Councils in England only inspect half of all mold reports in private rental properties

Due to budget cuts, councils only inspect half of all damp and mold reports they receive in the private rental sector (PRS). Observer can reveal.

This is evident from a recent government survey among more than 300 municipalities analyzed by the Observer found that local authorities in England inspected 11,897 homes for serious damp and mold in 2021-2022, the last year for which data is available, despite receiving a total of 23,727 complaints.

In the vast majority (87%) of cases where illegal and dangerous levels of damp and mold were identified – defined as Category 1 or Category 2 hazards – municipalities chose to follow an informal resolution.

Of the few cases in which they took formal action, local authorities issued 1,539 Improvement notices – statutory orders forcing landlords to make improvements – 105 fixed penalty notices and only 27 prosecutions against landlords for serious damp and mold in homes in 2021-2022.

And despite concerns about mold and moisture growth since the mold-related death of toddler Awaab Ishak in 2020, the number of fines and prosecutions by municipalities fell between 2020-21 and 2021-22, according to the data.

Nearly 85% of the more than 300 English councils included in the data said a lack of funding and resources was the biggest or second biggest barrier to their ability to hold private landlords to account.

More than two-thirds also said the housing health and safety rating system – the main legal framework used to maintain quality in the private rental sector – needed to be reformed, with at least one council suggesting it was “not appropriate for the intended purpose”.

“Councils are committed to tackling poor practice and taking action where necessary to raise standards in the private rented sector,” said Councilor Darren Rodwell, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association (LGA).

“However, many local enforcement teams currently do not have the resources and capacity to proactively tackle poor standards in the PRS due to the severe financial constraints that councils face.”

Due to cuts in central government funding, the real purchasing power of local municipalities has fallen by 27% since 2010, while demand for municipal services has skyrocketed. according to the LGA.

The new findings come just two weeks after the Royal College of Physicians warned of a growing number of deaths from damp and mold if the problem is not tackled by the government.

Earlier this month, Housing Secretary Michael Gove announced a consultation on proposals for social landlords to investigate dangers within a fortnight, start fixing problems within a further seven days and carry out emergency repairs within a day, but those new standards would not apply to the private rental sector.

The government summary of the mold and moisture data found almost two-thirds of municipalities had five or fewer full-time employees dealing with housing standards and enforcement for private landlords.

The municipalities with the largest and most proactive housing enforcement teams were those that had chosen to introduce a licensing system for private landlords.

“Enforcement budgets have been stretched to the limit,” said Roz Spencer, director of housing association Safer Renting.

“With existing resources, even the government’s Office for National Statistics assumes that only 35% of private landlords are law-abiding and that just over one in five private rental properties is ‘decent’.

“If councils want to add the long-term health risks (of damp and mould) on a level playing field with the more immediate risks – which they should do – they will need more money.

“Without this they will be forced to choose between short-term threats – for example fire safety – on the one hand and damp and mold on the other. People die from both.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling, Housing and Communities said it is strengthening councils’ enforcement powers through the Tenants Reform Bill, including by introducing a new Decent Homes Standard and limiting the extent of compensation that can be paid to tenants granted to increase.

They also emphasized that the government had done so recently announced an above-inflation financing scheme for municipalities that could help support further housing enforcement.

The spokesperson added: “We will fully fund any additional burden the new system places on councils. They will be able to set aside the money raised through fines to fund this work in the long term, so that landlords are the ones paying for enforcement.”