Agenda item

To receive a presentation on the management of damp and mould in the local housing sector, to cover; a background to legislation and guidance; local processes for dealing with disrepair; local data on the current situation; and, recent Government consultation and the Council’s response.

 

Cllr Maurice Sheehan, (Deputy Leader and Operational Services Portfolio Holder), James Duggin, (Executive Head of Operations), Suzannah Hellicar (Service Manager – Housing) and Hilary Smith (Private Sector Housing Manager) will be present at the meeting.

The Committee welcomed James Duggin, (Executive Head of Operations), Suzannah Hellicar (Service Manager – Housing) and Hilary Smith (Private Sector Housing Manager) who were in attendance to provide a presentation on the management of damp and mould in the local housing sector. Cllr Maurice Sheehan, Operational Services Portfolio Holder, was also in attendance.

 

The presentation covered the following:

 

·         Legislation – the Council followed the Housing Act 2004 Part 1 Legislation, which incorporated the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). The HHSRS provided operating guidance and enforcement guidance.

 

·         Managing disrepair in Rushmoor – It was noted that complaints were received by email, phone or via the website from both social and private tenants. Each case was allocated to an officer with the expectation of a response to the claimant in three working days. Urgent cases were expedited. The process recommended that tenants contacted landlords directly, prior to contacting the Council. The Council offered advice, information and inspection, assessment and action where appropriate. It was advised that damp and mould could be caused by a number of factors, examples of which were shared with the Committee. These included:

 

o   Penetrating/rising damp

o   Lack of ventilation

o   Lack of heating

o   Overcrowding

o   Poor energy efficiency

o   Tenant behaviour

 

·         The Rochdale case and the Government response – the Committee was apprised of the case in Rochdale where a two year old had passed away. His death had been attributed to living in a flat that had damp and mould present. The Government had responded by issuing a directive under Section 3 (3) Housing Act 2004, followed by a request for and overview of, how local authorities dealt with damp and mould complaints in the Private Sector.

 

·         Rushmoor’s response – It was noted that all complaints of damp and mould were now inspected and assessed under the HHSRS. It was noted that there had been an increase in complaints since the Rochdale case, although the numbers of complaints had now evened out. The Committee noted that larger Housing Associations were establishing damp and mould teams within their organisations to deal with complaints.

 

·         Data – the Committee reviewed Council data on disrepair issues and it was noted that numbers had increased in the first quarter of 2023. It was also noted that the number of complaints from both the private and social housing sectors had evened out, whereas in the previous year, complaints had mainly come from the social housing sector.

 

·         HHSRS – Government Consultation – it was noted that questions within the consultation had centred around the condition of housing stock (as far as the authority was aware). The Committee noted that the team had concerns that the existing legislation, which was complex and time consuming,  was not fit for purpose. This had been raised as a concern in the Council’s response. It was also noted that damp and mould scored low in the HHSRS outcomes, making formal enforcement challenging, this had also been raised in the response.

 

The Committee noted a number of proposed changes which were being considered, these included:

 

o   Social Housing –

§  The Social Housing Regulation Bill

§  Tighter restrictions and timescales

§  More power to Housing Regulators

§  Ofsted type inspections of Housing providers

§  Quicker process through the Ombudsman

 

o   Private Sector –

§  Review of guidance on health impacts of damp and mould

§  New guidance on dealing with damp and mould – Summer 2023

§  Potential review of HHSRS as a system for assessing disrepair

 

The Chairman thanked Mr Duggin, Ms Hellicar and Ms Smith for their presentation.

 

The Committee discussed the presentation and ENDORSED the process, working arrangements and way forward. However, a number of actions were raised and agreed, as follows:

 

ACTION	BY WHOM	WHEN
Provision of a shared spreadsheet to allow Members to note complaints made directly to them that don’t have Council involvement	Hilary Smith – Private Sector Housing Manager	May 2023
Repairs and living conditions to be added to the questions used by the Registered Providers Task and Finish Group	Cllr Diane Bedford and Zoe Paine – Strategy and Enabling Manager	June 2023
Arrange a visit for the Housing Team to attend the Community Hub “Meet and Greet” Network Session at the Garrison to meet local military families to discuss the situation with the condition of military housing (held every third Thursday of the Month)	Hilary Smith – Private Sector Housing Manager	June 2023
Consideration be given to establishing a Group for Private Landlords similar to the Registered Providers Group	Hilary Smith – Private Sector Housing Manager	June 2023

 

 

Note:

The following interests were noted during the meeting Cllr Prabesh KC (private landlord in the Borough) and Cllr Keith Dibble (Director of Rushmoor Homes Limited). Both were permitted to remain in the meeting.