Quality housing is a key building block for health and wellbeing. Living in a home with cold, damp or mould creates significant health problems.
- Children who live in cold houses are twice as likely to suffer from asthma.
- For adults it leads to worse mental health and exacerbates chronic pain, respiratory and other conditions.
If you think a service user or their family is being impacted by poor housing conditions you can make a direct referral to Trafford Council to assess their home and look at what support can be provided.
The referral pathway has been set for health and care professionals in Trafford to flag patients whose poor-quality housing is impacting their health. Referrals are handled by the council housing team and assessed for whether action can be taken.
Referrals can be for any Trafford patient, from primary or community care teams, where housing quality is impacting health.
How to refer
- Find out what type of housing the person is in. If they are in rented accommodation, they need to have put their issue, in writing, to their landlord. This is to prevent them being victim of retaliatory eviction under section 21. Section 21, also known as no fault eviction, allows a landlord to evict a tenant without giving a reason. If the council issues an improvement notice, then the tenant is protected from section 21 for 6 months. Section 21 has been debated in parliament and the renters bill is aiming to remove it but this has not yet passed into law. You can find more information on this from Shelter here.
- Complete the simple referral form. This will go direct to the housing team who will action it. Referral is not a promise the issue will be resolved but allows for a coordinated approach and response.
Referral form
- Download the referral form here – Trafford Mould and Damp Referral Form 2025 [Word doc – will download to your PC]
- Send to housing.strategy@trafford.gov.uk via NHS.net or using encryption.
Questions
Q: Is this open to adults or just children? The primary focus is children as they are at greater risk but we are trialling inclusion of adults, so please refer whomever you feel is affected by poor quality housing. Include information on any children present in the household.
Q: What if the patient is accessing services in Trafford but lives in another borough of Greater Manchester? Please still complete the referral form but make it clear they are not a resident of Trafford and council can forward it to the relevant authority
Q: What if the tenant has no contact for their landlord? A: it is a legal requirement for a landlord to provide tenants with contact details, see here for more information on how to find them Find Your Landlord’s Name and Address
Q: What if despite the 6 month protection the patient still doesn’t want it to be forwarded to the council? With permission please still share these cases as it is helpful to know the extent of this fear and impact.
Q: What if they have already been issued a section 21 eviction notice? This is not the right pathway for them and they need to contact the homelessness team at HOST HOST@trafford.gov.uk.