The Week in Housing: new damp and mould guidance, RAAC mitigation and fee hikes

Good afternoon.

The biggest story of the week came as the government published its new damp and mould guidance for landlords in the wake of two-year-old Awaab Ishak’s death.

The?new guidance aims to address the concerns and actions outlined by senior coroner Joanne Kearsley’s ‘prevention of future deaths’ report following the inquest into Awaab’s death.

The guidance came with advice on how to identify and reduce the risk of damp and mould developing in people’s homes, and a warning from housing minister Rachel Maclean that they will be held to account if they do not take the issue seriously.

She said: “This unambiguous package leaves no room for excuses – and sets out the clear expectation that landlords must respond swiftly when dealing with damp and mould, to ensure renters can live in safe and decent housing, as is their absolute right.”

The sector might think it’s a bit rich to be lectured by a minister who doesn’t recognise her department’s own unambiguous housing figures , but at least the guidance should go some way to realising the aims of Awaab’s Law, and “make sure no other child, or anyone else, dies due to mould in their home”.

With news this week that England’s concrete crisis could extend beyond schools and into hospitals, courts and maybe even parliament, talk over the extent of its use in social housing persisted.

With that in mind, the boss of the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) sent a letter to all landlords to set out what they should do if reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which decays over time and carries a risk of collapse, is present in their stock.

The RSH believes RAAC is not widespread, but landlords should know whether their homes contain RAAC components and develop plans for mitigation and remediation where required.

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