Revealed: 55% of councils set up damp and mould taskforce, with millions set aside

Ten councils have set aside half a million or more, with Newham coming out top with more than £5m, followed by Barnet Homes with £2.28m, and Barking and Dagenham with £1.34m. 

In its response to the FOI request, Newham Council said it set up a taskforce in October 2021. This was the same month the Housing Ombudsman published its Spotlight report on damp and mould. Since the taskforce was established prior to the publication of the report, Newham Council was not highlighted in it.

To date, Newham said the associated costs of the taskforce are between £5m and £6m. 

Shaban Mohammed, cabinet member for housing management and modernisation at Newham Council, said: “Tackling issues with damp and mould is a major priority for Newham Council and we are investing heavily in our housing stock to create and maintain decent homes which people deserve.”

He added that the council’s primary response to damp and mould reports comes via the taskforce. 

“The taskforce was established to intervene in cases of damp and mould before they become serious disrepair cases that can be costly to the council and detrimental to the health and well-being of residents,” he said. 

Between its establishment in October 2021 and March 2023, the taskforce received more than 1,500 enquiries, around half of which have been since the month Awaab’s inquest concluded. 

Also during this time, the council has undertaken work to the value of more than £6m to resolve issues of damp and mould in its homes. It said it will continue to invest in the work of the taskforce. 

Mr Mohammed said he was “proud” of the council’s proactive approach. 

He added: “Newham has been undertaking this work since before the tragic events in Rochdale, which in 2022 led a coroner to conclude that toddler Awaab Ishak died as a direct result of the black mould in the flat where he lived. 

“Our actions also preceded the government’s announcement of Awaab’s Law in February this year.”

However, Mr Mohammed stated that councils need more funding from the government. “Specifically, we want to see greater funding to increase the number of trained environmental health officers and housing enforcement staff,” he explained.

Barnet Homes estimated that the cost of its damp and mould team – which was set up in February – will be around £280,000 for the first year, while £2m has been set aside for damp and mould work in 2022-23. 

A spokesperson told Inside Housing that knowing its stock and where cases of damp and mould exist is a “key focus” for Barnet Homes. The ALMO has surveyed all its homes in the past two years, “including gathering data specifically on instances of damp and mould”. 

The spokesperson added: “This has enabled us to take a proactive and prioritised approach to addressing the causes of damp and mould where they exist across the stock. 

“The allocated funding is for dealing with cases both reactively on an individual case-by-case basis and proactively where our stock data provides us with the intelligence as to where interventions, including those which require a more holistic, technical solution to multiple dwellings of the same type, are required.”

They also said the funding will be used to install more “Internet of Things-based” environmental sensors into homes, “allowing constant remote measurement of temperature and humidity within homes, to better inform both residents themselves and to shape our proactive programme”. 

Barking and Dagenham Council set up a dedicated team to tackle damp and mould in February 2023. It consists of three specialist surveyors and seven multi-skilled operatives, while two specialist contractors support the team.

According to the FOI response, £1.34m has been allocated to the team, “which is being reviewed on a monthly basis”. 

Among the respondents, the earliest team set up was by Brent Council in September 2019. 

“Based on 1,150 damp inspections annually with a basic specification, we forecast the [financial] requirement to be approximately £1.2m expenditure,” it said. 

A council spokesperson explained: “We have always taken the issue of damp and mould very seriously. 

“We made a decision in 2021 to write to every council tenant who has reported damp and mould to us over the past seven years. 

“We investigate every case thoroughly and install appropriate measures in the home, regardless of the occupant’s lifestyle. 

“Last year, we started a pilot installing three different types of sensors in our homes to enable us to identify and monitor which properties are most likely to suffer from damp and mould.”

Some local authorities said that although they had not set up a specific team, they have increased resources to tackle damp and mould. 

Of those, two provided the details of anticipated extra costs: Solihull with £127,000 and Dover with £500,000.

Several of the local authorities that have set up a taskforce said it was too early to anticipate associated costs, while some said the teams would be funded using existing resources.