Hammersmith and Fulham Council is set to audit damp and mould in its housing stock as part of its internal audit plan for the upcoming financial year, focusing on compliance with Awaab's Law.
The potential audit was highlighted in the draft Internal Audit Plan for 2026/27, presented to the Audit Committee on Monday, March 16, 2026. The plan, developed through consultation with directors and considering the council's corporate risks and priorities, aims to provide assurance over the breadth of the council's operations. Audits are developed based on a risk based internal audit plan
informed by the Council's Corporate Risks, discussions with service management, horizon scanning and reference to our Strategic Plan (2025-2028).
The plan uses a '3 plus 9' Annual Audit Plan planning out the next three months in detail, taking into account key risks and priorities, whilst keeping the remaining nine months more flexible.
The review of damp and mould is listed as a potential audit for the second quarter of the 2026/27 financial year. The reason cited for its inclusion is that the issue has not been audited since the implementation of Awaab's Law. The audit will seek assurance on the processes in place for recording and managing severe hazards, such as damp and mould, within mandatory timeframes. This audit is linked to Corporate Risk 9, which concerns failure to ensure compliance with statutory housing landlord duties.
Corporate Risk 9, titled Housing Health & Safety,
encompasses a range of statutory landlord duties, including the management of asbestos, electrical testing, fire risk, plant and equipment, water testing, and legionella.
While the meeting information does not explicitly detail the consequences of non-compliance with these duties, Corporate Risk 9's description highlights Significant risks to the health and safety of our residents, including loss of life. Possible financial penalties, court proceedings, service disruption, extra costs and reputational credibility.
Previous audits of housing stock issues, such as Housing Responsive Repairs
and Housing Gas Safety,
received substantial assurance,
indicating that appropriate controls are in place which are well designed and consistently applied to enable effective delivery of the services provided.
The draft Internal Audit Plan for 2026/27 can be found in the Public reports pack 16th-Mar-2026 19.00 Audit Committee.pdf.
