Housing Complaints
Please follow this link to make an online enquiry, complaint or report, relating to this service - Housing Complaints
UNFIT HOUSING
The Environmental Health department will investigate any complaints of housing being unfit as defined by the Housing Act 1985
If you are renting, you should contact your Landlord or Housing Association in the first instance.
Environmental Health can be contacted on 01380 724 911 or email us at env.health@kennet.gov.uk
DAMPNESS AND CONDENSATION
The Environmental Health department will investigate complaints about dampness and offer advice on tackling condensation
If you are renting, you should contact your Landlord or Housing Association in the first instance.
Condensation is caused when water vapour contained in the warm atmosphere becomes sealed into a property. When the temperature falls, this vapour condenses on colder surfaces, such as windows and walls, which results in damp areas and mould growth. This mould can be removed by wiping with a weak bleach solution.
Condensation is not the only cause of dampness. It can also come from:
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Rising damp due to a defective damp-proof course
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Leaking pipes or overflows
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Penetrating damp resulting from rain seeping through the roof and around window frames, or spilling from a blocked gutter.
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To avoid condensation and damp in your home :improve the ventilation by opening windows
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ensure the property is adequately heated (18oC or above).
You can also download a copy of our FREE leaflet here (pdf, 199 KB)
INSULATION & ENERGY EFFICIENCY GRANTS
There are also various energy efficiency grants available of up to £2,500 for heating and insulation improvements
through our partner organisation, the Wiltshire Energy Efficiency Advice Centre
To find out if you are eligible and for information about other available grants and discounts for energy efficiency measures call the Centre on
0800 512 012
STATUTORY OVERCROWDING
The Environmental Health department will investigate and assess any complaints of statutory overcrowding as defined in the Housing Act 198
5The current national statutory overcrowding standards - the Room Standard and the Space Standard are set out in the Housing Act 1985.
Under the Housing Act a dwelling is overcrowded if either of these standards is contravened.
The Room Standard is breached if two people of opposite sexes who are not living together as husband and wife must sleep in the same room. Children under the age of 10 do not count for the purpose of determining whether the Room Standard has been contravened. The age limit of 10 years is arbitrary and not based on a view of sexual maturity.
The Space Standard specifies the maximum number of people who may sleep in a dwelling according to the number of rooms available as sleeping accommodation and the floor area of each room.
The number allocated to each room is used to calculate the maximum number of persons who can sleep in the dwelling.
For rooms of 110 sq ft or more, the number of persons is 2. This is reduced for smaller rooms and for the smallest category of room (50-70 sq ft), the number of persons allocated is only ½.
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Floor area of Room Number of Persons
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110 sq ft or more / 2
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90 sq ft or more, but less than 110 sq ft / 1.5
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70 sq ft or more, but less than 90 sq ft / 1
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50 sq ft or more, but less than 70 sq ft / 0.5
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Less than 50 sq ft / 0
In determining the number of people sleeping in a house, no account is taken of a child under one year old and a child aged between one and 10 years is reckoned as one half of one unit (person). In the above mentioned legislation, living rooms are classed as bedrooms and must NOT be excluded from the overcrowding assessment.
If you believe your home to be overcrowded, please contact either your Landlord, your Housing Association or Environmental Health & Protection Services on 01380 724 911 or email us at env.health@kennet.gov.uk
ILLEGAL EVICTIONS & HARASSMENT
The Environmental Health department will investigate any evictions, attempted evictions or harassment that may breach the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 or the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
The law protects tenants from harassment and illegal eviction in two ways.
Firstly, by making both a criminal offence and secondly, by enabling an aggrieved tenant to claim damages through the civil court. The Protection from Eviction Act 1977 as amended by the Housing Act 1988 makes it an offence to
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do acts likely to interfere with the peace of comfort of a tenant or anyone living with him/her
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persistently withdraw or withhold services for which the tenant has a reasonable need to live in the premises as a home
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It is also an offence to take away someone’s home away unlawfully. A landlord cannot normally enforce his right to get his property back from a tenant unless he does it through the courts. A landlord seeking possession must generally serve a written notice to quit giving at least 28 days notice. The period of the notice is two months but this can depend on the grounds on which the landlord is seeking possession. The tenant is not required to leave the property until this notice expires.
For more information please contact Environmental Health & Protection Services on 01380 724 911 or email us at env.health@kennet.gov.uk