Winter-Ready Landlord: Your Heating, Boiler, Damp and Mould Check
It always happens the same way. The first properly cold week arrives, the heating goes on for the first time since spring, and suddenly your phone lights up. The radiator in the back bedroom isn't getting warm. There's a black patch on the bathroom ceiling. Is the boiler meant to make that noise?
If you manage your own rental, winter is when small problems that were easy to miss in October become urgent in January. The good news is that a little checking now saves a lot of stress later, for you and for your tenants.
This guide walks you through what to check, what the law expects of you in England, and what to do if a tenant reports damp or mould. We've also put everything into a free printable checklist at the end, so you can tick it off property by property.
Where you stand as a landlord
Before the practical bits, here's the legal baseline, in plain English.
Your property must be fit to live in. Under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, a home needs to be fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and throughout it. Serious damp and mould can make a home unfit, and tenants can take court action.
Heating and hot water must work. Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, you need to keep heating and hot water installations in repair and proper working order. This applies to most assured shorthold tenancies.
Councils can step in. They assess hazards like damp and mould growth and excess
cold under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), and they can take enforcement action.
Gas safety is non-negotiable. A Gas Safe registered engineer must check gas appliances every 12 months. Tenants need a copy of the record within 28 days of the check, or before they move in, and you should keep your records for two years.
Alarms matter. You need a smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance (gas cookers excluded). Test them at the start of each tenancy.
Part one: the heating and boiler check
Set aside 30 to 45 minutes per property and do this before the first cold snap. You're looking for two things: is it safe, and is it working properly?
Safety and paperwork
Check your gas safety certificate (CP12) is in date, and put the next due date in your diary.
Make sure your tenants have a copy of the current gas safety record.
Check when the boiler was last serviced. A service isn't a legal requirement on its own, but it's strongly recommended and is often needed for warranty or insurance.
Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and check the expiry date printed on the back of the CO alarm.
Look at the boiler flue and any vents. They should be clear and undamaged, with no staining or scorch marks around the boiler.
Working order and comfort
Switch the heating and hot water on and check both reach temperature, with no unusual noises, leaks or error codes.
Check the boiler pressure against the manufacturer's instructions (often around 1 to 1.5 bar when cold).
Feel every radiator. Cold spots at the top usually mean trapped air, while cold spots at the bottom can point to a bigger problem, so bleed what you can and call an engineer if it doesn't help.
Test the thermostat, timer and radiator valves.
Make sure exposed pipes in lofts and outbuildings are lagged against freezing, and that your tenant knows where the stopcock is.
A quick tip: give your tenants the boiler instructions and your repairs contact details, including who to ring out of hours. If anyone ever smells gas or suspects carbon monoxide, they should open doors and windows, leave the property and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. It's worth putting that number in your welcome pack.
Part two: damp and mould is rarely about blame
Here's something that surprises a lot of landlords: mould is almost never as simple as "the tenant doesn't open the windows."
Mould grows when moisture has nowhere to go. That moisture can come from a few places:
Condensation, the most common cause, from everyday life like cooking, showering and drying washing, made worse by poor ventilation or a home that's hard to heat.
Penetrating damp, from failing gutters, roofs, pointing or window seals letting water in.
Rising damp, from a failed or bridged damp-proof course.
Leaks, often slow ones, from pipes, baths, sinks and radiator valves.
Often it's a mix. That's why the best approach is to rule out building causes first, before pointing at how a tenant lives.
What to look for on a walk-round
Inside: stains or bubbling paint on ceilings, black or green spotting in corners and around window frames, damp behind furniture on external walls, peeling wallpaper, tide marks rising from the skirting, and that unmistakable musty smell.
Outside: gutters and downpipes that are blocked or leaking, damaged roof tiles or flashing, cracked pointing or render, blocked airbricks, and soil or paving built up above the damp-proof course.
Ventilation and heating: extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom that actually work and vent outside, trickle vents that aren't painted shut, and heating that can keep the whole home reasonably warm, not just the lounge.
A friendly word to your tenants
Simple advice helps, as long as it's kind and never replaces a repair. Something like this works well:
Hi [name], with colder weather on its way, a few small habits really help keep condensation down: open a window or run the extractor fan when cooking and showering, dry washing in a ventilated room if you can, leave a little space between furniture and external walls, and keep a low background heat on in cold spells. If you spot damp or mould, please tell us straight away with a photo. We would much rather know early.
If the building is the cause, it's yours to fix, whatever the advice.
When a tenant reports damp or mould
How you respond matters as much as what you find. Here's a simple seven-step approach that protects your tenant and you.
Acknowledge it in writing, quickly. Reply within a day or two, say you're taking it seriously, and ask for photos, the location, and when they first noticed it.
Inspect promptly. Give at least 24 hours' written notice for access. As a good-practice target, aim to investigate within 14 days (more on why in a moment).
Find the cause. Condensation, a leak, penetrating damp, rising damp, or a mix? If it isn't clear, bring in a surveyor or damp specialist.
Fix the cause, not just the stain. Treat visible mould, but wiping or painting over it without fixing the source means it will come back.
Agree a plan in writing. What will be done, by whom, and by when. If dates slip, tell your tenant straight away.
Follow up. Re-inspect once the work is done, and again a few weeks later to check it hasn't returned.
Keep every record. If there's ever a dispute, a council inspection or a claim, your paper trail is your best protection.
Treat it as urgent if mould is widespread or keeps returning, a tenant mentions health symptoms such as breathing problems, a child, older person or vulnerable tenant lives in the home, or there's no heating in very cold weather. Get a qualified professional in quickly and keep your tenant updated at every step.
What about Awaab's Law?
You may have seen Awaab's Law in the news. It was introduced after the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died in 2020 after prolonged exposure to severe mould in his social rented home. It sets fixed timescales for investigating and fixing hazards like damp and mould.
Here's where things stand right now:
In England, Awaab's Law has applied to social housing since October 2025, but it doesn't yet apply to private landlords. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 gives the government the power to extend it to the private rented sector, but that needs further regulations.
A consultation is open. The government's consultation on bringing it to private landlords closes on 18 December 2026, and 2027 is widely reported as the earliest likely start. Nothing is confirmed yet.
In Scotland, the rules are different. Awaab's Law style duties for private landlords there began on 6 October 2026.
That 14-day investigation target we mentioned is the timescale social landlords already work to, which is why we suggest it as a sensible benchmark. It isn't law for private landlords in England today, but building the habit now means you'll be ready when it is. And in the meantime, your existing duties under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act and the HHSRS already require you to deal with serious damp and mould.
Keep your paper trail
If you take one thing from this article, let it be this: write it down, and photograph it. Dated photos before, during and after any repair. Copies of your tenant's report and every reply. Inspection notes, contractor invoices, and your follow-up check. The inventory from the start of the tenancy. A clear, simple record shows you acted promptly and sensibly, and that protects you if a complaint ever lands.
Get the free Winter-Ready Landlord Checklist
We've pulled all of this into a printable 5-page checklist: a heating and boiler check, a room-by-room damp and mould walk-through, a step-by-step guide for when a tenant reports a problem, a list of the evidence to keep, and a record log you can print for every property.
Here's to a warm, dry and stress-free winter, for you and your tenants.
This article is general information for landlords in England, correct at November 2026. It isn't legal advice, and the rules are changing, so check gov.uk or take professional advice for your situation. If your property is in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, different rules apply.
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