The Prince of Wales’ Duchy has been accused of allowing houses on royal lands to become moldy

In a 15-month investigation by Channel 4 (C4) Dispatches with the Mirror newspaper, rental properties on the royal estate have complained of cases of mold and damp.

Some also complained about the lack of environmental upgrades to their homes and the research is said to have found that some of the properties being rented out did not meet minimum energy efficiency requirements for landlords.

They found that one in seven of the 500 rental properties they identified in the Duchy have a low energy performance certificate rating.

‘Very cold’

The Duchy was founded in 1337 and many of the buildings in the real estate portfolio are more than 100 years old.

The Telegraph understands that the Duchy is committed to continuous improvement of its properties and is working closely with its tenants to actively address the energy efficiency of properties across the portfolio.

One tenant told the C4 Dispatches programme: “It gets terribly cold in winter, I can only heat two rooms in my house. The Duchy doesn’t understand.”

Another said: “The house is cold and it’s a struggle, but there’s no other place to live here… When the wind blows the curtains start to sway. There is no heating upstairs at all.”