Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the proportion of social housing in England which is affected by Stachybotrys chartarum and Aspergillus niger; and what steps his Department is taking to tackle incidence of such molds.

The Housing Health & Safety Rating System allows local authorities to assess properties against 29 different hazards, including damp and mould growth. If following an inspection a property is found to contain a serious, “category 1”, hazard, we would expect the local authority to take action in relation to the hazard. The assessment for whether damp is a hazard takes into account factors such as the state of repair of the dwelling, the extent of existing dampness and the effect it could have on mould growth, and the consequent potential for harm.

Since April 2010 the Decent Homes standard has been a regulatory requirement for social landlords. The Decent Homes standard was set as a threshold and the landlord must not allow a home to be below the standard. Most landlords are delivering works that exceed the minimum standard.