Lincoln Council "welcome an increase in complaints" about mould
The Council say they would 'welcome more mould complaints' as tenants don't report problems
Last updated 5th Dec 2025
City of Lincoln Council wants to hear more complaints about mould and damp, amid concerns that tenants aren’t reporting the problem.
A meeting heard that the council would “welcome an increase in complaints” from its social housing tenants.
There have been 384 cases found between October and December, with around 80 per cent spotted when council workers do other jobs at the properties and notice the issue.
Councillors at the Performance Scrutiny Committee on Thursday were told the reluctance could be because tenants don’t want the bother of people coming into their homes.
Labour councillor Gary Hewson said: “We’d welcome an increase in complaints. We have to find out what’s going on in properties. Prevention is better than the cure.”
The council’s director for housing, Darren Turner, was asked why there was reluctance from tenants to come forward.
“Post-covid, it’s definitely more difficult to get into houses – people are less inclined to report problems and accept a workforce in,” he said.
“Some tenants of a certain age don’t want people in their houses messing around.
“If it’s a major problem and they worry they might have to be decanted into another home while the problem’s fixed, some just don’t want to do that.
“The work is not as intrusive as people think, and can often be fixed fairly quickly with a biological cleandown and ventilation.”
He said there was a “Catch 22” where older buildings’ heat efficiency had been improved over the years, but this unfortunately made them more prone to mould and damp.
New rules on mould and damp have recently come into force for social landlords, imposing much stricter timelines for addressing the issue.
Awaab’s Law is named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died after prolonged exposure to mould in a council flat in Rochdale in 2020.