In this article, Sarah Davis, senior policy and practice officer at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), explores damp and mould in social housing and how the sector can improve standards for tenants
Our homes are a foundation stone for our health. The social housing sector has its roots in ambitions to tackle significant public health challenges and it has always been about more than bricks and mortar. Many social housing providers are focused on supporting the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities; delivering on the Decent Homes Standard has historically played a big part in this.
However, there have been many cases where social housing providers have failed to maintain homes in good condition, as shown by the work of the Housing Ombudsman, Kwajo Twenboa, Daniel Hewitt of ITN. The tragic death of Awaab Ishak and the findings of the coroner’s inquiry have commanded huge attention and serious criticism not only of the individual landlord involved, but of the wider social housing sector.
Some in the sector have become distracted from the quality and condition of social housing
These cases all indicate that some in the sector have become distracted both from a rigorous focus on the quality and condition of existing homes, and in listening to and acting upon the concerns that tenants have raised. The sector has operated for years with numerous calls on its resources, including meeting the net zero carbon target, building and fire safety measures and building much needed new homes.
This was acknowledged in the report of the independent Better Social Housing Review panel (BSHR) established by CIH and the NHF in response to the repeated reports of poor conditions. The recommendations of the panel challenge the sector to focus again on its core purpose of providing homes to those who otherwise cannot afford it, to be certain about the quality of those homes through a complete audit, and to re-establish the connection with tenants and local communities.
This chimes with the initiative of the secretary of state Michael Gove, who recently announced a rapid review of existing guidance on the health impacts of damp and mould in homes, which will lead to new consolidated guidance tailored to the housing sector due for publication by the summer.
His department is also working with Awaab’s family and campaigners to develop Awaab’s Law, which will require strict timescales in which landlords must investigate and fix reports of damp and mould, as part of tenancy agreements (details will be consulted on but provision for this will be brought forward in an amendment to the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill currently going through Parliament).
The sector must refocus on the quality of homes and building trust with tenants
The focus on damp and mould will continue; the Housing Ombudsman has already published a ‘one year on’ report recently following its spotlight on damp and mould in October 2021, having received a sharp rise in related complaints since its first report. For this follow-on report, it surveyed 40 social landlords, receiving 26 responses. It found just 35 per cent of the landlords now have a specific damp and mould policy, with 12 per cent working on implementing one. The report said a “notable proportion” of those surveyed were unaware of the report or “more worryingly, were aware but felt it held no relevance to them”.
So, there is still a significant challenge for the sector to address; to refocus on the quality of homes and building trust with tenants, ensuring that, whether organisations are large or small, their culture is tenant centered, and their staff and systems support a comprehensive and proactive approach to tackling damp and mould. Collectively the reports highlight some critical areas for work to make these changes.
Knowing, listening to, and working with tenants
The Housing Ombudsman’s spotlight report was sub-titled ‘It’s not lifestyle,’ because this can be seen as the default diagnosis rather than a more in-depth inspection to identify the root causes quickly. The action of tenants is generally not ‘lifestyle’ at all – if implying deliberate actions or choice – but rather a result of how acts of daily living, common to everyone, interact with the fabric, design, or age of the property.
But attributing mould and damp primarily or solely to tenant behaviour creates a negative impression and reinforces the inherent power imbalance in the relationship. It contributes to tenants’ experience of being stigmatized by landlords and contractors, evidenced in CIH’s work with Stop Social Housing Stigma (SSHS) (It’s not okay: a guide to tackling stigma in social housing), and increases the risk of mistrust and poor tenant satisfaction with landlords.
There may be occasions where additional circumstances beyond the tenants’ control can make matters worse; social housing has the highest percentage of overcrowded homes, with 8 per cent overcrowded in 2020/21 compared to 6 per cent in the privately rented sector and only 1 per cent of owner occupiers (UK Housing Review 2022).
Tenants often have amongst the lowest incomes (see for example UK Housing Review 2022, table 37a) and high levels of fuel poverty, leading many to limit or stop heating their homes. And around a quarter of disabled people of working age live in social housing, often experiencing higher rates of poverty, and more susceptible to the impact of poor quality housing (CIH cost of living crisis briefing 4: spotlight on benefits and disability).
Landlords do not always have this information about who lives in their homes, which can lead to failure in appropriate and timely responses. That emerged in the case of Awaab Ishak, further complicated by information also being held in separate places, so that appropriate action to support a vulnerable child was not factored into the landlord’ response. Landlords need to be aware of who is living in their homes, and to collaborate with them where solutions may also be required, such as help in the cost of living crisis through access to benefits, financial inclusion etc.
Developing a proactive plan to identify the root causes of damp and mould
The BSHR panel called for landlords to have a complete stock audit to consistent standards. Currently, the level of comprehensive information on properties varies between landlords. Having accurate and up-to-date information on properties, including any structural or design weaknesses or additional maintenance requirements, is an essential starting point for developing a proactive plan to identify the root causes of damp and mould.
It should also be supplemented by carefully recording the reports from tenants and all staff and contractors who visit the property and/ or interact with the tenants. Then all staff will be able to provide consistent and regular communication on progress, which is key to maintaining trust with tenants, particularly where the problem will take some time to resolve to where the work will involve a temporary move.
Tenants need to be involved in developing proactive strategies on damp and mould and ensure all communications are made in an appropriate and non-judgmental way; Your Housing Group has involved its scrutiny group in writing its strategy, and in communications with all tenants about this.
Positive communication will encourage more tenants to report problems, to accept the introduction of monitoring technology where needed, and to take up any additional support where appropriate. Examples from landlords using monitoring technology clearly show that the data needs to be embedded in a wider strategic response to make the most of the information it provides, for landlord and tenant (such as Coastline’s involvement in the Smartline project) and to shape landlords’ wider maintenance and improvement projects (Thirteen group have introduced three monthly guttering cleaning for all buildings over three storeys).
Having a professional approach towards tenants
How staff and contractors interact with tenants makes an enormous difference in finding positive solutions, building a relationship of trust, and improving tenant satisfaction with the home and landlord.
Staff need to be able to spot problems, know the landlord’s process for dealing with them, and communicate regularly and openly with tenants on progress. They also need to be sensitive to the factors that can increase the risk of dampness and mould occurring and where tenants are particularly vulnerable to increased health problems.
The Housing Ombudsman referenced CIH’s professional standards, highlighting the expectation for staff to be able to act pre-emptively, to solve problems creatively, even where this goes beyond their ‘normal activity’. The BSHR panel called for landlords to ensure that tenants have influence, and for a re-engagement at the local level.
Whilst there is still clearly a lot of work for the sector to address, learning from the social housing sector will be useful as well across the private rented sector.
There have been calls for Awaab’s Law to be extended to the PRS; something that speaks to the government’s own Levelling Up mission to halve the number of non-decent rented housing by 50 per cent by 2030, and to introduce a decent homes standard in the private rented sector. Housing conditions and tenants’ influence are critical in any ambition to improve housing and our health and well-being.
Sarah Davis is a senior policy and practice officer at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) who leads on ageing, health, care, support, rural housing, tenant engagement, and housing strategy.
