Leeds City Council is to release a report in response to a Housing Ombudsman’s national report published in October 2021 which urged landlords to take a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to damp and mould.
The report contains figures from the council's investigation across the city, which found that as of December last year, no homes had category one damp and mould issues. Around 3.41 per cent of homes were found to have category two damp and mould.
The Council says work is ongoing at these homes to tackle the issues and have them resolved. It added the report considers further action following the recent tragic case of Awaab Ishak, who died due to prolonged exposure to excessive mould growth in his Rochdale home.
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Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s executive member for environment and housing, said: “We are absolutely committed to ensuring that residents living in council housing are safe and healthy and ensuring that homes are free from damp and mould is key to this.
"This report provides assurance to tenants that everything that can be done is being done to tackle these issues and the introduction of a Mould & Damp team now makes it much easier for tenants to report issues.
"We are urging residents to be vigilant when it comes to mould and damp issues by reporting them as early as possible, wiping down condensation on windows and other surfaces and keeping homes ventilated where possible.
"Since 2019 we have invested over £85m on improvement schemes that have included heating, ventilation, insulation and drainage improvement works.”
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