# Fit for human habitation: when the clock starts on a damp report, with the days from report to fix and the 24-hour access notice worked > GOV.UK's landlord guide to the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 says liability starts on the tenant's report. A damp case counted day by day. - Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-damp-report-to-fix-days-24-hour-access-notice-letting-agents-worked/ - Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/) - Section: Letting agents, Compliance and safety - Published 22 October 2026 - Key fact: In our example damp case, reported Tuesday 3 November 2026, the log runs 2 days to inspection (Thursday 5 November), 6 days to the contractor's quote (Monday 9 November), 13 days to the start of works (Monday 16 November) and 17 days to completion (Friday 20 November). A 24-hour access notice emailed at 16:00 on Tuesday 3 November allows entry from 16:00 on Wednesday 4 November. The Act's first compliance year for existing periodic tenancies, 20 March 2019 to 20 March 2020, is 366 days because it includes 29 February 2020. Checks: 5 - 3 = 2; 9 - 3 = 6; 16 - 3 = 13; 20 - 3 = 17. - Sources: GOV.UK, "Guide for landlords: Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018" (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018/guide-for-landlords-homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018), the GOV.UK publication page (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018) and legislation.gov.uk, Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, section 1 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/34/section/1). Read 22 October 2026. A tenant emails a photo of black mould on a bedroom wall. The agent forwards it to the landlord and waits for an answer. The question is whether anything has started running in the meantime. According to the GOV.UK landlord guide, it has. ## What GOV.UK says The landlord guide says the Act amends the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 so that a landlord must keep the property, including common parts, fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and throughout it. It adds that the Act creates no new landlord obligations; it makes existing duties enforceable by tenants. On timing, the guide says: - Liability generally starts **when the tenant reports the hazard**. Hazards in the common parts of flats or HMOs create immediate liability. - The landlord gets a **reasonable time** to act, judged case by case. Tenants can go to court if the landlord is not actively working on the problem. - A landlord asking for access should give **at least 24 hours' written notice** and visit at reasonable hours. Emergencies may allow shorter notice. Fitness is decided by a court, using section 10 of the 1985 Act. The factors the guide lists include serious damp, poor ventilation, water supply, drainage and any of the 29 hazards in the Housing Health and Safety (England) Regulations 2005. An assessment under those rules is not required. A tenant can sue for breach of contract, and the court can order works, award damages or both. The guide says there is no upper limit set on compensation. The guide also lists exemptions, among them problems caused by the tenant's own behaviour or possessions, events such as fire, storm and flood, and work that needs a consent the landlord could not get after reasonable efforts. ## The dates the Act applied from The guide gives 20 March 2019 as the commencement date for new tenancies under 7 years, and 20 March 2020 for all periodic tenancies, including those that began earlier. The gap between the two dates is 366 days, because 2020 was a leap year and the span includes 29 February 2020. Any tenancy an agency manages today is covered. ## A damp report, counted The law gives no number of days for "reasonable". The figures below are our example, made up to show how to keep a log, and are not a safe period. | Step | Date | Days from report | |---|---|---| | Tenant reports damp (clock starts) | Tue 3 Nov 2026 | 0 | | Agent emails landlord and a 24-hour access notice to tenant, 16:00 | Tue 3 Nov 2026 | 0 | | Earliest entry under that notice | Wed 4 Nov 2026, 16:00 | 1 | | Inspection by the agent's contractor | Thu 5 Nov 2026 | 2 | | Quote approved by landlord | Mon 9 Nov 2026 | 6 | | Works start | Mon 16 Nov 2026 | 13 | | Works complete | Fri 20 Nov 2026 | 17 | Checks: 5 - 3 = 2; 9 - 3 = 6; 16 - 3 = 13; 20 - 3 = 17. The 24-hour notice at 16:00 on Tuesday runs out at 16:00 on Wednesday. What matters is the record: each line shows the landlord was acting. A log with a gap of nine days and nothing in it, from 9 to 16 November in this example, is the sort of gap a tenant's solicitor would ask about. If the tenant refuses access, the guide says to take legal advice and keep a record of every contact attempt. The same habit is in [the no-access letters for gas safety checks](https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/gas-safety-check-no-access-three-attempts-letters/). ## What to do on Monday 1. Treat any report of damp, mould, a leak or no hot water as the start of a log, dated on receipt, not on the day someone reads it. 2. Send the landlord the report the same day, and ask for the quote approval limit in writing. 3. Give the tenant written access notice of at least 24 hours. 4. Add the repair to the compliance diary in [the 2026 lettings compliance checklist](https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/lettings-compliance-checklist-2026/) and look at it again at [the yearly renewal](https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/yearly-renewals-checklist-managed-rental-property/). ## What I did not read The tenant guide and the local authority guide, the text of section 10 of the 1985 Act, and any case law on how long "reasonable" has been held to be. The guide does not mention the Renters' Rights Act, so I did not check what it changes here. I did not check the exemptions for licences and non-individual tenants in the Act itself. The legislation.gov.uk page gave section 1 only as a summary, so the 7-year rule comes from it and the GOV.UK guide together. Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) builds AI staff who join your agency team and take the repair log: they date every report on receipt, count the days to each step, draft the access notice and chase the contractor, with a person approving what goes to the landlord or tenant. This is general information, not legal advice. Check the GOV.UK guide and take legal advice for the case in front of you. --- ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/owner-line.png) General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.