Paul McGeary, cabinet member for housing, revealed the statistic in a full council meeting on Wednesday (March 26) after the issue was raised by Cllr Joshua Chapman.
He asked Cllr McGeary to confirm the total number of properties reporting damp and mould to Havering Council over the last year, and the average time for remediation.
Cllr McGeary revealed that 636 properties had made reports between October 1 last year and March 13 this year.
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Any data prior to this would be imprecise, according to Cllr McGeary, due to the addition of “specialist codes” within the management system in October which allows the council to “fully track damp and mould cases and performance”.
He said: “Our council housing includes a large number of homes constructed in and around the 1960s.
Councillor Paul McGeary revealed that 636 homes made damp and mould reports since October 2024 (Image: Havering Council) “Buildings constructed during this period were not subject to current building regulations and lack the thermal values of modern construction, making some of our properties more prone to condensation.
“The majority of damp and mould complaints are seasonal and directly linked to the external temperature between November and April.
“Given this, we have implemented a damp and mould MOT approach to fully support our residents over this period.”
Cllr McGeary added that the council has two targets for damp and mould work depending on the nature of work needed.
“Damp and mould 60 is a 60 day work order for thermal boarding, upgrading existing extractor fans and other measures,” he said.
“Damp and mould 120 is our MOT works order where we will visit every month over a four-month period – to date 130 of these cases have been completed within the target timescale.
“This leaves 506 cases which we are progressing and expect to complete within the target timescale.
“The council takes the incident of damp and mould seriously and undertakes prevention and treatment works as appropriate.”
Cllr Chapman also questioned whether the council will amend their targets in preparation for Awaab’s Law to ensure the borough offers a “safe repairs and maintenance system”.
Awaab’s Law will be implemented in October 2025 and is enacted through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023.
It enforces landlords to address hazards like damp and mould within strict timeframes.
“The simple answer is yes,” replied Cllr McGeary.
“We have contacted a number of local boroughs and we have found that our targets are actually far better than most other local authorities.
“Awaab’s Law is coming in October and there is not an agreed set target yet – it was proposed that there will be a timescale of 14 days from the date of someone reporting an action and the investigation being made.
“That hasn’t been brought into force yet and we are waiting for central government to give us the final position but we will be up to speed as we are aware of it and we will do what is required at the correct time.”
