Thousands of homes in West Berkshire deemed ‘hazardous’ for residents

Around 6,500 homes in West Berkshire are deemed hazardous to those living in them.

That's 11 per cent of the total housing stock.

The shocking figures from a district-wide housing survey say the premises are identified as having category 1 hazards.

Category 1 hazards are those that are deemed to present an immediate risk to occupants.

A stock check of the nation's housing standards comes after two-year-old Awaab Ishak died after “chronic exposure to harmful mould” in his family’s one-bedroom housing association flat in Rochdale.

Giving her findings in 2022 senior coroner Joanne Kearsley made it clear this was far from an isolated case, describing Awaab's death as a "defining moment for the housing sector".

This resulted in new obligations - Awaab’s Law - on social landlords. The measures are due to be extended to private sector landlords under the terms of the Renters Reform Bill.

Cold, damp and mould are issues in some properties seen by the district's public protection service on a regular basis.

However, officers believe it to be significantly under-reported, along with other hazards (based on the stock survey and other evidence from the voluntary sector) as people are often concerned to report because of potential impacts on the relationship with landlords.

That said, West Berkshire has good housing stock compared to both regional and national benchmarks.

But it also has some poor stock and properties that may present risks to those who live in them.

A report to the council's Health and Wellbeing Board shows a significant proportion of the housing stock in West Berkshire has been built in the last thirty years and is subject to the ever improving standards set down in building regulations and improved planning and design standards.

However, a significant amount of property is of an age where energy efficiency is low and other standards are also not in keeping with modern requirements.

There are also a number of poorly converted properties that have what the report describes as inherent problems.

Also the report points to issues caused by house prices and rents being 'very high' in the area. It says good rental properties are in short supply and rents and mortgages have been rising in line with rising interest rates.

It is widely reported that landlords say, as maintenance costs and mortgage rates have risen so steeply, that repairs are becoming unaffordable without significantly higher rents.

The impact of the Renters Reform Bill is not yet known. It is feared the abolition of the Section 21 no fault evictions could lead to a flurry of evictions ahead of enactment as landlords seek to exit the market or evict tenants they see as problematic.

The correlation between poor housing and health inequalities is stark.

Along with poverty, lifestyle and poor nutrition these make up the main drivers of health inequalities and variances in life expectancy.

The Local Government Association in 2022, showed that about one in three (7.7 million) households in England experience at least one housing problem and around one million households (13 per cent) experience multiple housing problems.

Also, the lack of spare cash after paying the bills is cited in the report as a public health concern, as it will often force families to make difficult trade-offs. It says when a significant portion of income is spent on rent or mortgage payments, there is less money available for food, healthcare, education, and other necessities.

With respect to West Berkshire the data indicates that the district performs better than regional and national averages.

West Berkshire scores below national average for overcrowded homes - England 8.7 per cent, West Berkshire 7.7 per cent.

But the report warns housing remains a significant issue, with nearly 17,000 West Berkshire residents living in areas that are in the 20 per cent most deprived nationally.

The Public Protection Service commissioned a stock condition survey which was conducted in the first half of 2024.

The survey found that the standards of housing stock in West Berkshire was very good with 89 percent having no category one hazards.

The survey established that there were 68k dwellings in West Berkshire.

Of these 69 per cent are owner occupied, 17 per cent private rented (11.5k properties), and 14 per cent were social rented properties (9.5k properties).

The survey also looked at the estimated number of properties that could have hazards as defined by the Health and Housing Safety Risk Rating Scheme, such as damp and mould, excess heat or cold, dangerous electrics, poor water supply, over-crowding and risk of collapse.

There are an estimated 656 houses of multiple occupancy (HMO) in West Berkshire, of which 177 are likely to need to be licensed.

Around 11.9 per cent (1,371) of private rented dwellings in the district are estimated to have an EPC rating below band E.