Hammersmith & Fulham Council is tackling damp and mould in our homes by clearing 300-plus drains across White City.

The project to clear and descale large soil pipes on our estates across the borough started at Blaxland House on the White City Estate last month. It’s the first of 46 White City blocks to be cleared over the next 6 months.

Once the White City blocks are completed, the teams will head to the West Kensington estate, followed by Lancaster Court, Linacre Court and Sullivan Court estates. Each block takes roughly 10 days to descale.

£1million a week

Over the next 12 years, we’re investing £1million per week to refurbish and modernise all our homes on estates.

Descaling drain stacks will help us reduce blockages and backflows that would otherwise result in damp and mould for tenants and leaseholders.

“Years of austerity have kept us from giving our ageing housing stock the extra attention and care these older structures usually require – but no more,” says Cllr Lisa Homan, H&F Cabinet Member for Housing.

“We are determined to continue to work with residents to make our council homes a safe and secure place for everybody.”

A two-year stock condition survey of every council-owned property will better inform the Housing team on where these investments are needed most.

Spotlight on damp and mould

The ongoing drain cleaning works are part of our wider strategy to address damp and mould issues in the council’s ageing housing stock.

To ensure that our tenants and leaseholders receive the support they need when they need it, we’ve launched a range of schemes that will help us address concerns more efficiently.

Here’s what we’ve achieved so far.

New damp and mould unit

We have created a new damp and mould team to handle and track all damp and mould repairs and complaints. The team will work with our specialised damp surveyors, technicians and our call centre. We've also created a page with advice on managing condensation and mould.

Ventilation and dehumidification

We’ve started working with an industry leader on ventilation systems to prevent the build-up of humidity in our homes. We’ve also begun to provide dehumidifiers and humidity monitors as temporary measures until long-term solutions fixes are in place.

Help is at hand

We’ll continue to work with the residents on the Repairs and Estate Services Working Group, as well as other tenants’ groups to help ensure we improve our performance on mould and damp issues.

Find out more about contacting your local housing office or about how to request a repair.

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