Do more to solve damp and mould problems in Cambridge council homes, say Lib Dems

Much more needs to be done to resolve problems of damp and mould in Cambridge City Council homes, it has been claimed.

Members of the Liberal Democrat opposition called the situation “profoundly depressing” and demanded investment to tackle the cases at a full council meeting last week. The Labour administration said it is increasing funding for repairs.

A 2.7 per cent increase in social and affordable rents was approved by the council. For those in social rented homes, it means an average rent increase of £3.37 per week. For those in affordable rented homes, this will mean an average rent increase of £5.06 per week.

Cllr Geri Bird (Lab, East Chesterton), executive councillor for housing, said despite “significant financial challenges” the authority was investing in its council housing stock, highlighting plans to build more council homes and to create more modular homes for homeless people.

She said 640 reports of damp, mould and condensation had been received between January and November 2024. Half have been dealt with so far.

Cllr Cameron Holloway (Lab, Newnham), executive councillor for community safety, homelessness and wellbeing, said it was “difficult to raise rents”, but explained this was “essentially how we fund other things”.

But Cllr Anthony Martinelli (Lib Dem, Market) said the council needed to “confront the stark reality” that it was “failing in its fundamental duty to provide safe, secure, and high-quality homes for tenants”.

He claimed damp, condensation and mould cases were rising and pointed to an “alarming discovery” that 300 tenant emails reporting mould had been lost – a claim later disputed by the Labour leadership.

Cllr Martinelli said there was a “systemic failure that undermines the figures presented to scrutiny”.

He called it “time for decisive action” and said the authority could “no longer ignore pleas for help”.

The Liberal Democrats’ amendment to the housing budget called for a new officer to be recruited to catch up with the backlog and an external review of cases to ensure ‘best practice’. The group also called for the redevelopment of Stanton House to provide more affordable homes.

Cllr Katie Porrer (Lib Dem, Market) said it is “profoundly depressing” they were “still asking” for damp and mould issues to be tackled.

She said: “It is getting worse and worse, and every year we do not seem to accept there is a fundamental systemic problem that needs solving.”

Cllr Elliot Tong (Green, Abbey) said there were “serious health risks”.

Cllr Delowar Hossain (Con, King’s Hedges) said: “We cannot neglect our tenants. We need to look after their home quality first before we increase any rent or council tax.”

Discussing repairs, council leader Cllr Mike Davey (Lab, Petersfield) acknowledged: “We have not done this as well as we could have in the past.”

Cllr Holloway reported that the council had a 99.93 per cent compliance with the decent homes standard.

A report on Stanton House will be presented to councillors this month.

The Lib Dem amendment failed to get enough support. The housing budget and rent increases were approved.

After the meeting Cllr Bird told the Cambridge Independent: “No emails were lost. The figure refers to 270 emails, relating to 83 cases, which were unresolved in October 2024 during a seasonal peak in reporting.

“The team reacted quickly to the seasonal peak and put measures in place to address the backlog, which has been completely cleared. Despite still being within the peak of the seasonal increase in reports, all new referrals are now being triaged and responded to within two working days.

“We take the issue of damp, condensation and mould very seriously and encourage any tenants who have concerns about their home to report them to us as soon as possible.”