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Monday, February 10, 2025

Council to spend £150,000 fixing damp and mould in its homes

The law gives tenants, in private renting or social, the power to hold landlords to account over poor living conditions caused by damp and mould.

A Nottinghamshire council is allocating £150,000 a year to make sure its houses are up to scratch on new rules on damp and mould brought in following the death of young boy in Rochdale.

 

Broxtowe Borough Council is making the changes to make sure its social housing meets the requirements of Awaab’s Law.

A council committee met yesterday (January 21) to discuss the plan.

Awaab’s Law was introduced in July 2023 as part of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act, after two-year-old Awaab Ishak died in 2020 following a respiratory condition caused by mould in his family’s Rochdale home.

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The law gives tenants, in private renting or social, the power to hold landlords to account over poor living conditions caused by damp and mould.

The council is planning a £150,000 cost in the next financial year’s housing budget to make sure it is compliant with the new law.

It has also included the cost for the 2026/27 and 2027/28 housing budgets.

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Last year the council carried out work to prevent mould and damp on some of its homes on Princes Street and Wellington Street, Eastwood.

But some tenants later said in August that the mould had returned to their homes following the work.

The impact of National Insurance contributions for the council’s housing staff was also discussed in Tuesday’s meeting.

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Councils across the country have had to assess their internal budgets against the new national living wage and employer contributions introduced by the government.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed wages will rise to £12.21 per hour from April 2025.

These increased wages will put extra financial pressures on councils in paying their own staff.

The Borough Council’s documents show an increase in spending of £735,000 in its housing budget for 2025/26, with £314,000 of this coming from costs from increased staff pay, national insurance contributions and salary increments.

The council’s housing budget is expected to receive some funding of £115,000 to help support the increases in National Insurance contributions.

Cllr Philip Owen (Con) questioned: “Does that £115,000 cover the whole cost of the national insurance contributions?”

Zulfiqar Darr, Deputy Chief Executive at the council, responded: “We’re definitely confident we’re not going to get 100 per cent [of National Insurance contributions], so we put in around 50 per cent [figure] in terms of the cost of National Insurance [support].”

He then confirmed, based on this 50 per cent presumption, that the costs to the council in National Insurance contributions for its housing staff is approximately £230,000.

Cllr Owen responded: “I’m somewhat surprised at that.

“When I listened to the budget speech, I heard Rachel Reeves say local authorities will not have to pay the National Insurance contributions increase- are you telling me I shouldn’t be believing her when she says that or are you confident in the estimate you’ve put forward?”

Mr Darr says the council’s finance team take a “prudent view”- meaning acting with care- on what they expect the council to receive in terms of contributions from the government.

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