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Many of you will have seen and have been shocked by the national news coverage and examples on social media, where people in social housing are living with severe dampness and mould in their homes. The response from the Regulator of Social Housing has been firm and decisive, with all local authorities ordered to review how we tackle damp and mould in our properties.

We agree with the regulator that just one of these shocking cases is too many, and we have reviewed our policy and procedure for tackling damp and mould in our properties. This procedure focuses not just on dealing with cases when we hear about them, but also prioritises working to prevent such cases developing in the first place. In addition to this review, we are also:

  • providing training for our staff so that they can better understand what causes damp and mould and advise you on the best course of action should you experience damp and mould in your property
  • working with our repairs contractor to recruit a specialist damp surveyor and ensure that works to solve damp and mould issues are prioritised
  • reviewing our historic cases and identifying properties that are at high risk of damp and mould
  • inspecting our void properties for any signs of Damp and Mould

Help us to help you

If you are experiencing any damp or mould in your property, please let us know as soon as possible. Apart from it being unsightly, it is not healthy, particularly if you have children or an underlying health condition such as asthma. It may also indicate that there are serious issues with your property that will need to be addressed quickly

For very minor cases, you should be able to clean the walls using a suitable detergent. However, please contact the Housing Repairs team by completing the Report a Repair form. Depending on where the damp is, it may be an indication of something more serious, such as a water leak, issues with your roof or rising damp.

Even if this is not the case, we will be able to advise you how to safely clean the mould away and provide you with an information leaflet  that will give you useful tips on how to avoid mould developing in the future. We will also call you back in 3 months to see if the issue has been resolved. We've also produced a useful online guide on how to reduce condensation in your home.

If there is more significant mould then our repairs contractor, Ian Williams will come out and carry out a mould wash within 5 working days. We will also arrange for a damp survey to be carried out. This will enable us to see if there is an underlying reason why the mould is appearing. For example, there may be inadequate insulation in the walls or ceiling, or a ventilation system is not working. In some cases, the cause might from penetrative or rising damp.

Further assistance

One way of reducing the risk of damp and mould from condensation is to make sure you are adequately heating your home. We are acutely aware however, that it can be very expensive to do this given the price of energy at the moment.  If you are struggling with the cost of heating then you can apply for assistance from the EDDC Hardship fund. More information and an online application form can be found on our website. You can also email hardship@eastdevon.gov.uk.