Most social landlords “understand extent of damp and mould in tenants’ homes”, but some rely on ‘reactive’ rather than ‘proactive’ approaches, regulator finds

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has published its initial findings on damp and mould in England’s social housing, after obtaining evidence from social landlords on the extent of the issue and their approaches to tackling it.

Following a coroner’s November report into the death of Awaab Ishak, RSH wrote to larger registered providers of social housing and asked them to submit evidence about the extent of damp and mould in tenants’ homes.

This covered local authorities and housing associations who together own and manage more than four million homes in England.

The report, published today (2 February) found:

• Most social landlords understand the extent of damp and mould in their tenants’ homes and take action to tackle it, but could strengthen their approach.
• The vast majority of people living in social housing have homes that are free from damp and mould. However, living with damp and mould can have a serious impact on tenants’ health and wellbeing. It is essential that landlords identify and address these issues promptly and effectively.
• Some landlords submitted poor quality responses that lacked the detail needed for RSH to have confidence about their approach to tackling damp and mould.
• While the picture was incomplete, RSH’s best estimate was that less than 0.2% of social homes have the most serious damp and mould problems, 1-2% have serious damp and mould problems, and a further 3-4% have notable damp and mould.

The regulator noted that although a poor-quality response “does not necessarily mean the provider has a poor approach”, it does mean that it will need to look more closely at what they are doing to tackle damp and mould effectively.

RSH has revealed it will engage directly with social landlords who submitted poor quality responses and those reporting a high prevalence of damp and mould, and will “take regulatory action if needed”.

The report found that the strongest responses from landlords demonstrated “robust data on the condition of tenants’ homes”, as well as “processes for investigating and remedying the root causes of damp and mould”, and “robust oversight from boards and councillors”.

By contrast, poorer responses relied more heavily on “reactive approaches rather than proactively looking for evidence of damp and mould”, and had “weaker data and evidence about the condition of tenants’ homes”, the report said.

Fiona MacGregor, Chief Executive of RSH, said: “Tenants deserve quality services and homes that are safe and of a decent standard. Where there are issues, landlords need to act now to put things right, before we start our active consumer regulation including inspections of providers.

“We expect all providers to continue to look at how they can improve the way they identify and address damp and mould."

From April 2024, RSH will introduce more active consumer regulation of social housing, including inspections of providers. The quality of homes – including damp and mould – and repairs services will be a key focus.

Responding to the regulator's initial findings, Cllr Darren Rodwell, housing spokesperson at the Local Government Association, said: “Councils continue to fully support efforts to inspect homes and drive-up standards in both the social housing and private rented sector. While this study shows that the vast majority of social housing is safe and decent, councils are determined to improve housing conditions for all social and private tenants.

“The LGA continues to work with professional bodies, as well as the Government, to discuss possible solutions on improving housing standards – including those relating to damp and mould in tenanted properties.”

RSH said in its report that tenants who are unhappy with their landlord’s response to complaints can contact the Housing Ombudsman, who can help resolve complaints.

This comes as the Housing Law Practitioners Association (HLPA) issued an open letter to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, amid concerns over his directions to use the Ombudsman as the first route for reporting complaints.

Spike Mullings, the association’s co-chair, wrote that while the HLPA saluted the fact that the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) had been “cognisant of the deep and dangerous complacency within the housing provider sector as to housing conditions, damp and mould”, Awaab Ishak’s death still occurred when the HOS had “all the powers and broadly all the resources it has now.”

The Social Housing Regulation Bill, which is currently in Parliament, will give the Regulator of Social Housing new and stronger powers to proactively assess social landlords against the consumer standards.

RSH has called on landlords to “act now” to ensure they comply with the standards - including on issues relating to damp and mould - before the legislation is enacted.

Lottie Winson