When it was sent, when it arrived
Each reading is stored with the time the network received it from the sensor and the time it reached our platform, in UTC.
Built for expert evidence.
Designed to act early.
How Smart Monitor data supports a CPR Part 35 expert report, the Housing Ombudsman’s call to know your homes, and Awaab’s Law. Written for legal, disrepair, surveying and compliance teams.
THE QUESTION LEGAL TEAMS ASK
Can Smart Monitor data be used in court?
Yes, as evidence an expert relies on.
CPR Part 35 sets rules for expert witnesses and their reports, not for devices, so no sensor is “CPR 35 compliant” on its own. What matters is whether an expert can rely on the data. Smart Monitor records the facts, methods and timings that Practice Direction 35 asks an expert to set out. Whether and how the data is relied on is for the expert and the court.
See what the expert gets
01 / CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES PART 35
What an expert
What an expert
can rely on.
Damp and mould disputes often reach the county court, where CPR Part 35 governs the experts both sides rely on. An expert’s report must say what it relied on. This is what Smart Monitor gives them.
PRACTICE DIRECTION 35, PARA 3.2
The report must set out the material relied on and who took the measurements.
- The facts and material relied on
- Dated readings, alerts and an evidence timeline showing each event, when it was recorded, which sensor it came from and who acted.
- The literature relied on
- A methodology section naming each standard and model used, whether it is a standard, a model or law, and every threshold applied.
- Who took the measurements
- The sensor behind every reading, and the person behind every survey, note and action.
- A record that can be checked
- A unique pack reference, methodology version and SHA-256 fingerprint, so a pack produced in a dispute can be tied to the moment it was made.
- Readings as received
- The app and API give landlord staff, residents and integrations no way to edit a reading, and a repeated message never creates a duplicate.
A traceable pack
A fingerprint of each damp and mould evidence pack’s content is printed on every page and logged when it is made.
A record that lasts the claim
Three years live, then archived. Never removed while an Awaab’s Law case is open.
Property data only
No resident, occupant, health or vulnerability data appears in an evidence pack.
Under CPR Part 35 an expert’s overriding duty is to the court, and the opinion is theirs. Smart Monitor supplies a factual record of conditions in the home. It does not replace the expert’s own inspection, judgement or report. Sources: Civil Procedure Rules Part 35 and Practice Direction 35.
02 / THE EVIDENCE PACK
What your legal team
What your legal team
receives.
A damp and mould evidence pack is a dated PDF for one property, produced on request. It brings the readings, the case and the method together in the order an expert or surveyor would read them.
Smart Installers.PROPERTY EVIDENCE PACK
- Pack reference
- Unique to each pack
- Methodology version
- Printed on the cover
- Property and site
- The home the pack covers
- Assessment window
- The dates the readings span
- SHA-256
- Repeated in the footer of every page
Property data only. No resident, occupant, health or vulnerability data.
- 01
Summary
The current risk band, peak risk and when it occurred, and how long conditions have persisted.
- 02
Evidence timeline
Every event by day, with the time it happened, the time it was recorded, the sensor and who acted.
- 03
Conditions and growth model
Surface condensation risk under BS EN ISO 13788 and the VTT mould index, with time to onset.
- 04
Statutory position
The Awaab’s Law clocks as they stood when the pack was requested, with the HHSRS and fitness position.
- 05
Actions, photos and notes
Recommended actions, observations, photos and the property notes at the time.
- 06
Methodology and sources
Every standard, model and threshold used, each labelled as a standard, a model or law.
03 / HOUSING OMBUDSMAN
Know your homes.
Know your homes.
Act before the complaint.
The best evidence is a problem fixed before it becomes a claim. The Ombudsman asks landlords to move from reactive to proactive, with a data-driven, risk-based approach that finds problems before a resident has to complain.
“Knowing your residents and their homes has never mattered more.”
- 01 / KNOW
Know your stock
The Ombudsman’s follow-up names “know your stock” as a key factor for boards. A risk-ranked view shows which homes have conditions that lead to mould, and since when.
- 02 / ACT EARLY
Act before it escalates
Alerts reach the right team when humidity, surface condensation or cold persist, so you are not relying on residents to report it.
- 03 / RECORD
Keep an accurate record
The Ombudsman says a proactive approach relies on accurate records. Every reading, alert and action is kept in one dated record for each home.
The Ombudsman cites humidity and temperature sensors as good practice in both its damp and mould reports. Sources: Housing Ombudsman, Spotlight on: Damp and mould. It’s not lifestyle (October 2021); One year on follow-up report (February 2023); Spotlight on: Knowledge and information management (May 2023).
04 / AWAAB’S LAW & HHSRS
Matched to the
Matched to the
statutory clocks.
Every monitored property is placed in a band. The first two match the timescales in SI 2025/1042. We never label a home “compliant”: sensors can show the absence of a warning sign, not that a legal duty has been met. Where there are not yet enough readings to judge, the platform says “not yet assessable” rather than guess.
Investigate and make safe.
Investigate a potential significant hazard.
Keep monitoring and review at the next inspection.
Readings show no sign of a hazard.
Awaab’s Law+
Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 section 10A, inserted by the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, and the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025. Evidence packs print the case clocks as they stood when the pack was requested.
HHSRS+
Damp and mould growth is hazard profile 11 under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (Housing Act 2004). Sensor data informs the assessment. The rating itself is made by an assessor, not a sensor.
Fitness for human habitation+
Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 sections 9A and 10, as amended by the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.
Decent Homes Standard+
Reports flag where a confirmed hazard would mean a home does not meet Criterion E, so it can be planned into your programme.
05 / STANDARDS & MODELS
Recognised methods,
Recognised methods,
named in every report.
We label each source for what it is. A British Standard or scientific model guides the calculation; it is not the law. The law sets the duties and timescales.
| What we calculate | Source | Type | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dew point and surface humidity | BS EN ISO 13788:2012 | Standard | Mould grows on the cold wall surface, not in the room air. We estimate humidity at that surface using the building’s thermal factor. |
| Room humidity | BS 5250:2021 | Standard | Sustained high humidity is the main driver of condensation in homes. |
| Mould growth index (0–6) | ASHRAE 160-2021 / VTT mould growth model | Model | Scores whether mould is likely to grow over time, not just whether the air is damp. |
| Excess cold | HHSRS operating guidance | Guidance | Low indoor temperatures are a hazard in their own right and raise condensation risk. |
| Legionella risk | HSE HSG274 / ACoP L8 | Guidance | Water temperature and hours without flow, combined into evidence packs for duty holders. |
| Smoke alarm testing and status | BS 5839-6 | Standard | Tamper, fault, self-test and battery records show an alarm is actually working. The standard sets no self-test interval for connected alarms, so that window is our own rule. |
06 / CAN THE DATA BE TRUSTED?
Established sensors.
Established sensors.
A protected record.
An expert will ask where the numbers came from. We use commercial LoRaWAN sensors from established manufacturers in Sweden and the UK, and protect every reading from the sensor to the report.
ELSYS / SWEDEN
ERS room sensors
- Temperature
- ±0.2 °C
- Relative humidity
- ±2% RH
- CO₂
- ±30 ppm ±3% of reading (current ERS CO2)
- Approvals
- EU RED, EMC and RoHS; LoRaWAN Certified
SYNETICA ENLINK / UK
enLink Zone
- Temperature
- ±0.2 °C typical
- Relative humidity
- ±2% RH typical
- CO₂ (optional)
- NDIR, ±(30 ppm + 3% of reading)
- CO₂ range
- 0–5,000 ppm, extendable to 10,000
Protected at every step
- 01 / SENSOREncrypted at source
Every message is encrypted with AES-128 before it leaves the device, using keys unique to that sensor.
- 02 / RADIO NETWORKChecked in transit
Gateways relay messages without being able to read them. An altered or replayed message is rejected.
- 03 / PLATFORMStored encrypted in London
Readings arrive over TLS 1.2 or higher and are stored encrypted on Amazon Web Services in London.
- 04 / PEOPLEMulti-factor sign-in
Staff sign in with multi-factor authentication, and each role sees only what it needs.
Private by design
No cameras, no audio
Sound is sent as a decibel level, never a recording.
Kept separate
Each landlord sees only its own homes. Residents see only their own.
Kept only as long as needed
A retention schedule enforced daily. Data is deleted or anonymised within 90 days of contract end.
UK GDPR
We act as data processor for the landlord. Data is never sold or used for advertising.
WHO IT’S FOR
One record.
One record.
Every team that needs it.
The same dated record serves the people who prevent problems and the people who resolve disputes.
Legal and disrepair teams
A dated record of conditions in the home, to defend or settle a claim on the facts.
CPR 35 evidenceExpert witnesses and surveyors
Readings, named methods and a timeline to cite in a report, alongside your own inspection.
The evidence packCompliance and asset teams
Risk bands and Awaab’s Law clocks for every monitored home, with the case history behind them.
Awaab’s LawBoards and executive teams
Evidence that you know your stock and act early, as the Housing Ombudsman asks.
Know your homes
YOUR QUESTIONS
Straight answers.
Is Smart Monitor CPR 35 compliant?+
CPR Part 35 applies to expert witnesses and their reports, not to equipment. Smart Monitor is built so an expert can rely on its data: timestamped readings, recognised methods named in every pack, and a traceable record of when each pack was produced.
Can monitoring data be used in a disrepair claim?+
Yes. Readings and evidence packs can be given to a surveyor or expert instructed in a claim. Whether and how they are relied on is for the expert, the parties and the court.
Does monitoring guarantee compliance?+
No. Monitoring gives earlier insight and better evidence. Compliance depends on the landlord’s investigation, communication with residents and the work carried out.
Where is the data stored?+
The platform and its database are hosted on Amazon Web Services in London.
How long are readings kept?+
Three years in the live service, then archived until seven years. Readings are kept for as long as an Awaab’s Law case on the property remains open.
Who owns the data?+
The landlord. We process it only on the landlord’s instructions, as its data processor under UK GDPR, and it can take an export when a contract ends.
Summary checked 21 October 2026. This page describes how Smart Monitor works and the sources it uses. It is not legal advice.
FOR YOUR LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE TEAMS
See the evidence
See the evidence
before you need it.
Ask for a sample evidence pack, our data sheet
or the full sensor data statement.