Committee to be told that one in ten of borough council homes survey is blighted by damp and mould

By Christine Sexton - Local Democracy Reporter

26th Sep 2022 | Local News

A SURVEY of Thurrock Council's housing stock has shown ten per cent of the homes surveyed have damp and mould and five properties were virtually unfit for human habitation.

An interim report on the state of the council-owned homes will be presented to the housing overview and scrutiny meeting later this week (Thursday, 29 September) and continues the long trail of stories about poor housing conditions in the borough.

In February, a survey of 2,952 properties was launched, equating to about 30 per cent of the council's property. A broad mix of all types of properties was chosen.

While the council failed to gain access to some properties, of 2,612 council properties surveyed, 275 – or 10.5 per cent – suffered from damp or mould and fire regulations were being breached in some homes.

Five properties were found to not be compliant with the Housing Act 2018 which obligates landlords to supply housing "fit for human habitation". This means they must be "safe, healthy and free from issues that could cause serious harm". Emergency improvements had to be carried out after it was found the five properties were "at severe risk" of breaching the Government guidelines.

Thurrock Nub News has highlighted many problems, particularly in tower blocks.

The report by council officers to the committee said: "These properties were referred to us immediately so the necessary repairs could be implemented. Other than these five cases, there were two predominant themes identified under these assessment criteria, related to fire and damp and mould.

"The aspect of fire relates largely to individual detectors being missing or damaged or kitchen doors being removed or missing door closers. All these findings are being reviewed and actioned accordingly."

It adds: "The identification of damp and mould is something the housing department expected. Furthermore, when starting this stock condition survey, we purposely selected specific properties that had a higher prevalence of damp and mould on a reoccurring basis. Based on the findings we have to date, we are working with the appointed consultants on the data captured and where required we are going to undertake further detailed assessments.

Last year, it was reported the council had reduced incidences by 42 per cent since 2015/16 but that still meant 584 individual properties were affected by damp and mould.