Agenda item

The Panel received a report which provided an update on damp and mould, following the Ombudsman’s intervention at the end of 2022. The report was introduced by Jahedur Rahman, Operational Director for Housing Services and Building Safety, as set out in the reports pack at pages 47 to 80. Lynn Sellar, Private Sector Housing Team Leader introduced an appendix to the report, which set out the work the Council was doing in relation to damp & mould in the private rented sector, as set out at pages 80 to 82 of the agenda pack.  David Joyce, Director of Placemaking & Housing was present. Cllr Sarah Williams, Cabinet Member for Housing Services, Private Renters & Planning was also present for this item.

Jahedur Rahman advised that the Council had used a predictive modelling tool to identify cases where it was thought there could be category 1 cases of damp and mould (the most severe category, which involved a risk to life). This predictive tool identified 64 possible cases. Of those 64, 10 were found be category 1, with 6 further category 1 cases subsequently identified. The Damp and Mould Policy was agreed by Cabinet in April 2023. The response to a category 1 case was for an immediate damp and mould wash to be done and for the tenants to be temporarily decanted whilst this took place. One of the key factors identified in damp and mould was around overcrowding, as well as the quality of some of the housing stock. A dedicated damp and mould hotline had been established for tenants to use to make the reporting process better.

The following arose as part of the discussion of this report:

a.    The Panel sought clarification around the three key challenges identified in the report; fuel poverty, overcrowding and window replacement. The Panel requested more information about what was being done to tackle these issues. In response, officers advised that in cases of severe damp and mould the Council had been offering de-humidifiers and had also picked up the additional running costs for their use. Officers commented that there was a financial inclusion team within Haringey and it was acknowledged that more could be done to signpost the most vulnerable residents to this team to help seek external grants and different tariffs from energy suppliers.  In relation to the 30% of non-Decent Homes stock, officers set out that they were working to bring 1000 properties up to Decent Homes standard over the next 12 months. It was recognised that, due to funding pressures within the HRA, it would take five years to bring the level of homes that met the Decent Homes standard up to the target figure.

b.    The Panel queried what was being done to identify under occupied housing stock where, for example, the children may have left home. In response, officers set out that the Neighbourhood Moves programme within the new homes policy, prioritised offering those with larger family homes the opportunity to downsize to new one or two bed properties. The incentive for those tenants is that those new builds were some of the best stock that the Council had. Officers clarified that this scheme was entirely voluntary. It was noted that the business case for building single bedroom homes was the most robust and that it was hoped that Neighbourhood Moves would be an important part of the overall housing strategy.

c.    The Panel enquired whether the dedicated damp and mould hotline was also available for private sector housing tenants. Officers advised that it was not and that the hotline was specifically for Council tenants. However, there is a dedicated private rented sector extension as part of customer services, where the caller could speak directly to a customer service advisor, specifically trained to answer private rented sector housing queries.

d.    The Panel questioned whether, under the licensing regime for private sector housing, it was possible to refuse a licence based on damp and mould. In response, officers advised that they were unable to refuse a license per se but that a person could be refused as a license holder, based on the fit and proper person test. This was process set out in legislation.  However, it was noted that the purpose of the licensing regime was to gain compliance and to bring landlords up to standard, rather than it being a punitive measure. A key advantage of the licensing regime was that it allowed the Council to inspect properties and to do so without receiving complaints from tenants who could then be subject to eviction.

e.    In response to a questions about housing associations, officers advised that they all received the same letter that Haringey did as a housing provider and that they would have had to provide their own response to the regulator. The Council had held a meeting relatively recently with all housing association providers in Haringey to discuss their shared experiences on damp and mould and what could be done to make improvements across the sector. The Council’s private sector housing team could advocate on housing association tenants behalf but this was fairly rare and the Council would ask that the tenant has as least been through the stage one complaint process with the housing association, before getting involved.

f.     In response to a question, officers advised that 519 calls had been received to the damp and mould hotline. Officers agreed to come back with a written response on how many of these cases had seen action taken and had been resolved. (Action: Jahedur Rahman).

g.    The Panel noted that 16 category 1 cases seemed quite low, given the amount of housing stock in the borough. Officers responded that this was to some degree a reflection of the high bar that existed to be deemed as a category 1 case and that the damp and mould in these cases could often be exacerbated by structural issues.

h.    The Panel sought clarification about how to tell between a category 1 and category 2 case. In response, officers advised that a science based risk assessment was used, which sought to establish the level of harm to residents and was assessed against a scoring system. Category 1 hazards would result in immediate enforcement action being taken, whilst for category 2 hazards, a remedial improvement notice could be issued to landlords. In relation to a follow-up question about the most severe category one cases, officers reiterated that the scoring was based on the judgment of a surveyor who undertook a physical inspection of the property.

i.      In relation to decanting tenants, officers advised that a temporary decant would be offered in the most serious cases.  The Panel queried the mention of a decant panel in the report. Officers advised that this was in relation to a wider decant policy that went beyond just damp and mould.

j.      The Panel questioned whether any consideration was given to the fact that damp and mould were seasonal when carrying out inspections, for example did we try to undertake inspections in winter when it would be worse. In response, officers acknowledged that there was an issue around the use of spreadsheets for logging visits and follow-up inspections and that the introduction of a proper damp and mould case management system would help to improve the regime.

k.    In relation to tenants in temporary accommodation, officers advised that these residents could be placed in variety of types of accommodation including council managed properties, the private sector and bed and breakfasts. Damp and mould inspections would be carried out in the same way as for any other tenant of this tenure. There may be some additional complications in particular circumstances around who was responsible for the repair, the Council or the leaseholder.

l.      The Panel set out that they had heard of cases where tenants had taken a blood test in order to demonstrate certain markers with links to problems caused by damp and mould. In response, officers advised that they were not aware of cases like this but that officers from Public Health may have more knowledge. Officers advised that they were working with Public Health colleagues in the run up to the winter season to see what new communication information they could get out and engagement with local VCOs. Public Health were also looking at a study being carried out with the Chartered Institute of Environment Health Officers around the effects of damp and mould. The Director added that there had been cases where medical certification was used as a contributing factor to the scoring system, such as cases of children with respiratory illness. 

m.  The Panel agreed to have a future agenda item on the Lettings policy. (Action: Philip).

n.    In relation to concerns about the level of staff who were initially qualified to undertake HHRS training, officers advised that the private sector team employed qualified Environmental Health Officers and there were six of these who have been fully trained throughout the relevant timeframe. Recruitment of additional Environmental Health Officers had proven difficult as there was a shortage of qualified staff and they could command a high salary. Haringey has just recruited two apprentices through the University of Middlesex programme. In relation to Council-owned accommodation, there had been no previous need to have HHRS trained officers in housing but that officers had recognised there was  skills gap and they had been training up surveyors.

o.    In response to a question, officers advised that the initial 10 properties that had category one defects arose from the predictive modelling exercise and these ten were identified from the 64 once a physical inspection had taken place. The additional 6 cases were as a result of tenants reporting these to the Council and an inspection then taking place. It was noted that following a lot of news coverage on the issue the number of reports of damp and mould received from tenants increased.

p.    In response to a question about dealing with the demand for decants, officers advised that the Council now had a pool of decant properties that it could make available to families in category 1 cases and that this had improved over time.

q.    In response to a question, officers acknowledged that carrying out damp and mould could put pressure on the wider repairs service but that work was underway to increase the supply chain for repairs work. Officers advised that they could not always give a deadline for how long the works would take as more than one inspection may be required, however the family would be advised how long the process of returning them to their home would take at the earliest opportunity.

r.     The Chair requested that the Panel receive some repairs data at a future meeting. (Action: Scrutiny Officer).

s.    In response to a question, officers acknowledged that the licensing powers in the private sector were limited at that there were loopholes that rogue landlords could exploit. It was suggested that landlords could just appeal an improvement notice and, given delays within the court system, could just ride it out for 12 months until their day in court. Officers could also issue a community protection notice which levied a fine and was dealt with at a lower level of court.

RESOLVED

Noted.