‘Don’t tape-up air vents’ warning to Greenwich tenants as fear of damp and mould in homes rises

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter

Greenwich residents have been advised not to tape over their vents this winter, for fear of damp and mould growth in “insufficiently” insulated council homes.

At a council meeting on December 14, Councillor Pat Slattery, portfolio holder for housing, said there have been about 580 cases of damp and mould reported to the council in the past five years because of the age of the properties in question and lack of insulation.

Cllr Slattery said: “We had to advise a resident not to put tape over their vents in their bathroom. It’s tempting at this time of year, I completely understand that, but it is counterproductive in terms of getting rid of condensation, which is a big cause of damp and mould.”

The councillor said she had seen a “noticeable” increase in people contacting the council about mould in their homes following the death of Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old who died of exposure to mould in his house in Rochdale in 2020. She said the council were responding as “proactively” to residents as they could.

In council documents, Cllr Slattery said: “Both myself and the whole housing department were upset about Awaak’s death and are determined to ensure that Greenwich children are safe from the dangers of damp and mould.”

She said council officers had looked through the buildings with the top ten causes of damp and mould in the borough for the past five years. Cllr Slattery said the residents involved are being contacted and surveyors had been sent to assess structural problems.

She said: “We’ve also used the data to identify 55 cases whereby there’s been more than three reports of damp and mould in the past five years and there’s overcrowding, which can be contributory to bad cases of damp and mould. We’re proactively contacting those families to see how they are doing now.”

Conservative opposition leader Cllr Matt Hartley asked Cllr Slattery about the state of homes in Greenwich regarding data from a housing scrutiny meeting last month.

The data showed that the number of council homes requiring overdue action on asbestos had stayed largely the same since April 2022, with 308 cases in September. Cllr Hartley said there was also a decline in the number of council tower blocks with a risk assessment for Legionella, a bacteria that can cause pneumonia.

Cllr Slattery said “significant action and activity” was being done to improve the safety of council buildings and that “about 500” fire risks in council homes had been reduced in October, with the regulator of social housing content with the council’s progress.

The reports from the structural surveys for the council’s worst tower blocks for damp and mould are due to be released in January.

Pictured top: The Woolwich Centre, where the council meeting heard updates on damp and mould in homes (Picture: Google Street View)