URGENT action is needed to tackle the dangerous problem of 'thousands' of 'unsafe' city rented properties, according to a housing campaigner.

More than 2,000 homes were regarded as being unsafe through excessive damp or cold conditions when Worcester City Council carried out its last survey in 2015, housing specialist Martin Walsh claims.

However, housing chiefs at Worcester City Council, which accepts an ageing housing stock, say these claims are based on 'old data', rely on 'out of date' standards and there is 'no evidence' 2,000 homes in the city are suffering from excess cold.

They also stressed they took 'immediate action' in response to properties deemed a category one risk.

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In a response from the council to a Freedom of Information request, Mr Walsh said only 12 of the 2,022 privately rented properties had been removed from the 'unsafe list' in the last seven years.

Mr Walsh, a retired housing consultant, said he was prompted to query the council’s record after the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale last October. 

“Since 2015, there have undoubtedly been many more homes added to the long list in the city that pose a severe health and safety risk to the residents living in them,” Mr Walsh said.

He said the survey showed the “alarming” number of homes failing the Decent Homes Standard and at the Category 1 highest risk under the Housing and Health Safety Rating System (HHSRS).

He added: “The response to my request shows beyond any doubt that the council has failed to take the action it has a statutory duty to take in the light of the knowledge it has been in possession of for seven years.

“I suspected that the number would be low, but I am appalled, as I am sure anybody would be, on being told that only 12 homes with a Category 1 risk have been removed from the then total of 2,022 homes with such a high risk to local residents.”

Mr Walsh wants stronger action from the enforcement team and is suggesting social housing providers contribute cash for enforcement.

A spokesperson for Worcester City Council said the council 'is committed to supporting tenants and improving property standards in both the private rented sector and homes provided by housing associations'.

He added: "The council does not own any of its own social housing stock but will intervene in cases involving housing associations when action isn’t being taken quickly enough.

"Mr Walsh’s comments are based on old data in an eight-year-old survey, and many of the measurement standards used in it are now out of date.

"His comments are mainly concerned with whether homes are warm enough to live in, known as a building’s “thermal performance”. This is now principally measured through a building’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)."

Private rented homes are required to have an EPC rating of E or above, and published information shows that just 70 of the city’s 8,000-plus privately rented homes fall below that requirement – around 0.9 per cent.

"There is no evidence to show that there are still more than 2,000 suffering from excess cold, as the 2015 survey found, but Worcester City Council is fully aware that the city has an ageing housing stock.

The council does not hold an “unsafe list” of properties in the city and neither is that a statutory responsibility.

"The council takes action when property conditions are found to be unsafe, usually on the receipt of a complaint from a tenant or via a referral from a partner agency.

"The council meets all its statutory obligations in respect of housing standards including the undertaking of a housing stock condition survey.

"We will be conducting a new housing stock condition survey this year. The findings from this enable enforcement resources to be focused on priority areas and will feed into a new private sector housing strategy and action plan to improve and maintain housing standards across the city.

"Housing standards cover a wide range of issues, stretching far beyond damp and mould. These can include dangerous electrics and gas appliances, fire safety, internal disrepair and many other factors. All these issues are taken into account in assessing the condition of a tenant’s property. It is exceptionally rare for a Worcester property to be classified as a Category 1 risk under the national Housing and Health Safety Rating System but when it is, immediate action is undertaken."