Home > News > UK Housing: Gove sends letter to council over damp

UK Housing: Gove sends letter to council over damp

Michael Gove has contacted several councils and social housing providers in response to housing failures, including damp.

One of the letters was to Westminster City Council, which is said to be responsible for a “severe maladministration” that saw a tenant left in a flat damp for over two years.

Gove told Stuart Lowe, the chief executive of the council, that he was taking a “personal interest in how your organisation continues to deliver its responsibilities to its residents”.

Gove’s letter said: “I write following a finding of severe maladministration by the Housing Ombudsman. This was for your failure to address issues of a damp and mould in one of your resident’s homes for over two years.

“You did this while knowing that there was also a four-month-old child living in the property. Despite a survey report finding significant signs of rising dampness, you failed to offer a decant until four months later and even then, informed the tenant that a decant would only be considered after a further inspection.

“Eight months later you told the resident a decant was not an option and then took another five months to conduct another survey.

“You failed to produce evidence that you had considered the vulnerabilities of the residents, nor the impact on their health and wellbeing. Two years later some of the issues were still outstanding.

“It is unacceptable that your residents should wait for this length of time to have issues such as this addressed – especially with a young child involved. Residents should expect that when they report an issue, it will be acted upon swiftly and effectively, not months and not years later.”

Councils have been hit by government cuts since 2010, which some blame on these failures.

A Westminster City Council spokesperson said: “Earlier this year we introduced a council-wide Housing Improvement Programme. This includes reviewing the repair process and working with our contractors to significantly improve the service our residents receive.

“We would like to thank the ombudsman for their engagement with us and with our residents, who recently hosted an event for them to speak directly to residents about the valuable role they play.”

HICH LTD has continually raised the quality standards in the UK property survey market. Our multi-award-winning property survey service has made us the leading reference in the property survey market.

We offer property survey services of the highest quality. Using state-of-the-art equipment, we provide excellent property surveys at affordable prices. Our prices are based on the number of rooms rather than the value of the properties, so you will always get the best value for money with our services.

Please look at our Trustpilot page and see why customers have chosen us as their favourite property survey provider!

At HICH LTD, we work to serve our clients and make the world a better place for everyone. We actively collaborate with NGOs to promote environmental, social, and charitable causes. If you want to know more about our efforts or how you can help, contact us at admin@hich-ltd.co.uk.

HICH LTD extends a warm invitation to contractors and service providers throughout the UK to join our network; by joining the Contractors and Service Providers Network, you will enjoy benefits such as a significant increase in customer flow, advertising on our high-traffic website, and direct contact with thousands of customers in your postcode area. Find more information here or by following the QR code in the video.