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Thousands of West Midlands homes treated for damp and mould via £15m programme
Local councils in the West Midlands have carried out improvements in thousands of social homes to treat damp and mould as part of a £15m programme.
Thousands of West Midlands homes treated for damp and mould via £15m programme #UKhousingThe Social Housing Decency Fund, distributed by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), has been used to upgrade more than 4,400 homes across the region.
This amounted to around 8,000 individual improvements, including fixing leaking roofs, window and doors. Some homes have also had new insulation fitted and high-carbon heating systems replaced with electric ones.
Ruqia Ali, whose home in Birmingham now has roof space ventilation and specialist kitchen and bathroom fans, said: “The condensation in the house was really bad before. It was aggravating my asthma and making me feel worse. We had damp on the walls and mould coming up from the skirting boards in the bedrooms. But we’ve had no damp since the work was done and the house is now really comfortable.”
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The programme is part of a raft of measures to improve social housing and build more homes introduced by Richard Parker, mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA.
The upgrades are nearing completion ahead of the introduction of Awaab’s Law from October this year, the WMCA said.
Mr Parker said: “It can’t be right that in 2025, in one of the world’s richest countries, there are thousands of children living in cold, damp and mouldy homes.”
The most recent English Housing Survey found damp problems in 7% of social homes in 2023-24, an increase of three percentage points since 2019.
The survey estimated that as many as 90,000 homes in the West Midlands fail to meet decency standards, 30,000 of which are social homes for rent, owned by councils or housing associations.
Mr Parker said: “The tragic death of Awaab Ishak is a stark reminder of the dangers of mould, especially for young children.
“Unfortunately, too many people have to live in old, sub-standard homes because of the region’s housing crisis. That’s why my priority is to build thousands of new social and affordable homes.
“But we must also upgrade the social housing we already have. We’ve made a start but we need to do more because this is not just about improving homes – it’s about improving and even saving lives.”
Mr Parker was elected in 2024 and has pledged to build 2,000 social rent homes a year by 2028.
In February, he launched a £167m energy efficiency fund to upgrade up to 10,000 homes.
Jayne Francis, Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for housing and homelessness, added: “The investment we are making into our council homes is the largest in the country and will ensure all our residents will be able to live in warm, safe, sustainable homes.
“Many tenants will soon see significant improvements in their accommodation, including new kitchens and bathrooms, but they will also see energy bills cut and homes made warmer, helping to reduce the danger of damp and mould.”
Birmingham City Council said it had invested just over £240m in its council housing last year, with a similar amount to be invested this year.
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