Building Forensics launches housing management system to track damp and mould failures

Building Forensics has launched a housing management system aimed at preventing damp and mould complaints from getting lost between teams, contractors and escalation points. The move comes as a House of Commons committee report cited a Housing Ombudsman maladministration rate of 81% in damp and mould cases, up from 46% four years earlier.

Why it matters: - Damp and mould complaints can turn into serious claims when housing providers miss vulnerability, delay inspections or fail to complete repairs. - Building Forensics says better management controls can reduce the risk of complaints being lost across departments, contractors and internal systems. - The issue has broader consequences for housing providers, directors, insurers and brokers facing tighter scrutiny over housing-condition claims and organizational responsibility.

What happened: - Building Forensics launched a new Housing Management System designed to address communication, vulnerability, escalation and completion failures in housing management. - The system is available at housing management information. - The launch follows more than three decades of criticism from building pathologist and indoor environmental hygienist Jeff Charlton about how water damage, damp, mould and biological contamination are investigated and remediated. - A 2026 House of Commons committee report cited evidence from the Housing Ombudsman that maladministration in damp and mould investigations reached 81%, compared with 46% four years earlier. - The death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak intensified public focus on the consequences of housing failures.

The details: - The Housing Management System is designed to combine tenant history, property information, vulnerability and health alerts, severity triage, response deadlines, inspection findings, contractor actions, outstanding work and escalation warnings. - The system creates an evidence trail from the original notification through investigation, action and verification of completion. - Management can see what has been reported, what remains incomplete and where risk is increasing. - Charlton said he has long argued that the industry focuses on visible damage while failing to manage the chain of events that allowed the damage to develop. - Regulatory findings after the Awaab Ishak case identified weaknesses in information management, internal communications, recognition of risk and missed information.

Between the lines: - The 81% maladministration figure suggests the problem is not only damp and mould itself, but the systems used to handle complaints and evidence. - Charlton's pitch reframes housing-condition failure as a management and documentation problem, not just a maintenance problem. - The system is intended to connect professional judgment, legal duties and operational processes rather than replace them. - Charlton's work after the Awaab Ishak inquest included books based on publicly available evidence and focused on how housing providers can stop similar failures from happening again.

What's next: - Building Forensics is offering a free trial of the Housing Management System. - The company says the system is part of a wider suite of environmental risk, housing and evidence-management resources. - More information is available at the housing management page.

The bottom line: - Building Forensics is betting that better tracking, escalation and completion controls can prevent damp and mould cases from becoming repeat management failures.