Damp, mould and getting repairs right
Data shows more than 1 million social housing tenants are dissatisfied with their landlord’s repairs and maintenance services, with potentially dire consequences when relating to reports of damp and mould
INNOVATION & IMPROVEMENT
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Matthew Scott
Policy and Practice Officer, Chartered Institute of Housing
Matthew Scott
Policy and Practice Officer, Chartered Institute of Housing
Issue 69 | December 2023
Dealing effectively with damp and mould remains one of the core priorities of the UK housing sector. Following the death of Awaab Ishak and a mounting number of damp-related severe maladministration judgements by the Housing Ombudsman, both the private and social rented sectors have been placed under necessary scrutiny.
In England, the government intends to introduce an updated Decent Homes Standard as part of the Renters (Reform) Bill, and the social housing sector is undergoing a range of reforms centred on the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill and its associated consumer standards. In particular, the introduction of ‘Awaab’s Law’ will place firmer expectations on social landlords for dealing with damp and mould, as well as other serious hazards.
Assessing the problem
Based on the English Housing Survey (EHS), the UK Housing Review shows that the prevalence of damp in English housing has hovered at around 4% for more than a decade, following a substantial decrease from 1996. However, it should deepen our worry that alternative data sources suggest that the EHS may underestimate the prevalence of damp and mould in English housing.
Focusing on social housing only, in February 2023 the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) estimated 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. More alarmingly, recent research by the Resolution Foundation found that 1 in 5 people reported living in a damp home, and that dampness was concentrated in private (30%) and social (27%) rented housing.
Research also consistently tells us that some households are more likely to be affected, with households containing children, lower-income households and households headed by a black person all highlighted by the EHS.
Damp is not just unpleasant – there is significant evidence that damp, as well as mould, causes and exacerbates serious health issues. The link with respiratory issues, especially among children and older people, is well-documented, and there is evidence that damp is associated with mental ill-health, social isolation, and stigmatisation.
0.2%
of social homes have the most serious damp problems
1-2%
social homes have serious damp and mould problems
3-4%
of social homes have notable damp and mould
Source: Regulator of Social Housing
Repairs services under the spotlight
Growing understanding of the prevalence and health implications of damp and mould issues have placed repairs and maintenance services under the spotlight. For many years, detailed data on levels of resident satisfaction with repairs services were not available, a fact that undoubtedly contributed to sector and government ignorance of the severity of damp and mould issues. From April 2023, social landlords are required to collect tenant satisfaction data on repairs services, with the first year of data scheduled for publication in autumn 2024.
In the meantime, updates to the EHS methodology provide a first glimpse of the levels of dissatisfaction. Findings from the EHS’s new Satisfaction and Complaints module show that in 2021/22, private renters were more likely to be satisfied with the repairs and maintenance carried out by their landlord (75%) than social renters (62%).
Importantly, households that contained someone with a long-term illness or disability were less likely to be satisfied with their repairs and maintenance (63%) than households without (71%), showing the importance of good adaptation practices. The main reasons for dissatisfaction across both rental sectors were that landlords failed or were too slow to get problems tackled.
Working with residents
In social housing, these findings mean that more than 1 million households were not satisfied with the repairs services they received. Unsurprisingly, satisfaction levels were also lower for social housing residents with a damp problem than those without.
Persistently poor outcomes for people requesting repairs work in social housing was a key focus of the Better Social Housing Review (BSHR), which found evidence of much broader problems than the speed of getting things done. While recognising that the cost of delivering repairs services has soared alongside inflation, the BSHR found that dissatisfaction was also driven by inconsistent and occasionally defensive complaints-handling practices, with some residents, especially those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, feeling afraid to discuss housing conditions for fear of repercussions or losing their homes.
As the sector redoubles its efforts to rethink repairs and maintenance and eradicate damp and mould problems, satisfaction data signal the problem but not necessarily the solution. Instead, the BSHR shows that working with residents to understand what is wrong and how to put it right is critical, if past mistakes are not to be repeated.
“Working with residents to understand what is wrong and how to put it right is critical, if past mistakes are not to be repeated.”
This article first appeared in the Chartered Institute of Housing UK Housing Review Autumn Briefing Paper 2023.
