Social Housing Landlords told to Act as Damp & Mould Reported in Thousands of Homes
The Social Housing Regulator has published its initial findings today on damp and mould in social housing in England.
Damp and mould in social housing in England is reported to be impacting up to 160,000 homes according to the Social Housing Regulator, with 8,000 of these cases so severe that they are considered to “pose a serious and immediate risk to health”. Living with damp and mould caused by poor property conditions can have a serious effect on the health and wellbeing of residents.
Whilst the regulator acknowledged that there is still work to do, responses demonstrated that whilst most understand the extent of the issue and take action to tackle damp and mould issues, they “could strengthen their approach”.
The report gives a clear indication of the extent of the issue, however, the RSH reported that the picture is incomplete as some of the responses received were deemed to be “poor” quality and lacked detail.
The report found that the strongest responses came from landlords who could evidence access to robust data on the condition of their homes, and those with processes in place for finding the root causes of damp and mould. With “poorer” responses coming from those who take a more reactive approach to tackle damp and mould issues and who provided “weaker data and evidence about the condition of tenants’ homes”.
On the publication of the report, Fiona MacGregor, Chief Executive of RSH, said “We expect all providers to continue to look at how they can improve the way they identify and address damp and mould”.
The report was instructed following the publication of the coroner’s report into the tragic death of Awaab Ishak last November. All large social landlords were contacted and had until the 19th of December to submit evidence on the extent of damp and mould in their properties and their action plan for tackling the issue.
North is working with housing associations and local authorities across the UK, helping them to leverage technology to proactively improve and avoid serious damp and mould conditions in properties. Additional independent expert support is included as part of the North proposition to conduct root cause analysis and property assessments to better support the landlords improve the health and wellbeing of tenants.
Date
02 February 2023