The cost of fixing damp and mould problems in Portsmouth council houses is revealed

A freedom of information request conducted by LegalExpert.co.uk shows the local authority has spent £111,391.27 on repairing addresses with these issues between November 2021 and 2023. A further £103,054.93 was spent on tackling mould following disrepair claims made by residents.

This covers properties the council looks after in Portsmouth, Havant and Waterlooville. Councillor Darren Sanders, cabinet member for housing and tackling homelessness, said: “We take our responsibility as a landlord to 15,000 rented and 2000 leasehold homes across Portsmouth, Havant and Waterlooville very seriously.

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"This includes spending the money to make the changes that are needed to ensure people are living in good, healthy accommodation." PCC said it does not have an expected figure which it is likely to spend on fixing damp and mould as it depends on the number of requests made by occupants. A total of 49 disrepair claims were made during the two year period.

They added that the £214,446.20 total figure is in addition to a wider programme of prevention work designed to keep accommodation in an orderly manner – while making repairs in a timely manner. A spokesperson said: “Our priority is to diagnose the cause and undertake the appropriate repairs to rectify the cause and prevent damp and mould from returning.

"A disrepair claim is a last resort and something we seek to avoid by keeping our tenants informed of our repairs service and encouraging them to report issues in a timely manner.” The local authority said one of the main causes of damp and mould is condensation – which is usually caused by poor ventilation, insufficient insulation or other factors.

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“Older buildings may also have rising damp or water penetration that we need to tackle,” they said. “The cost of work related to damp and mould could include us installing new heating, additional ventilation or rectifying a building defect, perhaps on the roof, which would involve scaffold.

“Our goal is to prevent damp issues and minimise the time our tenants live with damp and mould. We don't put a price on this, and will continue to make the appropriate repairs to fix the problem.”

If you’re a council tenant, damp and mould related issues can be reported via email [email protected] or by calling 023 9284 1311