Tackling mould in social homes

Almost all of the social landlords in the UK have reported having mould issues in properties under their remit and many are at a loss on how to deal with the issue.

The survey, from indoor climate solutions provider Zehnder Group UK, found that 99.2% of social landlords have experienced mould issues in properties under their remit and almost half (41%) believe that the main cause is the weather.

More than one in 10 landlords said that mould affects over half of their housing remit and almost a third (32%) of tenants said their homes had mould in five to six rooms.

Commenting on the findings, Zehnder RMI national manager, Mark Trowers, said: “Over half of tenants (54%) admitted to turning off extractor fans in their bathrooms and kitchen, yet the reasons for doing so are rooted in a lack of understanding, with 36% claiming heat loss from the fan, running costs (34%), noise (33%) and nearly a fifth (18%) claiming they just don’t need them.

“Extractor fan technology has come a long way and no resident should feel the need to turn off their fan due to noise or cost. As an industry, we need to help landlords navigate this epidemic and arm them with information and tools to make their properties healthier – we are part of a bigger and quite complex puzzle where education, accessibility and collaboration is key.”