Latest English Housing Survey report confirms many tenants still continue to live in damp mouldy conditions - Despite Awaab's Law
Posted on 4th February 2025
The government’s latest English Housing Survey (published 30 Jan 25) gave a snapshot of the private rental sector in 2023, concluded that the problem of mould and damp is still growing.
In 2023 over 5% of homes in England had a problem with damp, higher than in any of the last five years and this was more prevalent in the private rented sector (9%) compared to the social rented sector (7%)
The survey states: We have seen increases in levels of damp and mould and have also observed changes to the space available in homes and the size of households that could have knock-on effects for housing quality
The survey comes 14 MONTHS AFTER the introduction in Sept 23 of Awaab’s Law, named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died from prolonged exposure to mould in a housing association flat, was introduced to force landlords to respond to hazards in strict timeframes.
The law is already on the statute books under the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, but secondary legislation is required to implement it across the social housing sector.
The survey findings did show that compared to a decade ago, there are fewer non-decent and unsafe homes, and more homes in the highest energy efficiency bands A to C across the sectors, up from 23% to 52%.
Elsewhere, the survey found:
- An overall reduction in the number of bedrooms available in the rented sector
- A decrease in the proportion of under-occupied homes from 16% in 2022-23 to 13% in 2023-24.
- The overall rate of overcrowding in homes remained similar to previous years.
- Non-decency levels in owner-occupied homes decreased from 16% in 2022-23 to 14% in 2023-24, and from 12% to 10% in the social rented sector, whilst there was no significant drop in the private rented sector.
- Category 1 hazards (the most dangerous kind) remained more prevalent in the private rented sector than the social housing sector
Click here to view the full English Housing Survey Report
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