The health and wellbeing of our tenants, their safety and satisfaction is at the core of our approach in dealing with damp and condensation at ForHousing. Embedding this culture of safety and satisfaction remains a key focus of the ForHousing Board.

The improving weather and reduced number of referrals means we can start to reduce the backlog of cases and particularly those with vulnerable tenants.

We are supporting this by moving some operatives from voids and hope to ensure that works are being delivered in line with the service standard by the Autumn.

We have also carried out a new self-assessment against the Ombudsman’s spotlight report and recommendations and launched a damp and mould policy bearing in mind this will continue to be a key area of scrutiny for both the media and the Regulator.

Here’s an update of what has been done so far:

• In June 2021, we set up a damp and mould taskforce to review our approach put new service standards in place, co-designed with tenants. We consulted with hundreds of tenants and community members and listened to their feedback to make big changes to how we handle damp and condensation-related repairs

• 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

• 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 the property to carry out the works even if there is an active disrepair case ongoing

• We continue to raise the profile of listening to tenants and acting on their concerns with colleagues. HEART – our customer service values – remain at the forefront of our internal communications, as we know building trust and delivering on our promises is key. All colleagues undertake HEART training and all front line teams, as well as some back office teams, have completed a damp eLearning module to improve their knowledge

• 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

• Since April 2022, we have carried out 2,153 inspections and carried out damp and mould works to 1098 homes

• We’ve increased the focus of our tenant communications specifically around how we can support if they are concerned about damp and condensation in their home and what tenants can expect from the service we provide. This included a flyer that was sent to all tenants.