More than 600 Nottingham families facing damp and mould in council homes

Hundreds of Nottingham families are suffering with damp and mould in council homes across the city as the extent of the problem is laid bare. Statistics show that 666 households are currently on the waiting list, with cases on average taking two and a half months to resolve.

Nottingham City Council said it had been affected by one of its main contractors going into administration but aimed to sort all repairs by Christmas. The authority said it had seen a large drop in the amount of cases since last year when they peaked at 1,400.

Since September last year, 318 new complaints of mould and damp have been made to the council, figures obtained by Nottinghamshire Live through a Freedom of Information request show. The issue is most commonly faced by Bulwell tenants, where there were 48 reports, while Bestwood and Aspley had 34 and 33 respectively.

The city council has spent £1.2m on clearing damp and mould during that period, with households being forced to wait an average of 76 days from when they first make a report. Sharon Davis, from Bulwell, said she waited between three and four months for the council to remove mould which ravaged her home last year.

"It was in the front room, behind the TV, the back bedroom and in my room," said the 61-year-old. “I had a lot of chest infections. My daughter and grandson thought it was linked to that."

Ms Davis said trying to get the issue sorted was frustrating. She added: "I kept phoning up about it and it took longer and longer.

“It was frustrating, it caused a lot of stress and upset. It needs investigating, they’re taking their time in doing stuff. One moment they said they were coming and then they didn’t. I do feel a lot better now.”

Of the 666 ongoing cases, the NG8 area, which comprises Aspley, Bilborough and Strelley, makes up 147 of the cases. A further 136 households in NG5, which includes Bestwood, Carrington, Sherwood and Top Valley, are suffering with damp and mould.

NG6 (Bestwood Village, Bulwell and Old Basford) makes up 95, while NG5 (Mapperley, Sneinton and St Ann's) accounts for 86.

The city council said the cases equated to 2.7 per cent of its homes across Nottingham, which is in line with the government's national estimates.

"We appreciate that damp and mould is frustrating and challenging for those who are living with it in their homes. We have appointed external contractors and put new procedures in place to handle damp and mould cases, and our goal is to have all outstanding cases resolved by 24 December," said a spokesperson.

"We use our quarterly tenant satisfaction survey to gain insight into unreported damp and mould-related issues. We’re also undertaking stock condition surveys of all our properties and any damp and mould we find that hasn’t already been reported by residents is added to our programme of work.

"This approach has increased case numbers at the moment. Our process is to remove the hazard first and then programme any additional works to stop recurrence. We also monitor the properties where works have been done."

The council said it was "moving into a more positive position" with new contractors after the previous firm went into administration. "We have a web page that offers guidance and support with heating and ventilating homes and making small lifestyle changes that will help prevent damp and mould," continued the spokesperson.

"It also includes advice on how to remove mould spores. Our in-house surveyors offer support advice around damp and mould prevention on a one-to-one basis with affected residents and signpost to other support services and sources of information and guidance."