Sheffield City Council: New policy to stop damp, mould and condensation in council housing has been approved

Sheffield City Council has approved a new policy that aims to stop its tenants suffering from damp, mould and condensation across the city.

It follows the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died of a respiratory condition caused by damp and mould in his Rochdale home nearly three years ago.

Since then the council – like others across the country – has adopted a zero-tolerance approach to the problem in council-owned and privately rented properties and established a task group to tackle it.

At the moment, the council is compliant with 11 out of 26 Ombudsman recommendations and partially compliant with the other 15.

Dean Butterworth, head of housing investment and maintenance, said the council expects to be fully compliant with the Ombudsman’s requirements by the end of April 2024.

He said: “One of the challenges we have in this world of damp, mould and condensation is that regulation is changing on a weekly basis so we are focussing our attention on dealing with one thing then the Ombudsman will come out with a separate level of compliance requirements to address that particular point.”

The policy was approved in a meeting of the housing committee this week.

In a document prepared for the committee, council officers said where it missed the mark on compliance, the authority had developed a series of actions to improve.

Officers said it was critically important to be clear on its approach to managing damp and mould and the policy helped to explain this.

They said: “Our aim is that no council tenant in Sheffield will suffer from any damp, mould or condensation that affects their overall health and well-being.”

Officers added: “Our approach includes a risk assessment of the report, creation of a plan to remedy the issue and support for tenants to live well in decent quality homes through the provision of advice on mould and condensation.

“The aim of the policy is to reduce the likelihood of damp, mould and condensation occurring in council homes in the first instance through effective use of stock condition data and to prioritise future investment decisions based on priority need.

“The policy also provides clarity about what steps we will take to resolve issues and how we will listen to tenants and their concerns. We will ensure that we offer non-judgemental guidance, advice, and assistance throughout this process to all customers living in council properties to avoid the inference of blame and to be upfront and clear about our responsibility.”

The policy will be reviewed annually to ensure it remains effective.