A damp and mould crisis in English social housing impacts up to 160,000 homes, with 8,000 so severe they “pose a serious and immediate risk to health” according to a report out this morning from the regulator of Social Housing
Their investigation followed the conclusion of the inquest into two-year-old Awaab Ishak’s death in Rochdale when coroner ruled that he died from prolonged exposure to mould after repeated complaints from his family to the housing association, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), which owned the flat.
Social landlords had until 19 December to respond and the regulator has published its initial findings today.
They found that between 120,000 and 160,000 of the four million social homes in England have “notable” amounts of damp and mould, or category three hazards.
40,000 and 80,000 – have serious category two damp and mould hazards, as assessed by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), while 8,000 have the most serious ‘category one’ hazard which implies a serious and immediate threat to health.
The regulator said: “These are not acceptable conditions for tenants to be living in, even if the proportions are relatively small.
“Local authorities reported proportionately more cases than private registered providers.”
The RSH said providers had recorded and submitted information about the number of damp and mould cases they had in a variety of ways, meaning it was difficult to accurately assess the extent of such problems in the sector overall.
