How to Keep a Damp and Mould Correspondence File From First Report to Close

The black spots are already on the bedroom wall, and the only record is a WhatsApp with a heart. Open a one-page case index the same day — property, rooms, first-report date, the tenant's words. Send a written acknowledgement. Inspect and write what you saw, without lifestyle in the first line. File the works quotes and invoices. Close with a dated follow-up at least six weeks after the works.

Tuesday, one let in Wolverhampton. The tenant WhatsApps two photos of black spots behind the wardrobe and “it’s spreading”. Dara hearts the message and thinks about a dehumidifier. There is no email that says the report is in, and no inspection booked. Two weeks later the tenant asks “did you even get this?”.

There is no official UK “damp correspondence file” form. A WhatsApp of black spots is still notice. Shelter Legal on section 11 says notice can be verbal, email or text once a reasonable person would make enquiries. GOV.UK damp-and-mould guidance, last updated 1 April 2026, calls it “totally unreasonable” to blame lifestyle choices.

The problem is not that Dara ignored the photos. It is that a heart reaction does not prove when you were told, what you saw, or what you instructed. Typical mistake: waiting for a “proper letter” before you open a file.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

What to put on the case index the day the WhatsApp lands?

Open a case index — a one-page note — the same day the message lands. Copy the property address, the rooms the tenant named, the first-report date and channel, and the tenant’s words, not a paraphrase into “condensation”. Save the WhatsApp as a PDF. A heart is not the index.

Do name who owns the next step. GOV.UK says keep records of reports of damp and mould, including informal channels. Sussex Damp Experts, 8 January 2026: the index also records who owns the next step. If anyone mentioned health, a child, or a sleeping room, put that on the first line as urgent and book sooner.

For example, Dara’s Wolverhampton let gets one row: the wardrobe wall, Tuesday, WhatsApp, “it’s spreading”. Do not wait for a typed letter. The generic repair inbox lives on the tenant repair-request process; this clip starts once that report exists.

How do you acknowledge the report without diagnosing lifestyle?

Send a written acknowledgement — email or letter — the same day or the next day. Confirm the report is in, name the rooms, propose an inspection window, and say who to reply to. Do not diagnose in that email. Do not open with lifestyle, condensation, or “have you been drying washing?”.

The TLA, last reviewed June 2026: acknowledge the same day or the next day; do not dismiss it as lifestyle without evidence. NRLA, last updated 3 June 2026: confirm next steps and timing. In practice, the file starts with that dated email, not a thumbs-up.

Do keep the tenant informed as you go. If you already wrote “it’s condensation” in chat, do not back-date an acknowledgement you never sent. Send a written ack now, and copy the original WhatsApp into the index as the first-report date.

Which details go in the inspection note?

Inspect in person and write what you saw. Book with 24 hours’ written notice unless they invite you sooner — that notice sits on the 24-hour access notice file. GOV.UK prefers a visit over photos alone. Photograph the mould before any wipe: wide, mid, and close. The first line of the note is observations, not who you blame.

Note rooms, surfaces, mould, leaks, extractors, trickle vents — the small closable slots in window frames — heating, and furniture tight to external walls. If you use a moisture meter — a handheld surface reader — record where, surface, height, and the reading. A surface meter does not prove rising damp. Shelter, last updated 1 May 2026: do not call it “just condensation” without checking, or tell the tenant to stop cooking and showering.

The Housing Ombudsman Spotlight is titled “it’s not a lifestyle”. The same wide-mid-close habit sits on inventory photograph standards. If check-in photos exist, clip a copy as a baseline, then write what is there today.

Where do the quotes and invoices sit on this clip?

Instruct works in writing and file the quotes and invoices on this correspondence clip. Name the moisture source you are trying to fix, not “mould wash”. Keep quotes, the chosen contractor, the invoice, and any guarantee. Surface cleaning alone will not stop it returning.

NRLA: address the underlying cause first, then the visible damage. GOV.UK: removing surface mould will not prevent return. Make-good of plaster is part of the works. The paid-work spine also lives in the contractor invoices folder; a copy still sits here.

If a sudden leak or wet ceiling looks like an insurance job, fork a copy into that claim file, then come back to this clip. Typical mistake: paying for the same corner twice with no cause named. Do not let one PDF mix a wipe with a hidden leak.

When to date the follow-up, and when is the file closed?

Write a follow-up date on the case index at least six weeks after the works. GOV.UK and Shelter both ask for that check, and for make-good of damaged plaster or carpets. A contractor text that they “popped round” is not the close.

If it has returned, the file reopens — further investigation, not another lifestyle email. GOV.UK’s Fitness for Human Habitation guide puts the landlord on the clock from when they were made aware, then a reasonable time. Those fixed clocks are social housing; this private let still runs on reasonable time after notice.

Success bar: you can open one clip — case index, written acknowledgement, inspection note without lifestyle in line one, works quotes and invoices, and a dated six-week follow-up. Verify that checklist, then stop. Workflow: case index → written acknowledgement → inspection note → works paper → six-week follow-up. An IziRento workspace can hold those records.

Can you still build the file after a heart-react or a no-access?

Yes. If you already hearted the chat or blamed lifestyle, still build the file from today. Copy the original WhatsApp into the index as the first-report date. Do not back-date an acknowledgement. Inspect and write what is there now.

If access is refused, log every offer, reminder, and no-access. Do not force entry. Keep the paper; speak to the council if you cannot get in.

If health is raised, treat the index as urgent and book sooner. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 power to extend social-housing clocks to private lets is not commenced as at 19 September 2026. The steps here are for England.