Government Guidance: Damp and Mould in the Private Rented Sector
Damp and mould in housing continues to be a very topical issue, particularly since the tragic death of a child three years ago where the coroner subsequently attributed mould as the cause of death.
Recently the government has published Government Guidance: Understanding and Addressing the Health Risks of Damp and Mould in the Home. This has been accompanied by another guidance document on damp and mould specifically in the private rented sector. We will look at what this report finds here.
Background to the guidance
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities wrote to local authorities in England in November 2022. They were directed to provide what data they had on the extent of damp and mould problems in the PRS and on how they handled this issue. A total of 309 responses were received.
The data is categorised using the same approach as is used in the Housing Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS). That is, the 29 hazards including damp and mould in a property are categorised as either category 1 (in simple terms, more serious) or category 2 (other) hazards.
The subsequent government guidance report is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1 focuses on local authority estimates of the levels of damp and mould hazards in the PRS. Chapter 2 covers the enforcement action they have taken regarding it. Chapter 3 covers their enforcement capacity and capabilities.
The data used in this report covered three separate years – 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22.
It is important to point out that this data is subject to some limitations as to its quality. It was not a formal statistical exercise and the report admits it may not be entirely accurate. This was due to the different ways different local authorities interpreted the government’s request and also the different ways they collect this data. Some local authorities did not have some of the requested data, and invariably for valid reasons.
Covid also likely had an impact on the results, as it made it more difficult for local authorities to investigate and enforce the regulations on damp and mould and other hazards. This was particularly the case during 2020-21, where many pieces of data in the report reflect lower numbers than the year before and the year after.
Key takeaways from the guidance
The total number of property inspections local authorities made over the three year period was almost 178,000, or 59,279 a year on average.
Estimates of the numbers of PRS properties with category 1 damp and mould hazards ranged from none (0%) to 27% of properties, depending on the local authority.
On average 3.6% of PRS properties were estimated to have category 1 damp and mould hazards.
Two thirds (66%) of category 1 damp and mould hazards over the three year period were discovered after local authority inspections of property made as a result of a complaint.
In the years covered by the data local authorities mostly used informal enforcement action to address damp and mould issues. Formal enforcement action by way of improvement notices, civil penalties and prosecutions was only used in 12% of cases. (The data did not report other types of formal enforcement.)
It was not possible to ascertain a reliable figure for properties affected by category 2 damp and mould hazards.
How much damp and mould is there in the PRS?
In Chapter 1, the guidance reports on local authority estimates of the extent of damp and mould hazards in this type of property divided into category 1 and category 2 hazards.
Category 1 damp and mould hazards
Most local authorities provided their estimates based on a sample of property inspections where category 1 damp and mould hazards were identified. This was supported by general knowledge of local housing stock and other methods, including stock modelling and stock condition surveys.
The amount of data collected is considerable and often complex. We will aim to summarise it in an easily understandable way, including by averaging the data across the three year period which was looked at.
As noted above the lowest local authority estimate of the numbers of properties affected by a category 1 damp and mould hazard was 0% and the highest estimate was 27%. On average, 3.6% of PRS properties were estimated to have category 1 damp and mould hazards.
The number of property inspections triggered by complaints and which resulted in category 1 hazards being identified was 1,626 a year on average across the three year period (2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22).
The number of property inspections made because a property was within a discretionary licensing scheme which resulted in category 1 hazards being identified was 394 a year on average.
The number of property inspections triggered by stock modelling which resulted in category 1 hazards being identified was 389 a year on average.
The number of property inspections triggered by reasons other than the above which resulted in category 1 hazards being identified was 51 a year on average.
Category 2 damp and mould hazards
The guidance report does not provide a figure for the average incidence of category 2 damp and mould hazards in PRS properties. The report says this is because the government did not specify exactly how this hazard was to be assessed, and that local authorities interpreted the question differently.
However, the report did give some interesting information on category 2 hazards:
Some local authorities estimated that 99% or 100% of their PRS properties have category 2 damp and mould hazards.
The number of property inspections triggered by complaints and which resulted in category 2 hazards being identified was 6,297 a year on average across the three year period (2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22).
The number of property inspections made because a property was within a discretionary licensing scheme which resulted in category 2 hazards being identified was 1,535 a year on average.
The number of property inspections triggered by stock modelling which resulted in category 2 hazards being identified was 126 a year on average.
The number of property inspections triggered by reasons other than the above which resulted in category 2 hazards being identified was 153 a year on average.
How did local authorities enforce the law on damp and mould hazards?
Chapter 2 of the guidance report looked at the enforcement action local authorities had taken on damp and mould hazards.
Under the Housing Act 2004 local authorities have a duty to take enforcement action on category 1 hazards and a power to take enforcement action on category 2 hazards. Local authorities can take both formal and informal enforcement action as regards damp and mould hazards. Enforcement action can include improvement notices, hazard awareness notices, emergency remedial action, civil penalties and prosecution.
The combined number of formal and informal enforcement actions undertaken regarding damp and mould was 41,286 across the three year period (2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22). This was 13,762 a year on average.
The number of improvement notices issued was 1,434 a year on average.
The number of civil penalty notices issued was 107 a year on average
The number of prosecutions undertaken was 33 a year on average.
On average 92% of prosecutions were successful.
The handling of complaints on damp and mould – response times
The report says that there was a very wide variation in the time local authorities took to respond to complaints regarding damp and mould. This varied between responding to a complaint on the same day, up to responding within six weeks.
How well are local authorities able to enforce the law on damp and mould?
Chapter 3 looked at what capacity local authorities have to enforce the rules – on the basis that enforcement is only possible if there are personnel to carry it out. Local authorities were asked to state how many staff (or full time equivalent staff) they had working in private rented sector standards, enforcement and licensing.
The report says that the greatest number of local authorities only have 2-5 staff working in these roles. Thirteen local authorities had over 30 staff working on housing standards, but this was mainly because they operated discretionary licensing schemes.
When asked about the factors that affected their enforcement, almost two thirds (60%) of local authorities said that their staffing levels had either the highest or second highest impact on their ability to take enforcement action relating to damp and mould.
Other issues which impacted enforcement, according to local authorities, included that they mostly only knew about a damp and mould issue once a tenant complained. Therefore enforcement action was taken mostly where a complaint had been made rather than for other reasons. Local authorities pointed out that they did not know what PRS properties were in their area so it was difficult to take action unless there was a complaint. Some local authorities felt that the current HHSRS does not allow the seriousness of damp and mould to be properly assessed. There were also difficulties in finding experienced staff to carry out inspections and enforcement.
Summary
If the reason behind this guidance report was to ascertain the extent of damp and mould problems in the PRS and how local authorities respond to them it didn’t really achieve its objective.
What it did show is that there seems to be no standardised, consistent way of collecting data on damp and mould (or indeed any hazards) in the private rented sector. It also shows that local authorities vary considerably in both the way they collect their data and in the way they tackle damp and mould hazards.
For example, the guidance suggests that there are some areas which have no serious problems with damp and mould. Anyone with a knowledge of housing will likely agree that this cannot possibly the case. They might also agree that a 3.6% national average for properties with serious damp and mould problems seems inordinately low.
This guidance document does provide some interesting insight into damp and mould in the PRS and how local authorities approach the problem. However it is clear that much more work needs to be done to collect more accurate, standardised data in order to more fully understand the issue – and to tackle it.
Further information
A copy of the full guidance document can be accessed here: Damp and mould in the private rented sector
