Fiona MacGregor

Landlords have been urged by a watchdog to " act now" after tens of thousands of properties were found to have " notable" damp and mould.

It Comes after, who was exposed to mould in his home in Rochdale in 2020.

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) found between 120,000 and 160,000 of social homes in England were estimated to have " notable" issues.

About 40,000 to 80,000 were thought to have serious issues.

A coroner ruled two-year-old Awaab died from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to serious mould in his flat.

The Toddler 's father had repeatedly raised the issue with Rochdale Boroughwide Housing but no action was taken.

The RSH later found " widespread failings" at the housing association that owned The Flat Awaab had lived in.

Following a coroner's report Last Year , the RSH asked providers of social housing to submit evidence about the extent of damp and mould in tenants' homes and their approach to tackling it - and the latest figures emerged.

The regulator estimated that less than 0. 2% of social homes, around 8,000 homes, in England have The Most serious damp and mould problems.

These would fail the Decent Homes Standard, the regulator said.

It added that more such cases were reported among local authorities than private providers.

The regulator said: " These are not acceptable conditions for tenants to be living in, even if the proportions are relatively small.

" Local authorities reported proportionately more cases than private registered providers. "

The RSH said providers had recorded and submitted information about The Number of damp and mould cases they had in a variety of ways, meaning it was difficult to accurately assess the extent of such problems in the sector overall.

The estimates are based on The Four million homes that are owned and managed by large registered providers who have More Than 1,000 homes.

Fiona Macgregor , chief executive of RSH, said: " Where there are issues, landlords need to act now to put things right, before we start our active consumer regulation, including inspections of providers. "

The regulator said that while its findings showed that the vast majority of people living in social housing have homes that are " largely free from damp and mould" those that do have such issues are At Risk from a serious impact on their health and wellbeing.

In A Warning to providers, the regulator said: " We expect providers to be asking themselves how they can improve.

" Regulation should not be the only driver for change. "

Providers which reported a high prevalence of serious damp and mould or supplied poor quality information will be asked by the regulator to give " further, specific assurance that they are identifying and addressing damp and mould cases".

In cases where providers are identified as not meeting Standards , the RSH said regulatory action will be taken, including publishing regulatory notices or regulatory judgments " where appropriate".

Local Government Association housing spokesman Darren Rodwell said councils were " determined to improve housing conditions for all social and private tenants".

He Said : " The LGA continues to work with professional bodies, as well as the government, to discuss possible solutions on improving housing Standards - including those relating to damp and mould in tenanted properties. "