Regulator of Social Housing receives 50 referrals relating to potential breaches by social landlords of its housing quality and repair standard arising out of damp and mould

Analysis of landlords’ evidence on the extent of damp and mould in their properties highlights poor data management and limited oversight of housing conditions from boards or councillors as key issues to improve

The Regulator of Social Housing has received 50 referrals relating to potential breaches by social landlords of its housing quality and repair standard arising out of damp and mould.

Following the death of a two-year-old boy as a result of prolonged exposure to mould in his Rochdale Boroughwide Housing accommodation, the Chief Executive of the RSH Fiona MacGregor wrote to all larger registered providers of social housing in November 2022 asking them to submit evidence about the extent of damp and mould in tenants’ homes and their approach to tackling it.

The initial findings from the research published in February 2023 indicated that although less than 0.2 per cent of social homes have the most serious damp and mould problems (category 1 under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), 1 to 2 per cent have serious damp and mould problems (category 2 under the HHSRS), and a further 3 to 4 per cent have notable damp and mould.

Publishing its final analysis of responses this week, Damp and mould in social housing Learning the lessons, the Regulator highlights that –

• 386 responses were received to the initial survey, with most landlords giving assurances that they had the mechanisms and procedures in place for monitoring and responding to issues of damp and mould in their homes;
• 55 landlords submitted poor responses which required follow-up requests for further information; and
• since the coroner’s report linking the death of the two-year-old to damp and mould, the RSH has received 12 self-referrals from landlords for a potential breach of the Home Standard – one of four consumer standards that sets expectations for registered providers of social housing to provide tenants with quality accommodation and a cost-effective repairs and maintenance service – due to damp and mould, and 38 referrals from other sources.

Drawing out lessons to learn from the evidence it has received, the Regulator says that –

• better-performing landlords manage their data well, including by keeping accurate and up-to-date information about tenants’ homes and using it to find and resolve problems proactively;
• strong oversight from boards or councillors is essential – particularly by gaining assurance that landlord management teams are responding effectively when tenants raise concerns; and
• some boards and councillors have limited oversight of the condition of tenants’ homes, and in some cases they didn’t have specific processes for identifying and tackling damp and mould.

NB – the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, will give the Regulator new and stronger powers to assess social landlords against the consumer standards proactively.

The Regulator's chief executive Fiona MacGregor said –

'Tenants deserve to live in homes that are safe, of a decent standard, and free from serious hazards including damp and mould. We expect all landlords to read our report carefully and ask themselves challenging questions about how they could improve their approach.'

For more information, see Damp and mould in social housing – learning the lessons from gov.uk