Opened up
A stain on a ceiling or a cracked joint is the end of a story, not the beginning. This page sets out how a reported fault is followed back to its cause, what the people living in a home can expect while that happens, and how damp is sorted by where it comes from.
From a report to a causeEight steps, in this order
- Reported
The resident or the owner says what has happened, where, and since when. A photograph and the time of day it is worst both help.
- Sorted
Emergency, urgent or routine. These three bands are our own convention, not a legal scale, and whoever reported the fault is told which band it is in and why.
- Made safe
Whatever is dangerous is dealt with first: a supply isolated, an area closed off, a temporary cover fixed. The permanent repair can follow; the danger cannot wait for it.
- Traced
Moisture readings, a look in the roof space, the pipework and the stone itself. The question is what is causing the fault, because a symptom treated on its own comes back.
- Instructed
The right registered trade is booked: a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas, a qualified electrician for the electrics, a mason for stonework.
- Put right
The repair is carried out, and the occupier is told when and by whom.
- Checked
The repair is looked at again once it has had a fair chance to fail: a patched joint after the next hard frost, a cured leak after the next spell of wet weather.
- Written down
The cause, the work and the dates go into the building’s history, so the next person to look at it starts from what is known.
Damp, by its sourceFour causes that look alike on a wall
Damp is the clearest case for finding the cause first. The same dark patch can come from four different places, and the remedy for one does nothing for the others.
Condensation
Moist indoor air meeting a surface colder than its dew point: worst on north walls, in corners and behind furniture, from autumn to spring. The answer lies in warmth and ventilation, not in treating the wall.
Damp from outside
Moisture getting through the fabric: failed or hard cement pointing, a cracked sill, a defect at a chimney. It follows the weather, so readings taken after a wet spell tell a different story from readings taken in a dry one.
Rising damp
Ground moisture drawn up the base of a wall where a damp-proof course has failed or been bridged, by raised soil, a path or a render run down to the ground.
A leak
A pipe, a joint, a seal or an appliance. Often the quickest to find once it is suspected, and the most damaging to leave.
For the people who live thereReporting a fault, and visits to your home
What helps when you report
Say what you can see, which room it is in, when you first noticed it and whether it is getting worse. A photograph is useful. Write to tenants@kenyonproperties.website for anything that can wait a day. If the owner has given you your home’s code, you can also report a fault in the owners’ and residents’ portal and follow it there.
When it cannot wait
Anything dangerous goes to the emergency services first. If you smell gas, call the national gas emergency line before anything else, then let us know. An email inbox is never the place for an emergency.
Notice before a visit
Anyone coming to look at the condition of your home gives at least 24 hours’ notice in writing and calls at a reasonable time of day, as the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (section 11) requires. You will be told who is coming and why.
What “made safe” means
A first visit may only remove the danger: water isolated, a socket taken out of use, a loose piece of stone taken down. That is a stage, not the end of the job, and you will be told what comes next.
The rules that frame itHow hazards are judged
Councils judge the condition of a home with the HHSRS, the hazard rating system set up under the Housing Act 2004, which lists 29 hazards, among them damp and mould growth, excess cold, falls and fire. A Category 1 hazard obliges the council to act; a Category 2 hazard leaves it discretion.
Fixed timescales for investigating and fixing serious hazards, known as Awaab’s Law, already apply in social housing. For private homes the government is consulting from 8 October to 18 December 2026, and no start date has been set.
A proposal, not yet a rule: we describe it here with its dates and will follow it once it applies.