Damp Crisis, Lack of funds, Lack of Support. How can disrepair support help give tenants compensation, and help they deserve?
It’s becoming more of an issue as the population continues to grow the cry out for social housing continuously increases but the issues attached to this are becoming more apparent.
From mould, to leaking roofs the demand continues to build but tenants are being left in unliveable conditions that are increasingly damaging their mental health, but what is paramount is the effect this is having on their health.
It is currently costing the NHS £0.9 billion pounds a year as a direct result of public living in damp and mould ridden homes. The figures rise to £15.4 billion pounds when taking healthcare services into account.
So, what does this mean for council? They are receiving calls daily without the man power to action each and every one of the complaints. They don’t listen, and it leaves tenants dissatisfied.
According to the English housing survey, there are over 904,000 homes in England alone that have had damp problems. This equates to 4% of the social rented-sector all suffering with these issues.
As energy costs continue to rise, tenants are faced with the decision of whether to ‘heat’ or ‘eat’. But with their houses in disrepair by heating these households they are only adding to the mould that continues to grow within their properties. And in turn this only adds to their health and mental health decline.
This becomes very real, when in 2022 a two-year-old named Awaab Ishak died due to ‘prolonged exposure in mould in his home environment’ the coroner ruled. Whilst this called for housing standards to be improved there is still a clear issue of tenants living in mould, and unhealthy conditions.
With a bill being passed named Awaab’s law in July 2023, the assumption would have been that there would statistically have been a decrease in families living in poor unethical conditions, however this is not the case.
With an ever-growing population there are limited resources for council tenants to firstly live in humane conditions but also to receive compensation for the disrepair they are living in.
Thats where Disrepair comes in, not only does the tenant receive the support they need to have their properties put into a liveable state but they also help financially giving them the compensation they deserve.
With the financial constraints already for the tenants living under social housing, this can only be seen as a positive way for them to get money they deserve, and have their homes put back into liveable conditions that do not increase their chances of having health related issues due to their homes being filled with mould and damp. So what are you waiting for?