What the council is doing to deal with damp and mould problems in private rented property

What we will do

ensure that landlords in the borough provide dry, warm and healthy homes
work with tenants to resolve issues of damp and mould in their homes
promote information about the energy support and advice which can be found at Improve your energy efficiency and Cost of living support
advise about preventative and remedial actions that tenants and landlords can take
treat tenants in a fair and non-discriminatory way
respond supportively and effectively to complaints about hazardous housing conditions.

How we will do this

Regulation and inspection

The council's environmental health private sector housing service receives reports about disrepair from private and housing association tenants and will give landlords a chance to put things right through an informal process of negotiation and support.

If the landlord refuses to co-operate and is unreasonable, council officers will have recourse to Enforcement Action using powers to deal with a small number of rogue landlords, including fines and prosecutions when necessary in line with the Enforcement Policy

The council will require landlords to:

identify and remove damp and mould and excess cold hazards
require the installation of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms
comply with electrical safety and energy efficiency regulations
take account of the council's minimum standards in houses and flats in multiple occupancy (HMOs)
ask for advice if they need it.

When an inspection in respect of damp is carried out by an officer of the council, where practical they will assess the following:

the heating system
damp and humidity
pipework
rainwater goods
the damp proof course
loft insulation
cavity wall insulation

At the end of the inspection the officer will leave clear information about any preventative action which should be taken and what works are to be expected going forward, the tenant will be given a number that they can contact to enquire about the works.

Landlord charter and accreditation scheme

To help improve the private rented sector, the council has a Landlords' Charter, with discounted licence fees for landlords who sign up, or who belong to the London Landlords' Accreditation Scheme or a recognised landlords' association.

Our action plan to implement the protocol

implement the council's property licensing schemes
assess damp and mould in accordance with Housing Health and Safety Rating System paying particular regard to Category 1 and high scoring category 2 cases
establish a fast-track process between Housing and Public Health (GPs, NHS etc) to prioritise and fast-track cases based on health conditions and vulnerabilities
review our case management processes to improve how we progress casework to a conclusion
review how we assess and action complaints from tenants in housing association properties
review the IT system to assess how the case management system can be used to record performance in damp and mould cases
plan for flexible staffing resources to respond to seasonal higher demand