Course description

Damp, condensation and mould can be worrying, especially when someone in the home has a health condition. This course helps you understand what's going on, find the cause, make everyday changes that help, clean small areas of mould safely and get repairs done.

It's written for homeowners, renters and small landlords. You begin with how moisture behaves in a home and how to tell condensation, penetrating damp, rising damp and leaks apart. You learn what official UK guidance says about mould and health, the everyday habits that reduce condensation, and how to check your home and keep a damp diary. Later sections cover cleaning mould safely, fixing the causes, upgrades, surveys and sales claims, renters' rights and reporting, and how a landlord can respond well.

There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons. Each lesson has a worked example, common slips, questions people often ask and a short exercise to try, and each section ends with a short quiz. You follow Liwayway, who finds mould in her grandson's bedroom in her 1920s end-terrace in Rochdale, and Besnik and Itumeleng, who rent a flat in Stockport with their baby. In the final lessons you build your own damp and mould action plan. Every section has a practice pack with room-by-room checklists, a damp diary spreadsheet, a cause-finder flowchart, a safe mould cleaning card, letter templates, a records log and simple diagrams drawn for the course.

What you'll learn

• How moisture behaves in a home: where the water comes from, warm air and cold surfaces, the dew point, humidity in plain words and reading the first signs.
• Telling the types of damp apart: condensation, penetrating damp, rising damp and its lookalikes, leaks and hidden water, new builds and mixed causes, with a cause-finder.
• Mould, health and who is most at risk: what mould needs, what the official UK guidance says about health, who is most at risk, when to get medical help, and living with damp while it's sorted.
• Everyday habits that reduce condensation: windows and trickle vents, extractor fans and cooker hoods, drying clothes, steady warmth and help with bills, and small changes in every room.
• Checking your home and keeping a damp diary: a room-by-room check, a walk round the outside from the ground, a damp diary, and what hygrometers and moisture meters can and can't tell you.
• Cleaning mould safely: deciding whether it's a job for you, protective kit, cleaning a small area step by step, belongings and soft furnishings, and watching for regrowth.
• Fixing the causes: gutters and downpipes, walls and sills, roofs and chimneys, plumbing leaks and escapes of water, and ground levels and air bricks, with who should fix each one.
• Upgrades, surveys and expert advice: how insulation and ventilation work together, upgrades and their risks, when a survey is worth it, and judging damp-proofing sales claims.
• Renting: rights, reporting and records: the landlord's repair duties in England, reporting and keeping records, councils and the HHSRS, social housing and Awaab's Law, and the rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Landlords and your action plan: responding well to a damp report, what the Renters' Rights Act changes, and building your own damp and mould action plan, with a worked plan and a yearly routine.

Who it's for

Homeowners who want to understand and deal with damp, renters who want to know what to do and how to report it, and small landlords who want to respond well. No experience or tools are needed. The course never asks you to work at height, on wiring or on gas.

What this course is, and isn't

This is a practical beginner course, not surveyor training or legal advice. Health, legal and safety points come from GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk, the HSE, the Scottish and Welsh governments, nidirect, Shelter and Citizens Advice, read on 1 November 2026. Rules can change, so check the official pages for your own situation. Liwayway, Besnik, Itumeleng and every other person in the course are fictional.

What will I learn?

• Explain how everyday moisture, warm air and cold surfaces lead to condensation, and what humidity readings mean
• Tell condensation, penetrating damp, rising damp, leaks and building water apart, using a simple cause-finder
• Understand how damp and mould can affect health according to official UK guidance, who is most at risk and when to get medical help
• Use everyday habits for ventilation, drying clothes, heating, cooking and bathing that reduce condensation
• Check your home room by room and from the ground outside, and keep a damp diary with readings, notes and photos
• Decide whether a patch of mould is a job for you, and clean a small area safely with the right protective kit
• Recognise faults in gutters, walls, roofs, plumbing and ground levels, and know which jobs need a professional
• Weigh up ventilation and insulation upgrades, know when a survey is worth it and judge damp-proofing sales claims calmly
• Report damp and mould to a landlord in writing, keep good records and know where to go next in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Respond well to a damp report as a small landlord and build a damp and mould action plan for a home

Frequently asked questions