Reports of damp and mould made to Edinburgh Council have more than doubled in the last year amid a “heightened awareness” of the potential health impacts.
Plans to step-up the repairs programme to rid council homes of damp are being hit by recruitment challenges however, as councillors call for a review of pay for housing staff.
The local authority said tackling the issue was an "absolute priority," and that there was now greater awareness of the "serious impact" the presence of damp and mould can have on residents.
It comes after a coroner ruled the death of two year-old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale in 2020 was the result of prolonged exposure to black mould in his home which led to a repository condition.
A steady rise in the number of reports raised by council tenants in the capital has been observed in the past year, with 80 recorded in April 2022, rising to 131 in October and 213 in March this year.
A report to the housing committee on Tuesday (May 9) said: "Some of this increase is seasonal, due to adverse weather conditions in the winter months, but the heightened awareness of the impact on health has undoubtedly also contributed to this."
It said the increase in reporting "is welcomed" adding it is "essential to provide a clear understanding of the scale of the problem".
The new figures revealed the highest number of reported mould and damp cases were in Forth (17.7%), Pentland Hills (13.5%) and Liberton Gilmerton (12.3%) - which are the three wards in the city with the greatest number of council tenants.
The average time taken for the council to undertake a survey in 2022/23 was 19.7 days whilst the average amount of time before work to resolve damp and mould issues was 41.7 days.
Furthermore, a sample of 341 surveys completed between December and March showed the most common root cause was poor ventilation, attributed to 47% of cases. This was followed by water leak (34%), gutter/downpipes (9%), fabric defects (6%) and damp proof course (4%).
Actions to improve the council's response to reports of damp, including recruiting more surveyors, have been taken however the council said there is still a shortage of workers needed to cope with the significant rise in cases and also challenges with recruitment.
The report said: "In some cases, the opportunity to take early action to identify cases where there are health vulnerabilities and a decant to another property may have been recommended have been missed.
"More generally, contractors are experiencing difficulties with capacity and securing the resources needed to carry out surveys and repairs. A procurement exercise was carried out in February 2023 to identify additional contractors to support dampness work but there was no interest from the market."
All works to remove dampness and mould from council-owned properties are currently outsourced, however an improvement plan set out by housing officers outlined a desire for more of the work to be brought in-house.
Whilst the plan puts emphasis on a move away from getting external contractors to complete the work, recruitment of staff continues to be "challenging for many posts across the council," the report added.
"Failure to fill these roles is a key risk to being able to deliver the required improvements.
"However, recruitment is underway and filling of these roles will be prioritised above vacancies elsewhere in the service as suitable candidates are identified."
SNP housing spokesperson Councillor Kate Campbell said it was vital the council looked at staff wages when considering ways to drive recruitment.
She said the report made clear a "desperate need within the housing department for more staff".
“We can see the pressure on the teams trying to deal with damp and mould.
"People are waiting longer and longer to have work carried out because of a lack of staff.
“While there is an aim to recruit more staff the reports set out the challenges but not the solution. We’ve heard from trade union representatives their concerns about pay grades being lower than the private sector locally and even lower than other local authorities.
“The council must do everything it can to make sure it can recruit and retain staff, especially in such crucial roles. And that means paying a decent wage.
“So we’re calling on the council to carry out a proper review of staff wages, looking at other local authorities and the private sector we’re competing with locally, and to make sure we get staff into roles so that the council can meet its obligations to tenants.”
A motion tabled by Cllr Campbell calling for a review of the level of pay required to "enable recruitment" was unanimously passed by the committee.
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