Mould in your rental home: your rights and what to do

If the mould is caused by damp from the building, for example a leaking roof, leaking pipes or poor windows, the landlord must fix it. The landlord must keep the property and the apartment properly maintained (§ 112(2) of the Rent Act (lejeloven)). You must report the damage quickly, preferably in writing, and if the landlord does not remedy it straight after your demand, you can, among other things, have it fixed at the landlord’s expense, demand a rent reduction or go to the Rent Tribunal (huslejenævnet). If the damp is caused by you not treating the home properly, it is your responsibility.

Who is responsible for mould in a rental home?

Under § 112(2) of the Rent Act (in Danish), the landlord must keep the property and the premises properly maintained, including all installations for drainage and for supplying electricity, gas, water, heating and cooling. You are only responsible for locks and keys yourself (§ 112(3)).

The law distinguishes between two kinds of maintenance (§ 111). Interior maintenance is whitewashing, painting, wallpapering and treating floors. Everything else is exterior maintenance. So the roof, facade, windows, pipes and drains fall under the exterior part.

You may have agreed that you take over part of the maintenance. But a lease is considered to have been made on the terms of the law, unless the agreement explicitly says otherwise (§ 11(2)). So check your lease. If you use the standard lease, standard form A10, the division is in § 8 and any special agreements in § 11.

According to the explanatory notes to the Rent Act (in Danish), whether there is a defect is assessed objectively. The landlord does not need to be at fault. A defect that arises after you move in must, however, be due to the landlord’s circumstances or something the landlord bears the risk for, and that is usually the case, because the landlord has the duty to maintain. If, on the other hand, the damage is due to your own negligence, it is not a defect.

If the mould was already there when you moved in, other deadlines apply. According to the notes, the home must as a starting point be handed over free of, among other things, mould, and a defect on moving in must as a rule be reported no later than 2 weeks after the start of the tenancy (§ 91). Read more in the article on the defects list when moving in. If you live in social housing (almen bolig), the Act on the Rental of Social Housing (in Danish) applies instead of the rules here.

How to report damp and mould to your landlord

You have a duty to report damage. Damage that must be fixed immediately must be reported immediately. Other damage must be reported without undue delay (§ 149(3)). Reporting it is also your first step towards your rights, because the right to remedy the defect yourself and the right to cancel the lease require the landlord to have had the chance to remedy it first (§§ 95 and 96).

1. Document the damage. Take dated photos, and note where in the home it is, how big the patch is and when you discovered it. Take new photos if the damage grows.
2. Write to the landlord, preferably by email, so you can prove the message was sent. Describe the damage and ask the landlord to fix it.
3. Make it clear that it is a formal demand: that you expect the defect to be remedied immediately, and that you will otherwise exercise your rights under the Rent Act.
4. Give access for inspection and repair. The landlord has the right of access when there is a justified suspicion of damp, and urgent repairs require no notice. Other work must be notified 6 weeks or 3 months in advance, but you can agree an earlier date. Read more about the landlord’s access to your apartment.
5. Keep all correspondence, photos and receipts until the case is closed.

How long does the landlord have to fix the defect?

The Rent Act has no fixed deadline in days. The rule is that the landlord must remedy the defect immediately after your demand (§ 95(1)). If the landlord does not, you can remedy the defect yourself at the landlord’s expense. If the defect is significant and is not remedied immediately or within a reasonable time, you can cancel the lease (§ 96). According to the notes, the landlord has the right to remedy the defect, but it must be done within a reasonable time. How many days “immediately” and “a reasonable time” mean depends on the damage, and the law says nothing about it.

If you want a fixed deadline, you can ask the Rent Tribunal for one. At your request, the tribunal can order the landlord to have specific work carried out, and it must then set a deadline for each piece of work (§ 114(2)). The tribunal can at the same time decide that the rent is reduced if the landlord does not meet the deadline, and the reduction applies until the work has been done. The Landowners’ Investment Fund (Grundejernes Investeringsfond) can also, at a tenant’s request, have the work carried out at the landlord’s expense when the deadline has passed (§ 69 of the Housing Conditions Act, lov om boligforhold (in Danish)). How to complain, and what it costs, is explained in the article on the Rent Tribunal in Copenhagen.

According to the notes, inconvenience from the repair itself is not a defect in itself. But the work must be carried out with as much consideration for you as possible and notified according to the rules (§§ 103 and 104).

Your options if the landlord does nothing

The rules on defects cannot be departed from in the lease to your disadvantage (§ 101). Here are the options in one place:

Option	Condition	Rule
An order from the Rent Tribunal to carry out the work by a deadline	Disagreement about the landlord’s maintenance	§ 114(2)
Remedy the defect yourself at the landlord’s expense	The landlord does not remedy it immediately after your demand	§ 95(1)
A proportionate rent reduction	For as long as the defect reduces the value of the home to you	§ 95(2)
Cancel the lease	The defect is significant, or the landlord has acted fraudulently, and it is not remedied immediately or within a reasonable time	§ 96
Compensation	The damage is due to the landlord’s neglect or circumstances the landlord is responsible for	§ 97

According to the City of Copenhagen (in Danish), the Rent Tribunal can decide disagreements about the landlord’s and the tenant’s duty to maintain. It cannot rule on a retroactive proportionate reduction, compensation or cancellation of the lease. These are decided by the Housing Court.

Three things to be aware of

• Do not withhold the rent yourself. If you do not pay on time, the landlord can cancel the lease after a written demand for payment (§ 182(1), no. 1, and (2)). Claim the reduction through the proper channels instead.
• If you remedy the defect yourself, keep quotes and invoices. If it turns out there was no defect the landlord had to fix, you cannot claim the money from the landlord.
• If you cancel the lease, you no longer have to pay rent, but you also have to move out. According to the notes, it is assumed that you can cancel with some notice, so you have time to find a new home. If you would rather move out in the usual way, read about giving notice on your rental home.

When the municipality can step in in Copenhagen

The City of Copenhagen (in Danish) says you should start by contacting your landlord if you suspect you live in an unhealthy home. The municipality should be contacted if the building work is illegal, and it mentions these cases, among others:

• The building envelope has not been built correctly.
• The building has been illegally altered, for example by blocking ventilation ducts.
• The premises are not approved as a home.
• The building has significant maintenance defects, for example load-bearing structures weakened by damp.

The municipality assesses from your enquiry whether the building work is illegal. It cannot act on behaviour, for example damp problems because you dry clothes indoors, or rot in the windowsill due to a lack of maintenance.

If the damp is so serious that it is a health hazard, the Urban Renewal Act, byfornyelsesloven (in Danish) applies. The municipality must supervise homes when they are considered hazardous to health, and all habitable rooms must, among other things, provide satisfactory protection against damp and have a satisfactory indoor climate (§ 75). If using a building involves a health hazard, the municipality can ban it from being used as a home. This is called condemnation (kondemnering) (§ 76). In Copenhagen, according to the municipality, it is the Housing Commission (Boligkommissionen) that can, in very special cases, ban the use of the home. The law allows the municipality to hand this task over to a housing commission (§ 81).

If your home is condemned, you only have to pay rent until the ban takes effect (§ 100(2) of the Rent Act). If you have to move out because of a decision under the Urban Renewal Act, the municipality must provide another home for tenants of residential apartments who are protected against termination under the Rent Act (§ 61). If you are entitled to a home provided by the municipality, you are also entitled to have your moving costs reimbursed (§ 68). How municipalities handle these cases is described in the handbook on mould cases (in Danish).

If the damp is caused by how the home is used

You must treat the home properly, and you are liable for damage caused by negligent behaviour by you, your household or others you have let in (§ 149(1) and (2)). According to the explanatory notes, damage that is your own fault is not a defect, and then you have none of the rights above.

That is why it is important to find the cause before you discuss who should pay. Damp from the building, such as leaking pipes or a leaking roof, is the landlord’s responsibility. Damp caused by the way the home is used may be yours. The City of Copenhagen mentions drying clothes indoors as an example of damp problems the municipality cannot act on.

If the landlord says the mould is your fault and you disagree, ask for a written explanation. Disagreement about whether the landlord or you have met the duty to maintain can be brought before the Rent Tribunal (§ 114(1)).

Water damage and your own belongings

Water damage is usually damage that must be fixed immediately, so report it straight away (§ 149(3)). A burst supply or drain pipe, for example a water pipe, is one of the explanatory notes’ examples of urgent repairs the landlord can carry out without notice (§ 103(3)).

If your furniture or other belongings have been damaged, you can claim compensation from the landlord if the damage is due to the landlord’s neglect or circumstances the landlord is responsible for (§ 97). According to the notes, there must be a basis for liability. A defect is not enough on its own. If the landlord has, for example, failed to fix damage the landlord knew or should have known needed fixing, that can create liability. The notes specifically mention that compensation can matter when the tenant’s contents are damaged.

If there is no basis for liability, you cannot claim compensation under § 97. So also contact your insurance company and ask what your contents insurance covers. If the damage is caused by negligent behaviour by you, your household or others you have let in, you are the one who is liable (§ 149(2)). What the landlord’s own insurance covers is the subject of the article on insurance when renting out an apartment.

Sources

• Act on Rent (lejeloven), Act no. 341 of 22 March 2022 as amended (Retsinformation, in Danish)
• Bill on the Act on Rent (L 47), explanatory notes to §§ 89, 95-97, 100, 102 and 103 (Retsinformation, in Danish)
• Housing Conditions Act (lov om boligforhold), Act no. 342 of 22 March 2022 as amended (Retsinformation, in Danish)
• Consolidated Act on urban renewal and urban development, LBK no. 794 of 27 April 2021 (Retsinformation, in Danish)
• Consolidated Act on the rental of social housing, LBK no. 928 of 4 September 2019 (Retsinformation, in Danish)
• Do you live in an unhealthy home? (City of Copenhagen, in Danish)
• What the rent tribunals can deal with (City of Copenhagen, in Danish)
• Handbook for municipalities on handling mould cases (Danish Agency for Transport, Construction and Housing, in Danish)