Wandsworth Council is increasing capital spending to address damp and mould concerns in its housing stock and meet new regulatory requirements. The plans were revealed at the recent Borough Residents' Forum meeting on 29 October 2025.

The council is planning to improve existing housing and meet new regulatory requirements, including those related to damp and mould, as outlined in the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan Update.

The HRA business plan informs strategic housing management decisions and is a critical tool to secure and demonstrate the continued financial viability of the council's management of its housing stock. The plan was discussed at the Borough Residents' Forum ahead of its consideration by the cabinet. The investments aim to ensure existing homes are safe and maintained to a decent standard, creating lifelong assets for the council and supporting wider sustainable community growth.

New regulatory requirements around building and fire safety, and damp and mould (Awaab's Law) are having a considerable impact on the expenditure levels in the HRA. The cost of bringing void properties back into use is also one of the biggest pressures to repairs budgets, both across capital and revenue. The minutes from the previous Borough Residents' Forum meeting held on 11 June 2025, state that a report on the Council's response to damp and mould set out the steps to ensure compliance with Awaab's Law, which comes into force in October.

To prioritise properties for remediation, boiler upgrades, and electrical rewires, the council is undertaking a full new stock condition survey with 100% of individual tenanted properties to be inspected over a five-year period. The outcome of these surveys will form the basis of more accurate capital investment requirements in future updates of the business plan once available. The Council is also making better use of data on the NEC housing system to identify blocks with a higher prevalence of damp and mould, enabling a more proactive approach to addressing these issues.

The council is responding to these pressures with a proposed £6.8m increase in the HRA capital budget. This includes:

  • A £1.6m contingency for new requirements for capital projects on higher risk buildings arising from the Building Safety Act.
  • An additional £0.4m for the Fairfield Court Window Renewal project due to higher than estimated tendered costs.
  • A £2.8m capital addition for boiler upgrades and £1.5m for electrical rewires.
  • A £0.5m capital budget addition to cover the cost of works to install a compartmentation system in the roof space of five blocks on the Wynter Street Estate, following a fire at Fox House.

The total approved HRA capital programme currently stands at £514.620m.

The business plan currently includes provision for the annual capital bids for repairs and improvements within the council's housing stock based on the existing stock condition survey. A full new stock condition survey is underway with 100% of individual tenanted properties to be inspected over a five-year period. The outcome of these surveys will form the basis of more accurate capital investment requirements in future updates of the business plan once available.

The Public Reports Pack also included the minutes from the previous Borough Residents' Forum meeting held on 11 June 2025, where the council's response to damp and mould was discussed.