Date Published 20 January 2023
The government will be reviewing Landlord guidance on the health risks due to damp and mould following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak. Over the course of last weekend, the government responded to comments about private and public sector renting with these issues.
In a joint letter from the Housing Secretary Michael Gove and Health Secretary Steve Barclay specified five areas of concern. These five areas include damp and mould, a review of the housing health and safety rating system, to improve the availability of health information, the need for housing associations to carry out repairs while tenant disputes were ongoing, and the need for private tenants to have access to an ombudsman scheme.
The Generation Rent campaign group says the latest English Housing Survey shows that 23 per cent of private rented homes fail decency standards, 14 per cent are unsafe, and 11 per cent have a damp problem.
Baroness Alicia Kennedy, director of Generation Rent, says: "Homes are critical to our health and wellbeing. Damp and unsafe homes are making too many private renters ill. This winter more of us are struggling to afford to keep our homes warm, putting us at greater risk of ill-health. We urgently need the Renters Reform Bill to raise minimum standards that renters can expect from their homes, and give them the security of tenure they need to complain without fear of eviction. And if the government is serious about eradicating the scourge of damp and mould, ministers must give tenants better legal support to take action against negligent landlords."
