Swale Healthy Homes
Published
Tuesday 21 May, 2024
Updated
Sunday 16 June, 2024
Everyone deserves to live in a safe and healthy home.
Unfortunately, issues like poor insulation, inadequate ventilation and inefficient heating can contribute to homes suffering from damp and mould.
This can significantly impact your health, particularly your respiratory system – your airways and lungs.
In severe cases, exposure can lead to fungal infections, and make existing conditions like asthma and COPD worse. It can cause eye irritation, skin conditions like eczema, and even mental health issues like stress and anxiety due to living in poor conditions.
Some people are more vulnerable to the health risks of damp and mould. This includes children and elderly people, pregnant women, those with weakened immune systems and people with pre-existing health conditions.
Tackling damp and mould
We want local people to live in healthy homes, so we are working with the Government as part of the Healthy Homes Initiative. This is trying new approaches to help tenants help themselves, and to improve enforcement against damp and mould in privately rented homes.
This initiative is designed to create healthier homes by strengthening enforcement, and supporting local authorities like us to address damp and mould issues.
Our Healthy Homes service offers a range of support to improve living conditions for both tenants and landlords, including:
- providing guidance and advice about damp and mould, and – if needed - home inspections with specialised equipment to identify issues like damp, mould, and condensation.
- setting up data loggers if necessary to track temperature, humidity, and pressure changes in your home. We will review the data, offering simple suggested lifestyle adjustments to reduce damp and mould risks.
- home visits with specialist tools to diagnose issues and provide recommendations. if improvements are needed, we’ll work with your landlord or, where necessary, issue a notice to your landlord and conduct follow-up visits to make sure work is carried out.
- looking at other ways to support you, including potential funding options and energy-saving advice where you might be eligible
- hosting regular training events and forums for landlords, training for landlords and community champions, and clinics at One Swale Roadshow for tenants.
The Healthy Homes team is here to support both tenants and landlords in creating safe, healthy homes across the borough.
