Over 7 million households across the UK are affected by damp and mould (gov.uk, 2024).
Damp and mould produces allergens, irritants, mould spores and other toxins that are harmful to health. The NHS spends an estimated £1.4 billion a year on treating illnesses associated with living in cold or damp housing. When wider societal costs such as ongoing healthcare are taken into consideration, the figure leaps to £15.4 billion (House of Commons Library, 2023).
This pan-industry event, taking place between 20th – 26th of October 2025, will unite supporters in a mission to tackle the misery damp & mould causes.
What are we doing?
Over the past couple of years, we’ve been working hard to make changes to the way we deal with damp and mould – from the ways you can report it, through to timescales and staff training across the organisation.
Damp and mould awareness week allows us to have a look back at the changes we’ve made and how you can report any damp and mould issues to us.
New damp and mould team
We’ve created a dedicated damp and disrepair team who specialise in damp and mould cases, this was brought in two years ago headed up by our Damp and Disrepair Manager Sean Watson, who oversees a team of three Damp and Disrepair Supervisors and are supported by a Damp and Disrepair Coordinator.
New reporting system
Following an occupants call reporting Damp or Mould we will investigate within10 working days and report back to the occupant with a written summary of our findings and actions to be taken within 3 days of completing that investigation. The investigation could be a physical inspection of the property or by asking a series of questions about the occupants of the property and the extent of the damp and mould. If the damp and mould is found to be dangerous (an Emergency), we will investigate and make safe within 24 hours. If we are unable to make safe, we will find alternative accommodation for the occupants and keep them informed of the next steps and progress of the works.
Staff training
We put together a series of training modules for staff right across the organisation and not just those who deal with the damp and mould in people’s homes. All staff should now know how to spot damp and mould, when to report it and should be able to offer advice on how residents can get rid of it.
Raising awareness and promoting reporting
We’ve promoted information on damp and mould and how to report cases as well as dealing with low level mould problems regularly in our quarterly magazine, our e-newsletter, on our website and via social media. We’ve created an animation for residents explaining all the information they need, and we’ve also updated our damp and mould leaflet.
Resident Review
A group of residents were tasked with looking at the way we tackle damp and mould cases and after reviewing all of our information and carrying out interviews with staff across the organisation, made recommendations for improvements and presented them to our Customer Focus Committee. All of their recommendations were implemented. We will be publishing the findings of the report and the recommendations shortly.
Ian Howse, Head of Repairs at PCH, said: “We take damp and mould very seriously as it can have a hugely negative impact on people’s health, as well as making it unpleasant and uncomfortable living in your home, and we are doing everything we can to respond promptly and tackle issues when they are reported to us.
“We are prioritising a response to our most vulnerable residents, with the triage system able to highlight those residents who have vulnerabilities or underlying health issues that can be adversely impacted by the presence of damp and mould.
“We want our residents to know that every case that’s reported is dealt with promptly, professionally and we will continue to offer help and support to our customers until the problem is resolved.”
There is information on our website about the new damp and mould reporting standards to help explain how PCH prioritises cases and responds in different time frames, from 24 hours for an urgent, category-one hazard to longer time frames for more routine repairs.
You can find all the information on our website here.
Introducing Awaab’s Law
As of 27 October 2025, all social landlords must comply with the regulations of Awaab’s Law, addressing all emergency hazards and all damp and mould hazards that present a significant risk of harm to residents within fixed timescales.
The Law is being introduced with a phased approach, with the first phase starting in October 2025 covering all damp and mould hazards and emergency hazards and in 2026, requirements will expand to apply to a wider range of health hazards. In 2027 the requirements will expand further to the remaining hazards as defined by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
Despite the phased approach, we’ll continue to meet our legal duties to keep all homes safe by carrying our repairs in line with our published repairing timescales, ensuring that everyone has a clean, comfortable, safe and secure affordable place to live, free of dangerous health or safety hazards. Additional information about Awaab’s Law will be shared on 27 October.
