Thousands of babies and toddlers are admitted to hospitals in England every year with lung conditions likely linked to damp and mold-ridden homes, a senior doctor has warned.
Dr. Andy Knox, deputy medical director of the NHS, said poor housing was having a “profound negative impact on the health of the country” and was exacerbating the crisis in the NHS.
“It’s going to be a very big health problem for us as a nation, and we need legislation that deals with this properly,” he said.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said the state of UK housing is “now a crucial issue for children’s health” and called on ministers to launch a clear way for parents to report poor air quality in rental and social housing can report.
The stark warnings come as The Guardian launches a series focusing on Britain’s growing private rental sector. One in five British households now live in private rented accommodation, with costs for tenants rising despite deteriorating conditions and squalor. Damp occurs five times more often in private rental homes than in owner-occupied homes.
Government figures show that more than 520,000 rental properties in England present hazards that “pose a serious and immediate risk to the health and safety of a person” – many of which include cold, damp and mould.
However, industry experts say the true scale of the problem is likely to be much greater due to systemic problems with the housing system and chronic under-reporting by tenants fearing eviction.
Almost 31,000 children aged four and under are admitted to hospitals in England every year with conditions linked to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which is known to be caused or worsened by damp and mould. NHS figures show that almost 80% of these – or 24,485 babies and toddlers – develop acute bronchiolitis requiring hospital treatment. Some research suggests that between 20 and 40% of children who have bronchiolitis at a young age will develop asthma.
Knox, who leads public health for the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria, said the impact of damp and mold has been a problem for years but is “certainly getting worse”.
He said: “Poor quality housing has a profound effect on children’s health and leads to significantly higher admission rates for longer periods.” He added that it was costing the economy millions of pounds a year in disability, adding to the pressure on the NHS.
“Each year, approximately 31,000 children are hospitalized with RSV-related conditions. Evidence from other countries with similar housing conditions to Britain suggests that around 20% of these are likely to be directly linked to damp or mold infested homes.
“This is a significant number and puts extra pressure on the NHS every winter. It particularly affects areas like ours, where available homes in our most deprived areas are poorly maintained by landlords, putting children at risk.”
Have experts warned that children living in damp homes are up to three times more likely to have breathing problems.
a study published in the British Medical Journal in 2019 concluded that 19% of acute respiratory admissions for children under the age of two in New Zealand would be prevented if all homes were free of damp and mold.
The link between poor quality housing and poor health has become more prominent since the Covid pandemic and last year’s investigation into the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died as a direct result of black mold in the flat he lived in.
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However, the scale of the challenge is not well understood due to a lack of national data.
Tenants living in private rental properties are known to underreport problems because they fear they will be evicted through no fault of their own – a practice that will become illegal – or have their rent increased, which could have the same effect as an eviction .
Local authorities, who are responsible for overseeing the private rental sector, say their environmental health and housing teams are chronically under-resourced, so the majority of complaints do not lead to any formal action.
Senior doctors have suggested that the NHS should start routinely asking about patients’ living conditions when they present with a respiratory condition, in the same way that people are asked to provide their smoking history or ethnicity.
Dr. Camilla Kingdon, chair of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said the body was encouraging paediatricians to ask about accommodations when assessing children with lung problems, but she called on the government to do more to improve standards.
“Britain has some of the worst housing in Europe and there is evidence that an increasing number of families are living in poor quality housing, with damaging effects on children’s health. Cold and damp living conditions lead to an increased risk of asthma, respiratory infections, slower cognitive development and mental health problems in children. We must remember that our housing crisis is also a health crisis.”
She added: “We are calling on the UK Government to put in place a process for people in rented and social housing to report indoor air quality issues and help with necessary improvements. It is essential that all children and young people have a basic standard of living that promotes health and well-being.”
A Department of Housing spokesperson said: “Everyone deserves to live in a safe and decent home. That’s why the government is determined to crack down on rogue landlords who cause misery to their tenants and endanger their health and safety.
“We are delivering a fairer private rental sector for tenants and landlords through the Renters Reform Bill, which includes the creation of a new ombudsman to resolve issues faster and enable tenants to tackle bad practice.”