Our approach to damp and mould is core to our mission of providing affordable, quality and well-maintained homes. We’re working hard to reduce the backlog of damp and mould cases, particularly with vulnerable tenants.
We are supporting this by moving some operatives from voids, aiming to ensure that we gain a head start on next winter, by being on top of all damp jobs over the summer. We have also carried out a new self-assessment against the Ombudsman’s spotlight report and recommendations and launched a damp and mould policy.
Since April 2022, we have carried out 2,313 inspections and carried out damp and mould works to 1,278 homes and as you may already know, back in June 2021 we established a damp and mould taskforce to review our approach and put new service standards in place, working with tenants.
As a result, we’ve made changes to our policy to inspect all damp issues within 10 working days and complete the works in a further 40 working days, with an aim to complete 90% of the necessary repairs within this time frame. We also deal with any condensation issues proactively and address this as a landlord responsibility
Because we’re tenant-focused, we’ve also made damp and mould a priority for our tenant communications, specifically around how we can support if they have concerns about this issue, what they can expect from the service we provide and how we will work with them to deliver in line with agreed expectations.
We know we can always do better so we continue to listen to tenants, put them at the heart of everything we do and act on their concerns. Through living by our customer service values, we aim to build trust with our tenants and deliver on what we promise.
Did you know?
- We have also upgraded our digital reporting platform to make it easier for tenants to track their damp report
- 9% of tenants’ homes have fans in both their kitchen and bathroom
- Our repairs and maintenance partner, Liberty, has recruited 12 additional internal operatives to their Damp Team, specifically to support ForHousing tenants
- We will visit and treat any extensive mould issues that are identified in advance of the main remedial works to remove any potential health risk and we always try and get into homes to carry out the works even if there is an active disrepair case ongoing
- We have also introduced a referral process for damp inspections, meaning any colleague visiting a home who identifies any damp and mould issues that has not been reported can refer the property for inspection. Our Health and Safety team are also working to include ill health and hospitalisation from damp or mould in their reporting process.
