Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what recent assessment they have
made of conditions in social housing, including levels of
mould.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Levelling Up, Housing & Communities () (Con)
My Lords, the English Housing Survey found that in 2022, 10% of
social homes failed to meet the decent homes standard and 5% had
a problem with damp. The Government have now introduced Awaab’s
law, requiring the Secretary of State to set out new requirements
for landlords to address hazards such as damp and mould in social
homes within a fixed period. We published our consultation on
those requirements yesterday, 9 January.
(Lab)
My Lords, may I say how pleased I am to see the noble Baroness
back in her place?
The death of two year-old Awaab, who was killed by mould in
Rochdale, was a shocking insight into the condition of many
social homes across the country. Unfortunately, millions of
children in the private rented sector are also living with damp,
mould or excessively cold temperatures, causing conditions such
as asthma, pneumonia and respiratory illness. What plans do the
Government have to tackle poor conditions for tenants in private
rented homes?
(Con)
My Lords, there are differences between the rented housing
tenures. Almost half of private rental landlords own a single
property and the vast majority own fewer than five so, unlike
social housing landlords, very few will have in-house or
contracted repair and maintenance teams, which makes it more
difficult. We have to consider proportionate timescales in
legislation for the private rented sector. However, we are taking
action to improve the safety and decency of private rented homes
through the Renters Reform Bill, which will be in this House
shortly. We have introduced an amendment to the Bill to apply a
decent homes standard to the private rental sector for the first
time and to give local councils enforcement powers to deal with
non-decent homes. As I say, that Bill will be introduced to this
House shortly. We will also set up a new private rented sector
ombudsman through that Bill, which will also have extra
powers.
(Con)
My Lords, I welcome my noble friend back to the Dispatch Box. I
welcome the speed with which the Government have implemented
Awaab’s law and issued the consultation documents. Is there not
now a dilemma facing social housing tenants who want their
landlord to effect repairs? They can either go to the social
housing regulator or to the Housing Ombudsman, which have
different regimes but overlapping powers. Will my noble friend
issue guidance so that social housing tenants can use the new
powers the legislation has given to them?
(Con)
My noble friend is right; this is all about communication, to
make sure that tenants know what to do if they have an issue with
their property. We have had a number of communications and
marketing campaigns, such as Make Things Right, and the latest
one is just being completed. That makes sure that all tenants
know that, first, they should go to their social landlord, and if
they do not get the right answer—or any answer, as sadly happens
in some cases —they must go to the ombudsman. The social housing
regulator will deal not with individuals but with bigger issues
relating to individual housing associations.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister’s response focused on social homes.
Housing associations are very keen to do more to regenerate
existing social housing but are unable to do so—at least, not
very effectively—without improved access to government funding.
Will the Minister confirm that the Government will look to
maximise the use of existing funding through the affordable homes
programme to support housing association-led regeneration?
(Con)
Yes. I think we already said in the levelling-up Act that the
£11.5 billion in the affordable homes programme can be used for
social housing, as it has in the past. It is important that
social landlords understand that and use that money.
(LD)
I am pleased to see the noble Baroness back in her place; she has
been missed. For this new legislation, the Government have
sensibly constituted a Social Housing Quality Resident Panel to
advise them and, presumably, to listen to its views. The panel
stated that it did not believe that
“court action would … prevent and resolve housing hazards”
or
“incentivise landlords to meet the deadlines”,
and that it would
“place the burden of enforcement on residents”.
What is the Government’s response to this plea? Most importantly,
what support will be given to tenants to make this work?
(Con)
I thank the tenants’ panel. I have been to a couple of its
meetings, and it has been excellent. It was meant to last for a
year, but we are going to continue with it. No, we are not
expecting tenants to fund their own cases. That is not correct,
and I do not know where that has come from. I would like to
discuss the issue further with the noble Baroness and get a
clearer answer, because I am not aware of that.
(CB)
My Lords, I am delighted to see the noble Baroness back in post.
The Government are absolutely right to come down hard on social
housing landlords who have not doing what they should have in
keeping their properties up to a decent standard. The ombudsman,
the social housing regulator and legislation are all great but
the amount of money available for social housing remains the
same, and switching resources to getting that older stock up to
muster is going to absorb an awful lot of money in the years
ahead. Are we going to see quite a big decline in the new
affordable social housing that is so badly needed?
(Con)
No. Through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, which, sadly,
I did not see the end of, we intend to deliver more social
housing. That came out strongly throughout proceedings on that
legislation. The noble Lord is right; there are a lot of
challenges for the sector in upgrading its stock, after many
years of not putting money into it. We will all be working on
that. This year we gave £30 million to Greater Manchester and the
West Midlands. We wanted to look at how such investment would
help them make improvements, and we are looking at that
intervention quite closely for the future.
May I say on behalf of these Benches, too, how pleased we are to
see the noble Baroness back in her place. We know that cots are
extremely important for the health and well-being of babies and
young children. What is the Government’s policy on the provision
of cots to those in social housing? The charity Justlife states
that around 25% of temporary accommodation falls under the
purview of the social housing regulator. With nearly 140,000
children living in temporary accommodation in England alone, what
steps are being taken to ensure that cots are provided for
families in temporary accommodation under the purview of the
social housing regulator?
(Con)
I thank the right reverend Prelate for that question. I do not
know the answer to it, but I will certainly find out. I know that
this is an important issue. Housing associations providing
temporary accommodation have to provide the correct furniture and
fittings for such families, and I will check that cots are
included. I also know that such charities—which I have been
involved with many times, and which do a wonderful job—are
providing not just cots but all the other things that babies and
young people need, particularly if they are being moved around a
lot. I will get a Written Answer to the right reverend Prelate
regarding cots.
(CB)
My Lords, the NHS spends £1.4 billion a year on treating
illnesses associated with mould. The evidence is that the number
of damp problems in the private rented sector is almost double
the number in the social sector. People renting often have great
difficulty in knowing where to seek help and are frightened of
going to the landlord in case of recrimination against them for
having raised an issue. Have the Government considered asking
every local authority to establish a registration point where
people who feel that their housing is seriously below standard
can report the issue and discuss it, so that they can get support
when going to the ombudsman or wherever else they might need to
go? There is a real gap in their ability to advocate for
themselves.
(Con)
No, we have not considered that, and I am not sure that local
authorities have the capacity to that at this time. But it is
important that we make sure that tenants know their rights and
where to go. The ombudsman is creating many more positions, so it
should be able to deal with these things quicker. I was pleased
to learn that the Department of Health and Social Care has
developed new, consolidated guidance, tailored to the housing
sector, on the health aspects of damp and mould. There was some
disagreement about what was important or how much damp and mould
could be allowed in these homes in order for them to be safe; I
am glad that that guidance has been consolidated. I hope that we
are moving forward, and I absolutely know that when Awaab’s law
comes into effect, things will change considerably and at much
greater speed.
