A specialist firm is urging landlords to act on damp, mould and building safety, with the law due to change on Friday (1 May).
The firm said that the rule changes were more relevant to Brighton and Hove than many other towns and cities because of the high number of rented homes, especially older homes.
Matt Woodhart, founder of Woodhart Property Enhancements (WPE), a Brighton and Hove firm, said that the Renters’ Rights Act would come into force on Friday, bringing the biggest shake-up to private renting in a generation.
The law change brings in stronger protections for tenants, including measures to extend “Awaab’s law” to the private rented sector, requiring all landlords to fix serious hazards like damp and mould within strict timeframes – not just social landlords.
Awaab’s law is named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died in Rochdale in 2020 from prolonged mould exposure while living in a housing association property.
The issue is particularly acute in Brighton and Hove, where around a third of all homes are privately rented – the highest proportion of any city outside London. And much of the housing stock is older, harder-to-treat period property.
Nationally, one in ten private rented homes has a damp problem, according to the most recent English Housing Survey, and a quarter of landlords reported identifying damp or mould in at least one of their properties in the past year.
Mr Woodhart said that the reforms represented a turning point for tenant safety – and that private landlords should be preparing now rather than waiting for enforcement to catch up.
He said: “It gives tenants and renters the opportunity to raise damp and mould issues and poor ventilation with a registered body because in the past a lot of tenants used to get blamed for the damp and mould themselves.
“It used to give landlords a get-out-of-jail-free card from rectifying the problems. I think it is a massive step forward for safety as a whole.
“This shouldn’t worry landlords who are already looking after their premises. This holds to account the people who don’t want to do anything or make a quick patch-up job. It makes sure all landlords will have to get to the root cause of the problems.”
He said that WPE took a whole-building approach to damp, mould and building performance, working across structural integrity, fire safety and compliance – and energy performance, ventilation and damp control.
Many issues were interconnected, he said, damp linked to poor ventilation, mould caused by inadequate airflow or thermal bridging – and treating them in isolation led to repeated failures and higher costs in the long run.
Mr Woodhart said: “That is where we come in. We take a whole-building approach and specialise in compliance.
“It protects the landlord from legal cases and from their tenants getting health issues. It makes the building fit to rent and over time it adds value.”
Working primarily in Brighton and Hove, Mr Woodhart said: “Many buildings are heritage buildings. They’re quite tricky to bring up to modern standards.
“Ultimately, its about looking after people’s health. We don’t want to see another case like Awaab, the poor child that is the reason for these new measures.”
Mr Woodhart is urging landlords to act now by commissioning a professional damp and ventilation survey, reviewing how they respond to tenant complaints and ensuring any existing issues are properly investigated and resolved – not just patched over.
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 also abolishes “section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions”, ends fixed-term tenancies and introduces new rules on rent increases, pets and anti-discrimination protections for tenants.
Woodhart Property Enhancements (WPE) specialises in damp remediation, fire safety, energy performance and structural repair compliance.
It is an arm of the Woodhart Group, founded by brothers Matt and Ben, and also includes a carpentry and construction division.
To find out more, click here.
So this article quotes a damp specialist who is in line to get more damp specialist work, due to a change in the law?
The problem here is that half the properties in Brighton and Hove will have damp issues due to their building age, and with many local properties having no damp course.
Modern double glazing and other attempts at insulation often seal in that damp, by reducing ventilation.
If we then add to the situation with high rents and increased mortgage repayments, people turn off their heating when possible, and that creates the perfect situation for damp to get worse. In winter, if you dry washing indoors, then humidity levels sky rocket, and so mould starts to grow.
Is this an issue than landlords can actually solve? Probably not.
The underlying issue causing damp and mould is poverty.
Employing a damp specialist probably won’t help.
Well said Billy
I think it’s a bit more nuanced than that.
You’re right that factors like heating, occupancy and cost of living all play a part. But damp and mould are not just a consequence of poverty – they’re often a result of how buildings perform.
A lot of properties in Brighton & Hove are older and were never designed for modern levels of insulation and airtightness. When upgrades like double glazing are added without proper ventilation, moisture gets trapped, and that’s when mould starts to develop.
That’s exactly why this issue is being taken more seriously. Awaab Ishak’s death showed what can happen when damp and mould are not addressed properly. It’s not just about comfort, it’s about health.
The reality is that most cases are a combination of both building performance and living conditions. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be improved. With the right balance of ventilation, insulation and maintenance, a lot of these issues can be prevented or significantly reduced.
The focus should be on fixing the root causes in the building, not assuming it’s something people just have to live with.
Opening the double glazed windows periodically will help to lower the risk of condensation. Landlords have little control over this, although they should provide mechanical extract ventilation to sanitary rooms and kitchens.
Cold bridging is mainly related to mid 20th century buildings with concrete structures and floors, or as a result of poorly carried out upgrading of insulation works. Despite the seemingly fashionable trend of blaming the property owner, the majority of these issues can be resolved by more responsible behaviour by the occupiers.
I agree with Matt. The issue is we have seen a lot of conversions done in Brighton & Hove it’s always been the case of trying to get more from what we have got, lots of conversions have been done with profit in mind. Ventilation and the Excess Moisture produced creating so many new homes compounds to these issues.
Having older stock means the maintenance is essential, one issue can erupt as we’re seeing in blocks across the city.
Tenants have a role to play too but landlords have the law to adhere too. There is no excuses now, there wasn’t then.
Delaying decent homes standards for all was a mistake. It could have driven a boom.
Of course to the author and I wish you well on your new council contracts but seriously have a word with them and their properties conditions, the damp and mould I’ve seen from shabby work from previous companies like Mears who did the council repairs for a decade and more, have left our council homes worse not better in a lot of cases.
Don’t just build, help transform the local in-house offering also.
A damp surveyor will find damp then offer lots of complicated , costly solutions. Many experts in Victorian building say these can make the issue worse. Ventilation and condensation are often the biggest issues
I have a 1930s 4 bed detached in Hove. In late Autumn and winter the humidity is at 80%.
I have a dehumidifier running through October till February. It is the only thing that works.
So I can pay 200 for a dehumidifier and 100 a year running or I can pay Mr damp pants 10000s.
Guess which one is gonna happen.