One Duchy of Cornwall tenant said that parts of her home were wet to touch and that black mould 'just comes back' while another claims he was told his rent would go up if they put radiators in
The future King of England rents out hard-to heat homes that are riddled with black mould and damp problems to people at risk of fuel poverty, an investigation has found.
The Duchy of Cornwall, which Prince William inherited when his father became king, has more than 600 rental properties.
A 15-month investigation carried out by the Mirror and Channel 4 Dispatches identified 500 of these homes and found many failed to meet the minimum legal energy standards.
The investigation found 50 of these properties had an F Energy Performance Certificate, and another 20 were rated G, including six properties with an EPC score of one point out of 100 – the lowest possible score, reports the Mirror.
This is in spite of Prince William’s recently launched campaign against homelessness and for “everyone having a right to a safe and stable home”.
Now, Duchy tenants have hit back about their “uninhabitable” homes owned by landlords who are “not good”.
One tenant said: “The house is freezing. We were told that it is uninhabitable. When the wind blows the curtains start swinging. There’s no heating upstairs at all.”
They said when they inquired about double glazing, they were told Prince Charles “doesn’t like”.
Another tenant said “The house is cold and it is a struggle but there is nowhere else to live here. They are not good landlords”.
Another revealed he spends hundreds a month on coal and wood to heat just two rooms.
He said: “It gets miserably cold especially in the winter, you can see through the roof. I can only heat two rooms in my home using a wood burner and a coal fire, and the landlord told me that my rent was going to be put up considerably if they put in radiators.”
The man said that he has appears on soft furnishing and clothes because the air is so cold and damp, adding: “To make my property efficient it needs to be insulated but they won't do that because of the cost. But you don't want to say anything against your landlord for fear of eviction. There could be consequences.”
Resident Claire Williams was evicted from her former farmhouse, outside Exeter last week over rent arrears. She says she wasn’t told that an energy assessor rated her home F in 2015.
She said parts of the house, which costs her around £600 to heat for three months, which are below ground level are wet to touch and are covered in black mould, which she has never been able to stop.
She said: “As much as I tried to cover it up with mould sealer it just comes back.
“Any wallpapering or any painting I do, after a couple of months it just peels off. I've complained about it for 21 years. The repaint was done about a week before I moved in so you couldn't see it.”
Since 2020, landlords can’t legally rent out properties that are rented below E under the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards regulations without a valid exemption. Yet, despite this, the prince and the previous Duke of Cornwall, King Charles, have raked in £91million in profits from the Duchy.
The Duchy of Cornwall has been contacted for comment.
The King, the Prince & Their Secret Millions: Dispatches’ can be watched on channel4.com.