How much compensation for damp and mould? (UK 2026)

Through the Housing Ombudsman, damp and mould compensation usually has two parts. The first is a payment for the impact on you, set in five bands: an apology with no payment, up to £100, up to £600, £600 or more where the impact was significant, and £1,000 or more where it was severe and long-term, with no upper limit. The second applies if a room could not be used for its normal purpose. The Ombudsman can then award a share of your weekly rent for each week it was out of use: 20% for a living room or bedroom and 30% for a kitchen or bathroom, capped at 100% of the rent. These rules come from the Ombudsman's compensation guidance, which has applied since 1 April 2026.

The rest of this page shows how those figures are worked out and what the Ombudsman has ordered in real cases. It also covers the other routes to compensation, including court, and where the £9.99 Tenant Action Pack fits in. This is information, not legal advice.

What you can claim for

There are three distinct categories of compensation, and most successful claims include elements of more than one:

Loss of amenity (sometimes called "rent refund")

Where a room could not be used for its intended purpose, the Housing Ombudsman uses the rent charged as a yardstick and awards a fixed percentage of the weekly rent for that room. This is compensation for loss of use. It is not a refund of rent.

Distress and inconvenience

Compensation reflects the impact on you: time and trouble, stress, loss of confidence, disruption to family life. This sits alongside any loss-of-amenity component, not instead of it. The Ombudsman's compensation guidance treats this as a distinct element of an award (see “How the Housing Ombudsman assesses compensation” below).

Special damages — out-of-pocket costs and belongings

Money you actually spent because of the damp and mould: ruined clothes or furniture, prescriptions, extra laundry, dehumidifier hire, alternative accommodation, travel to GP appointments. The Housing Ombudsman has limited jurisdiction over belongings claims and will often direct you to your landlord's insurer for those. Insurance is a separate, parallel route — see "The five routes to compensation" below (Route 1).

How the Housing Ombudsman works out compensation

Since 1 April 2026 the Ombudsman has applied its compensation guidance, “A New Era for Housing Compensation” (published 3 February 2026). It sets published figures for three things: loss of use of rooms, specific service failures such as loss of heating, and the overall impact on the resident.

Loss of use of a room (Section 7)

If a room could not be used for its intended purpose, the Ombudsman awards a percentage of the weekly rent for that room:

• It is a yes-or-no test for each room. The room either could not be used for its purpose or it could. A partly affected room that you could still use does not count.
• The total never goes above 100% of the rent.
• Hallways, landings, gardens and balconies are not included.
• The clock starts from the date you reported the problem plus a reasonable period for the repair, and stops when the repair is finished (or on the date of the decision, if it is still going on).
• If your landlord moved you into alternative accommodation, the Ombudsman will not also award rent-based compensation for that period.

Fixed amounts for specific failures (Appendix 1)

Some failures have set daily rates: £15 a day for complete loss of heating and hot water, £8 a day for loss of one of them, £10 a day for complete loss of power, £10 a week for loss of lighting only, and £15 for each appointment the landlord missed. If the landlord's own policy pays more, the Ombudsman uses the higher figure.

The impact on you (Appendix 3)

For distress, inconvenience, time and trouble, the Ombudsman picks one band for the whole case:

These are lump sums for the case. They are not monthly rates and they are not multiplied by anything.

What can push the award up

The guidance lists factors that can justify a higher band, including a mental health condition, young children, a disability, caring for a disabled dependant, or a history of the landlord mishandling things. They are not multipliers. Mention any that apply in your complaint.

What can bring it down

The award can be reduced if the resident did not communicate clearly, took a long time to tell the landlord about the problem, refused help to make a complaint, repeatedly refused reasonable access, or pursued the complaint in an unreasonable way.

What the Ombudsman will not pay for

The Ombudsman does not decide personal injury claims, which go to court. It generally sends claims for damaged belongings to insurance. It does not usually repay lost wages or solicitor's fees. It will not repay costs for work you paid for before the landlord had a chance to fix the problem. Any compensation it orders should not be set against rent arrears.

What the Ombudsman has actually ordered: six damp and mould decisions

These are published Housing Ombudsman decisions about damp and mould, all from 2026. We checked each figure against the decision on the Ombudsman's website. The decisions do not say which version of the compensation guidance was applied. Every amount is what the Ombudsman ordered in that case and depends on its facts. None of them predicts what you will get.

• Peabody Trust: the landlord did not act urgently on the leak and the damp and mould, and was slow to consider temporary accommodation.
• Notting Hill Genesis: the landlord did not properly investigate the cause of repeated leaks, and its interim repairs did not work.
• Clarion Housing Association: avoidable delays, gaps in records and poor communication held up work that could have reduced the mould.
• North Northamptonshire Council: the council was slow to investigate and fix the damp and mould and did not keep the resident updated.
• London Borough of Croydon: a leak caused long-running damp and mould, and the council took around ten months to start repairs.
• Moat Homes: the landlord missed the timescales in its own damp and mould policy. This decision predates the April 2026 guidance.

In these six decisions, the distress and inconvenience award for damp and mould ranged from £200 to £800. Larger totals came where a room or the whole home could not be used, or where the landlord's failures were severe. You can read more decisions on the Ombudsman's decisions page.

A worked example

This is an illustrative example, not a real case. Real outcomes depend on the facts, the rent, how long the problem lasted and the household.

A housing association tenant pays £120 a week in rent. They report black mould in a bedroom, and it gets so bad that nobody can sleep there. A child in the household has asthma. The landlord does not fix it, and after allowing a reasonable repair period the bedroom stays unusable for 30 weeks. The landlord's complaint response offers £250. The tenant takes the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.

• Loss of use: one bedroom at 20% of £120 is £24 a week. Over 30 weeks that is £720.
• Impact: a long delay affecting a child's health could fall in the £600-or-more band. The child's asthma is an aggravating factor the Ombudsman can weigh when choosing the band.
• Out-of-pocket costs: evidenced spending, such as cleaning products, can be added. Ruined belongings would normally go through insurance.

On those facts, an order of £1,320 or more plus evidenced costs would be consistent with the published guidance. That is well above the £250 offer. The Ombudsman decides each case on its own facts, so treat this as a rough guide only. To run your own numbers, use the compensation calculator.

The five routes to compensation

There is no single route to compensation for damp and mould. The right route depends on what you are claiming for, how serious the conditions are, and on whether the home is social or private rented housing. Most cases use more than one route. The five are:

Route 1: Your landlord's buildings or contents insurer

If your belongings have been damaged by damp, mould, or a leak, the appropriate first step is often a claim against the landlord's buildings insurance (where the damage relates to the building) or your own contents insurance (where it relates to your possessions). The Housing Ombudsman has limited jurisdiction over insurers; where the insurer has considered a claim, the Ombudsman will not generally reconsider the financial element. Insurance is a parallel route, not a substitute for the others below.

Route 2: The landlord's internal complaint procedure

The Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code 2024 is statutory from 1 April 2024. It sets out a mandatory two-stage process:

• Stage 1: The landlord must acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days, and issue a full response within 10 working days of that acknowledgement. They may extend by up to 10 further working days for good reason.
• Stage 2: If you escalate, the landlord must acknowledge the escalation within 5 working days, and issue a final response within 20 working days of that acknowledgement. They may extend by up to 20 further working days for good reason.

In practice the full procedure runs around eight calendar weeks at standard pace, up to around fourteen weeks with the maximum permitted extensions. You must usually file the complaint within twelve months of the issue occurring or your becoming aware of it. The complaints process is required before you can escalate to the Housing Ombudsman, except in limited circumstances.

Route 3: The Housing Ombudsman

If you remain dissatisfied after the landlord's stage 2 final response, you can escalate to the Housing Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is free to use, does not require legal representation, and is the route for social housing tenants and many housing association tenants. Decisions are published at https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/decisions/. The Ombudsman is explicit that it does not operate as a court — it does not make binding findings on negligence or liability, and it does not order damages in the way a court does. Its remedies are based on the published compensation guidance (see “How the Housing Ombudsman works out compensation” above).

Route 4: County Court via the Pre-Action Protocol

For breach of repairing obligations, you can bring a civil claim in the County Court. Three statutory anchors usually apply:

• Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (primary source) implies a repairing covenant covering the structure and exterior of the dwelling, the installations for water, gas, electricity, and sanitation, and the installations for space and water heating. Breach of section 11 is the most common cause of action for damp and mould caused by structural defects, leaks, or failed installations. The court can order specific performance (i.e. order the landlord to actually do the works) under section 17 of the same Act.
• Section 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (inserted by the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018) implies a separate covenant that the dwelling will be fit for human habitation throughout the tenancy. This applies where the dwelling is unfit because of prescribed hazards — which includes damp and mould assessed under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. The court can order specific performance directly under section 9A itself.
• Section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 and common-law claims in nuisance and negligence are also available in appropriate cases.

Before issuing proceedings, the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims (England) must be followed. You send a detailed Letter of Claim; the landlord must respond within twenty working days; a joint expert typically inspects within a further twenty working days. Courts can order costs sanctions against parties who fail to comply with the Protocol.

Court damages are worked out differently from Ombudsman awards. General damages for disrepair are usually a percentage of the rent paid during the period of disrepair, typically 25% to 50%, and up to 100% where a home was uninhabitable. Out-of-pocket losses and any personal injury are claimed on top. If you have already received compensation through the Ombudsman, the court takes that into account.

Limitation periods: A claim under section 11 (contract) has a six-year limitation period from the date of breach. A personal injury claim, if any, has a three-year limitation period from the date of knowledge of the injury. These are statutory long-stops — you can lose your right to claim by waiting too long.

Legal aid: Housing legal aid is available for "homelessness, eviction, losing your home, or serious disrepair" subject to means and merits tests. Check eligibility at https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid/check-legal-aid.

Route 5: Awaab's Law (social housing only, currently)

The Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025, known as Awaab's Law, came into force on 27 October 2025. The Regulations impose statutory timescales on social landlords for investigating and remediating prescribed hazards in social housing. The key deadlines are:

• Emergency hazards: the landlord must investigate and complete the relevant safety work within 24 hours.
• Significant hazards: the landlord must investigate within 10 working days of becoming aware.
• Safety works for confirmed significant hazards: the lessor must secure that the relevant safety work is completed within 5 working days of investigation completing (Regulation 11(2)(a) of SI 2025/1042).
• Supplementary preventative works: must begin within 5 working days, with a 12-week longstop, and complete within a reasonable period.

Awaab's Law operates via an implied contractual term in social tenancies and is a fifth, distinct cause of action alongside sections 11 and 9A. It currently applies to social housing only; extension to the private rented sector has been announced as government intent but is not yet enacted. If your social landlord misses the Awaab's Law deadlines, see your legal options if a landlord breaks Awaab's Law for the routes available — the Housing Ombudsman, the council, and the courts.

Primary source: the regulations themselves are at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/1042/made.

The civil penalty of up to £40,000 that a council can impose on a landlord is paid to the local authority, not to you — it is enforcement, not tenant compensation. See our guide to penalties and enforcement.

Evidence that strengthens a claim

The strongest claims combine documentation of the conditions, documentation of every report to the landlord, and documentation of the impact. The Ombudsman has been explicit that resident engagement matters — refusing access, failing to communicate, or pursuing the complaint in an unreasonable way will weaken or remove a claim. The most useful evidence is:

• Dated photographs and short videos of every affected room, with a phone clock or newspaper visible to anchor the date.
• A written log of every conversation, phone call, text, email, or visit involving the landlord or their contractors. Note the date, the person, what was said, and what was promised.
• Copies of every written communication with the landlord — emails, letters, online portal messages, complaint submissions.
• Medical evidence where conditions have been affected by the damp — GP letters confirming symptoms or conditions, hospital records, prescriptions. The Pre-Action Protocol distinguishes between minor personal injury claims (a GP letter is sufficient) and substantial PI claims (the Personal Injury Pre-Action Protocol applies).
• Records of out-of-pocket costs — receipts for cleaning products, dehumidifier hire, alternative accommodation, travel, prescriptions, ruined belongings.
• Independent expert reports where the case proceeds to PAP — these are typically arranged as part of the Protocol procedure (single joint expert by default).

What evidence does not do, on its own, is overcome the mitigating factors above. The strongest evidence in the world matters less if you cannot show you communicated reasonably and gave the landlord a fair chance to put things right.

When the £9.99 Tenant Action Pack is the right tool

The Tenant Action Pack is a structured, step-by-step pack covering the same primary sources cited on this page. It is the right tool when:

• You are confident your case is straightforward and you want a defensible structure for documenting it and engaging the landlord without paying for solicitors.
• You want to follow the Complaint Handling Code 2024 timescales correctly, including drafting the right escalation letters at the right moments.
• You want a Pre-Action Protocol Letter of Claim template you can adapt yourself, knowing it matches the published Protocol annexes.
• You want a structured way to track evidence, log communications, and assess whether to escalate to the Ombudsman or proceed toward court.

The Tenant Action Pack is NOT the right tool if:

• Anyone in the household has respiratory symptoms attributable to the conditions, has been pregnant during the period, or is an infant.
• The conditions are dangerous (collapsing ceilings, exposed wiring, flooding, structural movement) and require emergency action.
• You believe a personal injury claim is realistic and you need legal advice on whether and how to pursue it.
• You are at or near a statutory limitation period.
• You are facing eviction proceedings linked to the disrepair complaint.

In any of those cases, contact a solicitor or Citizens Advice directly. The Law Society's Find a Solicitor service allows you to filter by housing specialism. Housing-related legal aid may be available — check https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid/check-legal-aid.

Time limits, tax, and what a claim actually involves

How long do I have to make a claim?

The time limits vary by route. For a breach-of-contract claim under section 11 or section 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the limitation period is six years from the date of breach. For a personal injury claim within the same matter, the limitation period is three years from the date you knew (or should have known) about the injury. The landlord's internal complaint procedure has a twelve-month time limit — the issue must have occurred, or you must have become aware of it, within twelve months of filing the complaint. The Housing Ombudsman is reached after the internal procedure has been exhausted; there is no separate limitation period to escalate.

What if my landlord is a private landlord rather than a council or housing association?

Some of the routes still apply. Sections 11 and 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 cover private tenancies of less than seven years, and the Pre-Action Protocol applies whoever the landlord is. Private tenants cannot use the Housing Ombudsman, and the new private rented sector ombudsman is not running yet, so the usual routes are the council's environmental health team and a County Court claim. Awaab's Law applies to social housing only for now; extending it to private renting needs further regulations that are not yet in force.

Will I have to pay if I lose a court case?

The Pre-Action Protocol is designed to settle cases before litigation. If a case does go to court and the tenant loses, the tenant may be ordered to pay the landlord's costs, though housing disrepair cases often run on conditional fee arrangements ("no win, no fee") or under damages-based agreements that limit the tenant's downside. Legal aid may be available for housing disrepair claims — check https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid/check-legal-aid. For specific advice on costs risk, speak to a housing solicitor before issuing proceedings.

Can my landlord evict me for complaining about damp and mould?

Section 21 'no-fault' evictions in England were abolished from 1 May 2026 by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, so a landlord now needs a legal ground to end a tenancy. If you are worried about eviction, do not let that stop you reporting the problem, but get advice early from Citizens Advice, Shelter or a housing solicitor.

What evidence should I be gathering right now?

Photographs and short videos with the date visible (phone clock or newspaper), a dated log of every report you make to the landlord, copies of every written communication, GP letters for any health symptoms, and receipts for out-of-pocket costs (cleaning, dehumidifier hire, alternative accommodation, prescriptions, ruined belongings). Lifestyle factors can become mitigating arguments by the landlord — ventilate the property where possible and document that you have done so, while still maintaining your claim that the underlying cause is the landlord's responsibility.

How we wrote this guide

This page was written by cross-referencing primary sources: the Housing Ombudsman's compensation guidance in force from 1 April 2026 and its published decisions, the statutory Complaint Handling Code 2024, sections 11, 17, and 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025, the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims (England), and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. Every published case figure cited above is drawn from the named primary source. This guide is updated periodically as new severe-maladministration reports and statutory instruments are published.