More than 1,000 homes in Lambeth may still have mould and damp issues

Thousands of Lambeth residents are living in council homes with damp and mould hazards, the local authority has admitted. 

Over the past year, the council has surveyed 15,000 of its council homes and found that 642 – or just under five per cent – had damp and mould issues. 

That means about 1,400-1,650 homes may be affected from the council’s stock of 33,000 homes. 

Lambeth’s cabinet member for housing and homelessness, Councillor Timothy Windle, revealed the numbers in response to a question from Cllr Ben Curtis of the Liberal Democrats. 

The council has said that it has completed 318 damp and mould repair projects so far – half of the properties already surveyed that had damp and mould issues. This still leaves more than 1,000 council homes with damp and mould issues that need to be identified and resolved. 

Cllr Windle said he could give no guarantees remaining work would be completed by September – in time for next winter. 

Last year the Housing Ombudsman found Lambeth council had committed “significant failings” in its response to a damp and mould complaint dating back to 2015, when it was ordered to pay £2,150 in compensation. 

Cllr Curtis said: “The tragic case of Awaab Ishak (the two-year-old from Rochdale who died as a result of these issues) showed that exposure to damp and mould could have fatal consequences, particularly for young children. 

“It was shocking and deeply concerning to learn that thousands of Lambeth residents are living in council homes with damp and mould hazards.”

Cllr Windle said: “We’re investing tens of millions into improving our council homes each year, and with the launch of our damp charter, we are committed to working quickly and effectively to resolve all damp and mould issues for our tenants. 

“Lambeth has over 33,000 homes which have suffered over a decade of underinvestment by central government.

“For five of those years, our residents won’t forget the part the Liberal Democrats played in partnering with the Tories to drive through austerity and scrap the Decent Homes grant aimed at improving council homes across the country. We’re working to reverse the effects of those years of underfunding.”

Pictured top: Lambeth Town Hall (Picture: Google Street View)