Damp and mould

Damp & mould is the platform’s original hazard type and its most fully-built survey — the full room-by-room investigation, psychrometric and condensation analysis, and photo AI assistance.

What it is

The GOV.UK guidance describes damp & mould as unwanted moisture buildup and fungal growth affecting airways, lungs, eyes and skin. It is the one hazard type already fully commenced under Awaab’s Law — Phase 1, in force since 27 October 2025 — and it is the only hazard type that cannot be switched off for an organisation.

A damp & mould survey is the longest wizard sequence on the platform: survey details, weather, soil & drainage, external analysis, room-by-room readings, psychrometrics, condensation & U-value analysis, hazard triage, HHSRS scoring, EPC, floor plan, the narrative-review accordion, an executive summary, remedial recommendations and scope of works, then sign-off.

How to do it

1. Work through the sections in the order the wizard presents them — see Running a survey, hazard by hazard for the general on-site flow.
2. In each room, record humidity, temperature, timber moisture (WME) and dew point readings, plus the observed damp type, using the room card.
3. Where your organisation’s AI provider is connected, use the on-site AI buttons to get a photo-grounded suggestion for the damp type present, or to draft the executive summary from your recorded findings — both are offered on-site for this hazard type.
4. Complete Hazard Triage to record your own significant-vs-emergency judgement, citing the indicators that apply.

How it integrates

Damp & mould’s own AI preset (housing-damp) offers two things: an image-analysis button that classifies a photo against a fixed six-value list — Rising Damp, Penetrating Damp, Condensation, Lateral Earth Penetration, Traumatic (Leak), or No Visible Damp — and an executive-summary draft grounded in each room’s recorded readings (room, damp type, RH, temperature, WME, dew point, observations). Both are suggestions for you to review and edit; neither is written into the sealed record until you accept it, and finalising a survey is what actually creates the sealed evidence record and starts the statutory clock. The finished record uses the “Damp & Mould Investigation Report” template, the most detailed of any hazard type, including the narrative-review accordion’s full 13-field set.

Common problems

• The AI Polish or photo-analysis buttons aren’t offered. They only appear once your organisation has connected an AI provider — see Connecting your AI provider.
• A reading looks wrong in the psychrometric summary. Check the raw temperature/RH/WME entries on the room card — the dew point and risk indicators are calculated from what you recorded, not entered directly.
• I need a different hazard type for this job. Damp & mould can’t be switched off platform-wide, but a job can be raised under any other enabled hazard type instead — see The 13 hazard types: overview.