Selling a house with dry rot

Dry rot is a type of fungal decay that feeds on the timber in your home. Despite its name, dry rot actually needs moisture to start growing, usually from a leak, poor ventilation or rising damp. Once it takes hold, it can spread quickly, weakening structural timbers and causing significant damage.

• Dry rot is more aggressive. It can spread through brick, plaster and masonry, not just wood. Left untreated, it can compromise the structural integrity of a building.
• Wet rot is less severe and typically confined to the damp area itself. It doesn’t spread in the same way and is usually easier (and cheaper) to fix.

Dry rot can appear in different forms depending on how advanced it is. It’s not always obvious at first, which is why it often gets missed until it’s become more serious.

• A musty, damp smell
• Discoloured or brittle timber that crumbles easily
• Patches of white or grey fluffy fungus
• A rusty, orange-brown coloured spore dust
• In the advanced stages, there’ll be mushroom-like fruiting bodies

If you spot any of these signs, we’d recommend getting a professional survey done as soon as possible.

The first step in tackling dry rot is finding and stopping the source of moisture. This might mean fixing a leaky pipe, improving the ventilation in the area or repairing damp-proofing.

After that, the affected wood needs to be removed and replaced, then chemical treatments will typically need to be applied to stop the fungus from returning.

The average cost for dry rot treatment is over £4.5k, but this will vary depending on a few factors, including how severe and widespread the problem is, how many areas are affected, what materials have been affected, as well as how pricy the contractor is. As an estimate, you’d be looking at:

• Minor cases: £1,000 – £2,500
• Moderate cases: £3,000 – £6,000
• Severe cases: £10,000+

Because dry rot can spread into hidden areas like under floors or behind walls, costs can soon go up once work begins and the true extent is discovered.

Yes, you can sell a house with dry rot, but buyers are often reluctant to take on properties with structural or damp-related issues – and most lenders will refuse to offer mortgages until the problem has been fixed.

This means many traditional buyers either walk away or barter a much lower price to reflect the repair costs and hassle.

If you’re determined to sell, you’ve got two main routes:

Repair the dry rot before selling

This can make your home more attractive to buyers, but it involves a lot of upfront cost, disruption and time. You’ll need to get a professional survey to confirm the extent of the problem, and from there you can decide whether to carry out repairs or…

Sell the property as-is

This is faster, but you’ll likely receive lower offers from traditional buyers. If selling asis, you’ll need to disclose the presence of dry rot to potential buyers (this is a legal requirement), and you’ll need to be prepared for buyers dropping out if their mortgage lender won’t approve the property.