News, Politics

Council questioned if it has enough money to fix damp and mould issues after spending £2.4m on problems last year

By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter

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Nottingham City Council spent more than £2.4m fixing damp and mould problems in its council homes last year, prompting concerns over whether it has sufficient funds to address hundreds more issues ahead of a new law.

From October this year, councils and other social landlords will have a new legal duty to rectify serious hazards, such as damp and mould, within strict timeframes.

Changes were made under the Social Housing (Regulation) Act following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak.

He died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his Rochdale social home.

The legislation will be known as Awaab’s Law, and the Labour-run city council says it has already begun making several critical changes ahead of its introduction.

These include tenants’ advice sessions and training for staff, as well as the introduction of a new damp and mould policy.

According to figures published by the council, the number of properties with damp has been reduced from 1,736 cases in December last year to 957 as of March.

The 55 per cent reduction in damp cases is a result of two additional contractors to help with remedial and preventative work, the authority says.

However, fixing the problems cost more than £2.4m in the previous financial year, which began in April 2024.

During a Place, Economy and Infrastructure Scrutiny Committee at Loxley House on Monday (June 16), Cllr Kirsty L Jones (Lab) questioned whether the council has sufficient resources to combat the issues.

She said the council is already battling a significant housing crisis, with “no slack in the system” to move people out of older, unsuitable homes.

Some families are living in overcrowded homes, while others have insufficient welfare support to heat their houses and help prevent damp and mould, she added.

“Does the council have sufficient resources to implement the improvements required by the new law by the suggested deadlines, given that damp and mould is a much wider thing?” she said.

Cllr Jay Hayes, executive member for housing, said: “Financially, if we have to take anyone out of a property, all of that is covered by the HRA, so it does not have an impact on the general fund.

“We do try and reach out to say, have we got anybody who has lost their job and can’t afford their energy bills, and they can be contacted by tenant support.

“We are also introducing downsizing schemes.”

Steve Edlin, assistant director of asset management at the council, added: “We are aligning ourselves into a position for when [the law] comes in, because yes, when we know what came out from the Government about it, they had underestimated the costs of implementing it.

“We are also looking at any Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions that could help us manage that, and have that resource to tackle any issues.”

Under the new law, emergency works must be completed within 24 hours, while inspections for non-emergency works must happen within 14 days.

Remedial work must then be done between seven and 28 days of the inspection, depending on severity.

Almost 30 per cent of the council’s housing stock was built before 1940, and roughly 4,500 properties do not have cavity walls. These types of properties are more susceptible to condensation, leading to damp and mould issues.

The council also says it will be implementing an installation programme for air ventilation devices, which will be installed in properties without cavity walls and those with higher occupancy levels than originally designed for.

A leak detector project trial in high-rise buildings is also expected to begin later this year.