In a report published by the Housing Regulator, it has estimated that 3-4%, 120,000 – 160,000 of social homes have ‘notable’ damp and mould issues. The report, although ‘incomplete’ has been based on the responses from Local Authorities and Registered Providers after the Regulator had asked larger providers to submit evidence on the extend of damp & mould in their tenants homes and how they intended to tackle it.
The regulator said it estimated that 1-2% (40,000-80,000) of homes have HHSRS category 2 damp and mould issues, with another 0.2% (8,000) of homes having the most serious, HHSRS category 1 problems which would fail the Decent Homes Standard.
In the report the Regulator said that the majority of providers had demonstrated that they are taking the issues around damp and mould seriously and were addressing cases of damp and mould in tenant’s homes when identified. It went on to say that where providers had supplied ‘poor quality’ information about whether they were tackling damp and mould properly, they would look more closely.
In the cases where landlords have reported a high number of serious damp and mould cases the Regulator intends to request further specific assurances that they are identifying and addressing damp and mould properly, with further regulatory action if not met.
The Regulator intends to introduce active consumer regulation of social housing from April 2024, with inspections having a key focus on damp and mould and repair services.
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