Citizens Advice boss says 'something needs to change' in private rental sector

21 February 2023, 12:33

Nick Ferrari speaks to Citizens Advice boss as over 1.6 million children live in mouldy damp homes.

Nick Ferrari spoke to Citizens Advice boss after it has been found that 1.6 million children live in mouldy and damp homes.

This discussion comes following a survey done by Citizens Advice that found more than half of private renters in England, including 1.6 million children, are living in excessively cold, damp or mouldy homes.

The head of policy at Citizens Advice, Morgan Wild, told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on LBC that people are living in "really difficult conditions, exacerbated by record high energy bills, people living in very poorly insulated homes, very cold homes."

He added that: "Increasingly we're seeing mouldy, damp conditions that pose a risk to people's health."

Nick said: "I don't rent out properties but if I did surely there are some kind of restrictions or regulations on me?"

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Morgan said: "The problem is that landlords are not required to bring up their homes to a sufficient energy efficiency standard. That's what we're pushing the government to introduce as regulation so that there's a minimum floor that reduces draftiness and leakiness of people's homes."

Nick said: "So as long as a boiler isn't effectively gassing people it can be as cold as Siberia and there's nothing those poor people can do?"

Morgan said: "So there may be things that people can do. It's always worth talking to your landlord and seeing if you can come to some kind of agreement, it's always worth picking up the phone to citizens advice but the situation is pretty bad for people in the private rental sector, bills through the roof, mouldy, damp conditions. Something needs to change."

Discussing the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died from respiratory conditions caused by exposure to mouldy conditions, Morgan added: "As a consequence the government is introducing Awaab's law which will put strict legal timelines on dealing with damp and mould in the social rental sector. We're calling for that to be extended to the private rental sector as well."

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