Mould in Your Rental? Why It’s the Landlord’s Problem (Usually) and How to Force a Fix

Black spots on the bathroom ceiling. A musty smell in the wardrobe. Green fuzz behind the bed. Your kid’s cough won’t go away. And the agent’s reply? “Just open a window and wipe it with vinegar.”

No. Mould is a health hazard. In most cases, it’s the landlord’s job to fix it, and it’s their fault it’s there.

Whose fault is it?

This is the argument agents love, so let’s settle it. Mould grows because of moisture. Moisture comes from either:

• The building (leaking roof, rising damp, no exhaust fans, broken extractor, blocked gutters, poor drainage, no insulation, single-glazed windows that stream with condensation). Landlord’s responsibility.
• How the tenant lives (never ventilating, drying clothes inside with windows shut for months, ignoring a leak you never reported). Tenant’s responsibility.

The overwhelming majority of rental mould is the first kind. If your bathroom has no working exhaust fan, or your bedroom windows drip every morning, that’s a building problem and no amount of vinegar will fix it.

The law

Every state requires the landlord to provide and keep the property in a reasonably clean, safe and habitable condition:

• Victoria: Rental minimum standards (since 2021) specifically require the property to be free from mould and damp caused by the building structure. Section 65A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997. A breach lets you demand repairs and even end the lease.
• New South Wales: Residential Tenancies Act 2010, section 52 (fit for habitation) and section 63 (repairs). Mould making a property unhealthy breaches both.
• Queensland: Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008, section 185. Minimum housing standards (since 2023) require the property to be free of damp and mould caused by the building.
• South Australia, Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, Northern Territory: the same duty applies under each Act’s habitability and repair provisions.

Build your case

1. Photograph everything, with dates. Every room, every patch, and the cause if you can see it (dripping window, dead exhaust fan).
2. Write down your ventilation habits. “Bathroom window opened after every shower, fan doesn’t work.” This heads off the “you didn’t ventilate” excuse.
3. Get medical evidence if anyone has symptoms. A doctor’s note linking respiratory issues to the home is powerful.
4. Report it in writing. Not a phone call. An email or letter, dated, describing the mould and the cause.

Send a formal repair notice

A proper repair notice tells the landlord they are in breach, cites the section, lists the work needed (fix the cause, not just wipe the surface), sets a deadline of 14 days, and states that you’ll seek a tribunal repair order and rent reduction if it isn’t done.

The phrase “fix the cause” matters. Painting over mould is not a repair. If the exhaust fan is broken, it needs replacing. If the roof leaks, it needs fixing.

What you can get

• Repair orders from the tribunal with a deadline.
• Rent reduction for the time you lived with it.
• Compensation for damaged belongings if the landlord ignored the problem.
• The right to leave without penalty if the property is not habitable.

In Victoria, you can also ask Consumer Affairs to inspect and issue a report. In New South Wales, Fair Trading can help resolve it before NCAT.

Don’t wipe and wait

Mould comes back until the cause is fixed. Put the landlord on formal notice today.

Claim Done drafts your Tenant Repair Notice for $49. Done in about 5 minutes.