Private landlords who fail to resolve mould issues and put their tenants’ wellbeing at risk will face enforcement action, Hackney council has promised.
Following the promises the council made in its 2023/24 budget, the further £400,000 per year will be invested from April 2023 on additional environmental health officers. The expansion of the budget was part of the pledge made by the Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville to “redouble the efforts” to tackle mould in Hackney homes following the death of 2-year-old Awaab Ishak from extensive exposure to mould in 2020.
Glanville said: “We’ve already announced clear plans to tackle damp and mould in Council properties – this additional investment we are making available in this year’s budget will mean we can provide the same support for private renters.”
The first case of landlord’s negligence that was spotlighted by the council after the pledge announcement is that of a private renter in Clapton, who wished to remain anonymous. On March 6, Hackney council officers inspected her home and pointed out mould was covering the walls of her bedroom and bathroom, and high humidity in the kitchen caused damage to the appliances there.
The woman said she and her 5-year-old daughter have been “struggling a lot” after they moved into their home five years ago. “It’s affecting my daughter’s sleep and she has developed a chronic cough – we’ve had to sleep and live in the front room. I can’t sleep and I’m scared,” she said.
The landlord ignored the tenant’s complaints and proceeded to serve her two Section 21 evictions = meaning she could be evicted at a short notice and with no good reason- which was due to be banned by the government in 2019, but is still on the statute books,
“I’ve contacted the landlord several times and they refuse to carry out the necessary work to make this house safe. If it wasn’t for the support around me I don’t know what I would do.” The council is currently taking an action to force the landlord to go through the required repair at the tenant’s house.
The Mayor and Mayoral adviser for private renting and housing affordability, Councillor Sem Moema, visited the woman as well. Moema said: “While this is only one case, it illustrates the unsafe and unacceptable conditions a lot of our residents in the private rental sector are being forced to live in to prevent unfair evictions.”
Hackney citizens are tweeting their experiences with mould in their homes and lack of action from the council’s part.
Zineb Boulefa, a mother of two, has been facing the issues of mould at home and like a tenant from Clapton, was ignored by her landlord.
“This would be great if I hadn’t already made several complaints about damp and mould in my Hackney flat in November 2022 which have gone unanswered. Rogue private landlords AND their agents routinely take advantage of tenants by misrepresenting the property’s true condition,” said Oliver Chinyere, a trainee solicitor, in the Mayor’s Twitter comment section.
Hackney tenants who received responses to their comments from the Mayor and are struggling with damp and mould were advised to contact the Council’s repairs centre for help: 0208 356 3691.
