Agenda item

The report will follow in a supplementary pack for this meeting after it has been published for the meeting of Executive Committee (due for publication on Monday 6 January).

The report was presented in respect of the additional resources proposed for the Council to deal with damp and mould issues in its capacity as a social housing provider.

It was noted that the Government had made major changes to the law on damp and mould and primary legislation had been enacted through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. However, further details of the exact scope of the new regime in respect of this issue would only become clear once secondary legislation had been introduced and this had been delayed. It was possible that the final version of Awaab’s Law would be wider than the original expectation and could cover other housing health hazards in addition to damp and mould.

The Council’s Housing Property Services had made significant efforts to minimise the problem of damp and mould in council homes over the last few years acting with the limited resources available. However, in light of the new legislation, the Council did not have sufficient resources to further improve its delivery of repair services and ensure action was compliant with the appropriate timescales set out in legislation. Accordingly, the report proposed that a dedicated “Damp and Mould” team be established to address the prevalent issue of mould and dampness in council homes and to ensure that the council could meet the challenging timescales to investigate and remedy issues that had been set out in Awaab’s Law.

With reference to the data that from 1^st April 2023 to 31^st March 2024 the Council received reports of damp and mould in respect of 373 social housing properties. It was clarified that this was a figure for the number of reports received in that year rather than an overall figure for the number of council homes in Redditch that could be affected by damp and mould. It was further clarified that damp and mould issues could develop in any property and at any time: it was therefore imperative that resources were available to deal with any reports of damp and mould that are received on an ongoing basis.

It was highlighted that the Council needed to react to any reports of damp and mould in line with the timescales set out in Awaab’s Law. For example, for any investigation where there was reported hazard which poses a significant risk to the health or safety of the resident, the registered social housing provider must begin repair works within 7 calendar days of the written summary being issued. There was a high risk of penalties from the regulator if the timescales set out in the legislation were not met. This also justified the requirement for extra resources and a dedicated ‘Damp and Mould’ team.

A Member queried how properties with damp and mould problems were currently being identified by the Council given lack of inspector capacity. It was responded that at present there were surveyors within the capital programmes team who could undertake this work. However, more officer capacity was required to deal with demand, also resulting from legislative requirements. To cover the Borough, it was estimated that four full-time officers undertaking inspection and health and safety duties would be required.

With respect to when the appropriate secondary legislation is due to come into effect, it was responded that this was currently unknown but the creation of a dedicated ‘Damp and Mould’ Team would ensure that the Council could meet its duties in anticipation of this legislation and that it addressed what was a continuing issue.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing was invited to comment and in doing so he welcomed the report and emphasised that the costs associated with establishing a dedicated damp and mould team would only likely be a small part of the total costs that would need to be invested into the issue. The Portfolio Holder commented that measures proposed in the report before Members would, in the longer term, provide a financial saving to the authority and provide the Council with better ability to respond to reports of damp and mould.

The recommendations as contained in the report as submitted were endorsed.

RECOMMENDED that:

1)    Subject to the approval of recommendation 2, Members approve the contents of the Damp and Mould Business Case and the establishment of a Damp and Mould Team.

2)    £115,770 be released from the HRA budget for the financial year 2024/25 to cover the costs of the new team and that thereafter the costs summarized at paragraph 4.3 of the report of £463,078 be met from the HRA budget.