Everyone deserves a decent home
We believe everyone has the right to live in a safe, secure and comfortable home and we work hard to provide all our customers with a high quality place to live. With more than 10,000 properties across the region though, things are bound to go wrong from time to time.
To help keep customers’ homes in good condition we carried out more than 35,000 repairs and invested over £10m in home improvements last year alone. We also ask our customers how satisfied they are with their homes and 88% tell us that they are satisfied that their home is safe and secure. All our homes meet the government’s Decent Homes Standard.
Our approach to damp and mould
Damp and mould are serious problems that make homes unpleasant or unsafe to live in and we have robust systems in place to tackle issues of this kind. Our Board and sub-committees actively monitor all customer health and safety concerns, including damp and mould.
Employees who visit customers homes will routinely look out for signs of damp and mould and report these where appropriate. We also proactively contact customers we haven’t heard from for some time to check on their welfare and the condition of their homes.
Alongside this we are testing smart thermostats which can alert us to the risk of damp in homes and regularly provide information about how to report faults and help prevent damp and mould through our routine customer communication.
Because of growing concern about damp and mould we are introducing new guidance and procedures to help ensure we are doing all we can to help. This will include monthly reporting and monitoring and extra training for staff.
The current situation
We regularly survey properties and this includes identifying current or possible future issues including damp and mould. So far this year we have found that 13 properties had moderate damp and mould issues. Twelve of these have been addressed and work on the remaining one is underway. Over the last ten years none of our homes have been identified as falling into the most serious category for damp and mould (category 1).
We have had more reports of lower-level damp and mould during the year, typically in kitchens and bathrooms which are higher risk parts of the home. Our policy is to tackle all reports of damp and mould within 30 days. Our current performance against this target is 22 days. At the present time all reports from customers have been looked into and addressed. Most of these issues were resolved with cleaning and improved ventilation.
For more information and help
We have guidance on our website about how customers can help reduce both the risk and effects of damp and mould in their homes as well as easy ways for people to report their concerns.
We also have a handy leaflet with tips for taking care of condensation, damp and mould that you can download and keep.
