Damp and mould hotspots in Cambridge’s council homes can now be revealed in a new map.

Cambridge City Council said it collected information on repair requests relating to damp, condensation and mould, to find areas with properties at more risk.

One of the areas highlighted by the map were properties around the Rodings and Brentwood Close in Fen Ditton.

The map was presented to councillors and tenant representatives at a meeting of the city council’s housing scrutiny committee on Tuesday June 20.

The city council has put together a policy setting out its work plans around damp and mould issues within its council homes, including repairs, and proactive work, such as education around preventing damp and mould.

Officers said the hotspots map would help focus that work in the “high risk areas”.

A report presented to the committee said: “In March 2023, we collected data about houses with damp, condensation and mould issues.

“We have conducted data analysis and identified some of the hotspots in Cambridge.

“The orange spots identify the areas with the highest repair requests on damp, condensation and mould.

“If we look closer, we can identify, for example, that properties around the Rodings and Brenwood Close in Fen Ditton are more at risk of damp, condensation and mould.

“We are planning to contact tenants in these areas by sending them letters to tackle early signs of damp, condensation and mould before they become a serious risk.”

The city council said the data only related to its own council homes and that it was not able to collect information around damp and mould issues in properties managed by housing associations, or those that are privately rented.

The authority’s policy also includes a number of leaseholder responsibilities to try and prevent “significant amounts of condensation” which could lead to damp and mould growth.

These include “adequately heating rooms” between 18 and 21 degrees; regularly checking for leaks, faulty heating, windows, or extractor fans; keeping extractor fans uncovered; and keeping the property well ventilated.

Councillor Elliot Tong asked whether the heating expectation was “fair” when this was “very expensive”.

He said he understood that the Abbey ward had around one-third of the reported damp and mould issues, and suggested that “such a large number of damp and mould cases in such a poor ward shows there is relation between this”.

The council officer said he would look into this and get back to Cllr Tong.