Southampton Damp and Mould: What the Council's Own Report Found

A Southampton City Council scrutiny report looked at the condition of the city's private rented homes, and its findings are a useful guide for local landlords. Over a two-year period the council logged 837 private rented sector complaints and carried out 131 inspections under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, and it served 15 formal improvement notices on landlords. The report also estimated that around 0.2% of private rented homes have a category 1 damp and mould hazard.

Southampton in numbers

• Private rented households: 29.2% (England 20.5%); social rented: 21.9% (England 17.1%)
• Flats: 40.6% (England 21.4%); terraced homes: 19.6% (England 23.0%)
• Homes with no central heating: 2.2% (England 1.5%)
• Overcrowded households: 5.8% (England 4.4%)
• River or sea flood risk: 2.3% (England 1.9%); surface-water risk: 3.5% (England 5.9%)
• Rainfall: about 819 mm a year at Mayflower Park, around a mile away

Does a low category 1 rate mean a low problem?

Not necessarily. A category 1 hazard is the most serious grade, the level at which a council has a duty to act. Plenty of damp and mould sits below that line and is still a breach of a landlord's duty to keep a home fit to live in. The 837 complaints show that tenants were reporting problems well beyond the most severe cases.

Draughts, insulation and tenants who were already ventilating

The report found that draughts and poor insulation were a persistent cause of damp and mould, even where tenants were already ventilating rooms as advised. That is an important point for landlords: advice to open windows is not a fix if the building is cold. Insulation, draught-proofing balanced with controlled ventilation, and fixed heating are the landlord's side of the equation.

A city of flats, students and post-war rebuilding

With 40.6% of homes as flats, a large student HMO sector, surviving Victorian terraces and substantial post-war rebuilding after wartime bombing, Southampton's stock is mixed. Overcrowding, at 5.8%, is above the England rate, which adds moisture to homes that may already be poorly insulated. Landlords of HMOs should treat extraction, heating and tenant guidance as a package.

What landlords must do

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 requires rented homes to be free from serious damp. Tenants who have reported a problem without a fix can escalate to the council's private sector housing enforcement team, which can serve improvement notices.

Awaab's Law currently applies to social housing, which is 21.9% of Southampton households, and private landlords are expected to follow. Our guide to Awaab's Law and the private rented sector explains the current position.

To find a specialist, see our Southampton damp and mould page, and read the council's scrutiny report.