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Original poster

Do all council houses have mould and damp?

87 replies

Kirstie20 · 04/02/2022 17:35

I’m curious if every council house in the UK has a mould and damp? because I see it online often and people complaining that their home is damp. Are all council places like this or just a few?

OP posts:
FTEngineerM · 04/02/2022 18:50

I think @cheekychaplin meant that if someone’s in a council house, it’s the councils responsibility to sort out mould if and when it arises. So if they don’t the people can/do go to the press because they feel it may shine a light and get them answers quicker.

If I have damp in my house, what’s the point in going to the papers.. ‘woman lives in damp house that she owns and can’t afford to maintain’🤭…..

cheekychaplin · 04/02/2022 18:51

[quote AllThingsServeTheBeam]@Motnight council tenants don't look after their properties is what I got from it. [/quote]

No. Not at all. What I said was homeowners do not have anyone to complain to the papers about. Homeowners have mould and either fix or or don't. Tenants have mould they have to get the landlord to fix. Landlord won't help, tenant goes to press.

FTEngineerM · 04/02/2022 18:52

Therefore the data seems skewed..

cheekychaplin · 04/02/2022 18:52

@FTEngineerM

I think *@cheekychaplin* meant that if someone’s in a council house, it’s the councils responsibility to sort out mould if and when it arises. So if they don’t the people can/do go to the press because they feel it may shine a light and get them answers quicker.

If I have damp in my house, what’s the point in going to the papers.. ‘woman lives in damp house that she owns and can’t afford to maintain’🤭…..

That is exactly what I meant.

Fujimora · 04/02/2022 18:52

Many properties across the world have problems with mould and damp. In the UK it is a combination of the weather, old housing stock and poor maintenance. Problems can sometimes be made worse by the behaviour of the residents - failing to ventilate, under or over heating and drying clothes etc indoors.
It is easier to resolve these problems if they are addressed sooner rather than later.

kitcat15 · 04/02/2022 18:52

My DDs never did

Saladd0dger · 04/02/2022 18:55

My old council house was riddled with damp. The whole estate was, it’s been left to rot the housing association is known to neglect properties. We are now in a new build council house with a different association and so far no damp. I spent years complaining about our old living conditions and got no where.

nopuppiesallowed · 04/02/2022 18:57

Our home (not council) had a little damp in one room, then we had cavity wall insulation installed. Not long afterwards we had 4 rooms with terrible damp and mould. Turns out that the insulation surveyor didnt do his survey properly. He missed the fact that the cavities in our walls are too narrow for insulation, that there was rubble bridging the cavities in the damp room and that houses on exposed hillsides shouldn't have insulation installed. The company wanted us to pay to have the insulation removed! We eventually came to an agreement with them and a few months later they went out of business. Cost a fortune to redecorate and paint the outside of the house. Some of the holes they made in the walls were refilled with sand... I've read that there are entire roads of council houses in the same position we were.

perenniallymessy · 04/02/2022 18:57

Mould is a problem in lots of British homes- privately owned, privately rented or council.

Sometimes it's due to maintenance issues (cracked render, leaking gutters) but mostly it's condensation as people don't ventilate as much as they need to extract the moisture created from breathing, cooking, bathing and drying washing indoors. Council housing is probably more likely to be filled to capacity so more moisture in less space.

Lots of social housing is now being fitted with continuous extract fans to make sure there is a constant movement of air to try and prevent a build up of condensation and reduce the risk of mould. We are privately owned but fitted continuous extract fans and all the literature around them referred to housing associations.

JustOneCup · 04/02/2022 18:57

[quote use257]@JustOneCup hahahahah. They wouldn't complain because they own the house so no amount of complaining will sort it. Tenants HAVE to complain to get the issue sorted as they have to rely on the owner of the house (the council) to sort the issue. You're looking a bit dumb here [/quote]
And you’re looking really rude 🤣

Flyingbymypants · 04/02/2022 18:58

@cheekychaplin I got your post - seemed pretty clear to me.

Our privately owned house has a lot of damp because the central heating system is shit. I won't need to go to the papers to get it dealt with.

Original poster
Kirstie20 · 04/02/2022 18:58

I’m glad I asked this question because seeing people say that their council houses don’t have damp is reassuring. I know it’s a silly question but I asked because my nan lives in a council house with damp too and she thinks all council places are sh*tty and damp so this thread is reassuring to me!

OP posts:
JustOneCup · 04/02/2022 18:59

@cheekychaplin I see what you mean after your last post I think they way you had worded it about private homeowners ‘not crying to the papers’ just came across wrong almost the sort of language used in sensationalist headlines to turn others against council tenants but I see what you mean and it obviously wasn’t meant the way some of us took it

eurochick · 04/02/2022 19:04

@perenniallymessy

Mould is a problem in lots of British homes- privately owned, privately rented or council.

Sometimes it's due to maintenance issues (cracked render, leaking gutters) but mostly it's condensation as people don't ventilate as much as they need to extract the moisture created from breathing, cooking, bathing and drying washing indoors. Council housing is probably more likely to be filled to capacity so more moisture in less space.

Lots of social housing is now being fitted with continuous extract fans to make sure there is a constant movement of air to try and prevent a build up of condensation and reduce the risk of mould. We are privately owned but fitted continuous extract fans and all the literature around them referred to housing associations.

Exactly this. I've owned four places in my adult life - two had no mould at all; two had some. The latter both had single skin walls (no cavity) which is known for being an issue. All were "naice" places. One of the houses that was prone to mould was a £1m+ property. It was just built before cavity walls were a thing.
cheekychaplin · 04/02/2022 19:04

My wording wasn't the issue. Posters just can't wait to turn nothing into something and have a dig at others.

JustOneCup · 04/02/2022 19:06

@cheekychaplin

My wording wasn't the issue. Posters just can't wait to turn nothing into something and have a dig at others.
Your wording was off
Wrongkindofovercoat · 04/02/2022 19:09

We never had a problem until they put in the insulation in the loft.

Mimsnet456 · 04/02/2022 19:11

My old council property had a horrific mould problem. Our current one has had no issues and been here 2 years.
Treated them exactly same way, some do, some don't.

cheekychaplin · 04/02/2022 19:12

Your wording was off

Yet calling me privileged because you misunderstood my post is ok Hmm

Ritasueandbobtoo9 · 04/02/2022 19:14

I have visited hundreds of council homes during my career. Usually, damp occurs in houses that are overcrowded, under heated, where people cook a lot but don’t turn the extractor fans on and where the windows aren’t ever open. I see very little actual damp now since the housing quality standards can into force.

JustOneCup · 04/02/2022 19:15

@cheekychaplin

Your wording was off

Yet calling me privileged because you misunderstood my post is ok Hmm

Did you not see my post where I said once you’d explained I understood what you meant ?
FTEngineerM · 04/02/2022 19:17

Could it also partly be because as a tenant there’s no vested interest the the property?

So, say drying clothes on rads all winter with the windows closed getting every cold surface mouldy by the time Easter rolls around is less of a headache because it’s not your problem to solve the long term issues it causes.

JustOneCup · 04/02/2022 19:19

@FTEngineerM

Could it also partly be because as a tenant there’s no vested interest the the property?

So, say drying clothes on rads all winter with the windows closed getting every cold surface mouldy by the time Easter rolls around is less of a headache because it’s not your problem to solve the long term issues it causes.

I dont think anyone would intentionally contribute to damp in their own home just because it wasn’t their property
AllThingsServeTheBeam · 04/02/2022 19:21

@FTEngineerM

Could it also partly be because as a tenant there’s no vested interest the the property?

So, say drying clothes on rads all winter with the windows closed getting every cold surface mouldy by the time Easter rolls around is less of a headache because it’s not your problem to solve the long term issues it causes.

I've always dried my clothes on the radiators in winter and the only window I tend to have open is the bathroom after a shower
AllThingsServeTheBeam · 04/02/2022 19:22

@cheekychaplin my apologies. I assumed by responsibility you meant the tenant. Or rather lack thereof