A local authority says it received more than 250 complaints over damp and mould problems in private rented homes between 2019 and last year.

Redcar and Cleveland Council revealed that of the 251 complaints it received in the borough, 177 resulted in inspections by its officers.

As a result, 92 informal notices were served on landlords and owners, a report revealed.

The Government is undertaking a review of existing guidance on the health impacts of damp and mould following the death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale in 2020 with a view to issuing new guidance specifically tailored to the housing sector.

Two-year-old Awaab suffered a cardiac arrest due to respiratory failure, caused by mould affecting his airway in a poorly ventilated one-bedroom flat he lived in with his parents, which an expert described as “unfit for human habitation”.

Read more: Durham couple slam Believe housing association for damp and mould

His family found themselves blamed for the damp and mould problem – even though their housing association had a backlog of hundreds of complaints about the issue at its properties.

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In an inquest last November senior coroner Joanne Kearsley said Awaab’s death should be a “defining moment” for the housing sector.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove subsequently wrote to all local housing authorities requesting an assessment of damp and mould issues affecting privately rented properties in each council area.

Redcar and Cleveland Council said it estimated just under 2% of rental homes in the borough, of which there are about 10,600, had so-called category one damp and mould hazards – the most serious – and just under 10% category two hazards.

The council said a range of options in such instances were available to it, including working informally with owners to address any hazards identified; serving an improvement notice requiring repairs or improvements; making a prohibition order closing the whole or part of a home, or restrict the number of occupiers; taking emergency action where an imminent risk to residents was determined, and serving a hazard awareness notice informing the property owner of the presence of hazards.

Failure to comply with any enforcement notices can result in prosecutions, while councils also have powers to serve civil penalties of up to £30,000 per offence designated under the Housing Act 2004.

No such penalties had been issued in the borough since new powers became law in 2016, the council said.

It said its housing standards team operated on a reactive basis with the approach being “tenure blind” and officers responding to requests from owner occupiers, landlords and tenants in both the private and social rented sectors.

The council said a national housing health and safety rating system was used to make assessments as to the condition of properties and, asked what was included in its response to the Government review, suggested a “simplified assessment tool would result in greater efficiencies for staff dealing with hazards, allowing faster and greater outputs”.

The current system incorporates as many 29 specified hazards while a banding system – numbering ten in all – is used to categorise potential health impacts.

Category one damp and mould hazards fall into the highest three bands and if found mean a local authority has a duty to take enforcement action, while category two, while less serious, still means consideration should be given to action being taken.

The council said figures for 2022/23 in terms of complaints and any actions it had taken were not yet available.

A spokesman said: “Everyone deserves to live in a clean, dry, home free from damp and that’s why the council’s housing standards team works with tenants and landlords every day to ensure the highest standards. 

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“It’s estimated that a very small number of privately rented homes – under 2% – may have the more serious damp issues. 

“In most cases working informally with a property owner solves the issue, but we won’t hesitate to take formal action where necessary.

“Any tenant with a complaint about damp which is not being resolved by their landlord should not hesitate to get in touch.”