Left-wing Labour member wants mandatory PRS damp and mould inspections

Private rented sector homes should have regular damp and mould inspections with certificates uploaded to the PRS Database, claims a Labour member.

Founder of Fairer Housing CIC and Labour party member Jacky Peacock has called on the government to introduce a legal requirement for landlords to arrange regular inspections of private rented homes for damp and mould.

Writing in LabourList, Ms Peacock argues that inspections should be carried out by professionals trained in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), with certificates uploaded to the new Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database.

The call comes as the government prepares to begin a regional rollout of the PRS Database in December. Landlords will be required to pay an annual registration fee of £65 per property.

Current enforcement of PRS conditions is reactive

Ms Peacock claims some tenants live in poor conditions in the PRS and research by the New Economics Foundation reveals renters across England are grappling with a postcode lottery when asking councils to deal with substandard housing.

Ms Peacock writes in Labourlist: “Current enforcement of PRS conditions is reactive, relying mainly on tenants having to endure poor conditions, which frequently make them ill, before complaining to their local council which many are reluctant to do, even if they know this is an option available to them, which most do not.

“It is also very resource intensive, and grossly under-resourced, with an average of only 2.2 Council enforcement officers for every 10,000 private rented homes.

Damp and mould inspections

All landlords will be required to register their properties on the PRS Database, including information about their properties such as copies of electrical and gas safety certificates.

However, Ms Peacock says this should also include regular damp and mould inspections.

She said: “Landlords are currently required to evidence some health and safety elements, including gas and electrical checks, energy performance etc., which could easily be uploaded onto the new database.

“However, there are no requirements to check for damp and mould, or the other 20 hazards identified under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), used by local authorities when they inspect sub-standard homes.

“This could be remedied by introducing a legal requirement for landlords to arrange for their properties to be inspected by a professional trained in the HHSRS. Any hazards found would have to be remedied before a ‘Decent Home Certificate’ could be uploaded to the database as a pre-condition for letting.”

She claimed the £65 annual registration fee per property could help fund local council enforcement work.

She said: “This change would represent an achievable enforcement role for local councils within existing resources and could be fully funded by the database registration fees that will be charged to landlords.

“Homes that are fit and decent make it easier to maintain family relationships, for children to do better at school and adults more likely to be able to work.”