Camden Council is one of several London local authorities which have been called out for taking months and years to fix damp and mould in people’s homes, in the same week Awaab’s Law comes into effect.
Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway this week released his latest report into critical failings involving damp and mould, including cases where carpets were wet to touch, mushrooms were growing in children’s bedrooms, and one scenario where a child had water running down their walls when it rained.
The watchdog said residents in council and housing association homes were often having to throw away their belongings, including beds, because they were “covered in mould”.
On Monday 27 October new legislation designed to protect social housing tenants from dangerous living conditions came into force.
Described as the lasting legacy of a two-year-old boy, the law means social housing landlords in England will face court action and compensation orders if they fail to improve conditions for tenants quickly.
Awaab Ishak died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s housing association flat in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
In his most recent report, the Ombudsman identified poor and untimely repairs taking months and years. “This is far from action happening within days or weeks, as would be expected now under Awaab’s Law,” Blakeway said.
The ombudsman found that Camden Council took 18 months to inspect “terrible” damp and mould in one home, having not realised this until it was preparing its response to a Stage 1 complaint.
Even after the council teams surveyed the property, the watchdog found no evidence it had taken any action, explained what it was doing or why it had not brought in interim measures sooner — despite the residents’ repeated warnings of damp in the bedroom.
Other London borough councils named in the report included Barnet, Ealing, Hackney, Lambeth and Lewisham.
Camden acknowledged it had let its resident down and fully accepted the Ombudsman’s finding. Following the introduction of Awaab’s Law, the council said it had established a “dedicated rapid response team to ensure that our residents are kept fully informed about the progress of their requests,” a council spokesperson said.
Under Awaab’s Law, social landlords have to fix emergency hazards within 24 hours.
If a resident reports a potential significant hazard such as damp and mould, the landlord must investigate within 10 working days, after which they will have five working days to make the home safe.
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