledgement, then an inspection date, then a written explanation of what was found and what will be done. In social housing in England, Awaab's Law fixes those steps in working days; in Scotland the same shape of duties applies to all landlords from 6 October 2026. Elsewhere, a reasonable time is judged against the severity and the household.
If the response is a lecture about opening windows and nothing else, reply in writing asking for the inspection and for the cause to be identified. Keep that reply too.
Chasing without escalating yet
If a week passes with no reply, send a short follow-up that quotes the date of the first report and asks again for an inspection. Two written contacts with no response is the point at which most complaints procedures let you make a formal complaint, and it is where our guide on a landlord ignoring mould picks up.
Keep everything in one place
The report, the photographs, every reply and every visit belong on one dated timeline. Stop The Mould's Free Case Check turns your photographs and answers into a structured result, and the Evidence Pack keeps the whole record, with a ready-to-send landlord message and a secure read-only share link that can be opened without an account. An approved landlord or housing-provider account can attach that shared case before writing into it.
Frequently asked questions
In writing, or by phone followed by writing. The written report is the proof of the date, and the date is what the timescales run from.
You must give reasonable access for inspections and repairs, normally with at least 24 hours' notice at a reasonable time. Offering dates in your report makes access easy to arrange and easy to prove you offered.
Report it anyway, to your landlord or the building's managing agent, and say where you think the water is coming from. Leaks from a neighbouring property are still the landlord's or freeholder's responsibility to investigate.
Yes. Use their repairs portal or email if they have one, so the report sits in their system with a date.
From first photo to clear action.
Upload photos, record what's happened and build one clear damp and mould case file you can use with your landlord, council, adviser or for your own records.