By Richard Walker, National Technical and Development Manager at Peter Cox

This April, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitations) Act came into effect. The updated legislation allows tenants in England and Wales to pursue legal action against landlords who do not assist with damp, condensation or mould problems, amongst other housing issues. In fact, property owners are now legally obliged to ensure their properties meet the law’s ‘habitable standards’ in respect of 29 criteria, including adequate natural lighting and ventilation, as well as freedom from damp and condensation.

A study conducted by Rentokil Property Care and Peter Cox highlighted some of the issues that tenants have been facing in social as well as privately rented housing. The research found approximately 5.8 million renters have experienced damp and condensation issues and that of these, 2 million believe they have developed an illness as a result of their living conditions. The housing charity Shelter claims that around 1 million rented homes are not currently fit for human habitation, potentially affecting 2.5 million people in the UK.

In essence, the updated Homes Act formalises the building maintenance responsibilities of landlords and clarifies the legal rights of tenants living in properties deemed not ‘fit for human habitation’. All landlords (social, private or agents acting on their behalf) will have to ensure their properties are fit for human habitation from the start of the tenancy and throughout its duration.

Landlord responsibilities around water ingress

While some forms of water ingress and damp have an immediate effect (such as when flash flooding occurs), others, such as rising and penetrating damp, can take months or even years to make an appearance. Damp can come from either internal moisture sources or absorption from outside, leading to a build-up of excess water within a building. Damp takes three forms:

1. Rising damp

This can be caused by a number of issues including the lack or breakdown of a physical damp proof course, or the bridging of the damp course (for example from a raised flower bed or a patio positioned against a wall ‘bridges’ the damp proof course). If damp patches on walls appear on the external surface on wet days and disappear on dry days, this can indicate the presence of hygroscopic salts in the masonry, often as a consequence of rising damp. These pull in excess moisture out of the air and make the wall surface damp, but on sunny days the air is less humid, and the walls dry out. The same effect can occur internally as salt contaminated wall plaster hold moisture from the original rising damp problem but then partially dry out through evaporation – however there will be an underlying effect of more moisture rising up from the ground into the walls.

2. Penetrating damp

Penetrating damp refers to water entering a property by penetrating masonry walls. If your property is exposed to prevailing winds, rain can be driven into the masonry, which can then pass through solid walls to the plaster. Property defects such as cracked render, gaps around windows, defective ‘rainwater goods’ (guttering, downpipes etc…) and leaking roofs can lead to additional moisture entering a property. Un-capped chimney pots can allow rain to enter the chimney in sufficient quantities to cause damp patches on chimney breasts. Penetrating damp can also occur when groundwater passes through the basement or earth retaining walls into places like cellars for example.

3. Condensation

This is the consequence of the production of excessive moisture (humidity) within a building. Condensation is most common between October and April, when ventilation is reduced as windows are closed and there is a big difference in temperature between the interior and exterior of the home. Air only holds a certain amount of water before it ‘precipitates’ on cold surfaces as condensation, causing damp patches on colder external walls and in window reveals. Over time, this can lead to a build-up of Black Spot Mould. A family of four will on average produce 14 litres of water vapour each day, so keeping a house well ventilated is an important step in preventing condensation.

While tenants can take much of the action required in order to reduce the impact of condensation, landlords can facilitate adequate ventilation in properties. In the joint Rentokil Property Care and Peter Cox study, over two fifths (44%) of renters reported having no extractor fan in the bathroom, and a further 31% said the bathroom had no window either. Additionally, over a third (34%) of tenants reported having no reliable central heating, exacerbating the process by which airborne moisture forms condensation on cold surfaces.

Ensuring tenants are aware of the causes of condensation and damp will go a long way into preventing it from ever becoming a significant issue. Drying clothes in unventilated areas can impact the experience renters have with condensation, damp and mould. In the same study, tenants indicated that they regularly dry their clothes on radiators (30%), with one in 10 admitting they do this all the time. While this is often the only option in the absence of a tumble dryer or an outside clothes line, a radiator used to dry clothes will generate excessive humidity and if the room is not ventilated properly it can lead to condensation mould. However, venting the room loses valuable heat, making drying clothes on radiators even less of an effective method. One in 10 (12%) of renters also dry their clothes in the bathroom by suspending on the shower rail over the bath. If ventilation is not present, the water vapour released from the drying clothes will condense on cold surfaces and lead to mould growth.

Fit for happy habitation 

Adequate maintenance of a property requires the combined effort of both tenants and landlords. Good communication is imperative: tenants must be able to notify landlords of any issues so that they be resolved in a timely manner. It is also important for landlords to spread awareness of tenant activity which may undermine building maintenance and interior living conditions.

With respect to the threat of legal action, the majority of landlords who currently fulfil their duties will be unaffected by the Acts’ amendments. Though it’s new, it doesn’t change any property standards or provide additional regulation, but it does allow tenants the ability to enforce existing standards that landlords are expected to meet.

The act will only be applied for new tenancies that start from 20th March 2019, with the act coming into force for all secured or assured tenancies, regardless of when their tenancy began from 20th March 2020. The Act extends to England and Wales but its practical changes are only for England.