Issue - meetings

To provide feedback on the proposed new Housing Damp Condensation and Mould Policy (report of the Assistant Director – Housing enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Housing which asked the Policy Development Panel to provide feedback on the Housing Damp Condensation and Mould Policy.

The Housing Property Services Manager and the Assistant Director – Housing were in attendance for this item.

The Housing Property Services Manager presented the report to the panel and the following points were highlighted:

·        The Housing Damp, Condensation and Mould Policy was a new policy and did not replace an existing policy;

·        Following the death of Awaab Ishak, the Housing Ombudsman had developed a spotlight report on the social housing sector response; and the Regulator of Social Housing had focussed on provider arrangements to ensure that damp, condensation and mould were a focus during inspections; and

·        The Housing Damp, Condensation and Mould Policy set out the approach that the Council intended to take as landlord when dealing with all reports of such issues from its tenants and leaseholders.

The Housing Property Services Manager also presented the following update in relation to reports and inspections:

·        In recent years, many providers had received increased reports relating to damp, condensation, and mould. SHDC had received the following reports for the period from 1 November 2023 to 31 January 2024:

o   206 new cases had been reported, of which the following categorisation has been applied.

o   13 emergencies;

o   114 urgent;

o   57 routine;

o   4 monitor;

o   14 no contact - 13 had subsequently been inspected through SHDC surveyor visits;

o   2 were new build and dealt with under the defects process; and

o   2 were unhabitable outbuildings and therefore were not assessed.

·        As at 31 January 2024, 164 inspections had been carried out and 16 inspections had been booked with tenants; 5 properties could not be accessed; and a further 17 had been passed to SHDC surveyors to visit;

·        As a result of the inspections, repairs had been raised at 120 properties, with common themes including: window seals, blocked gutters and broken or ineffective extractor fans; and advice was given as standard in all cases with literature given to the tenant regarding preventative measures;

·        24 cases had been closed, as follows:

o   15 with full agreement of the tenant;

o   3 where the tenant had refused agreement of closure;

o   2 were outbuilding only cases; and

o   4 have been closed where following inspection, the problem was classified as a repair and deemed not to fall under the damp, condensation, and mould policy; and

·        Due to recent mobilisation of the remedials contract, performance was being closely monitored to ensure Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were met and cases remained ‘open’ until all repairs had been completed and the works signed off. 

Members considered the report and update and made the following comments:

·        Members asked how much repair work was undertaken previously in relation to damp, condensation and mould.

o   The Housing Property Services Manager responded that prior to the Awaab Ishak case, 3 or 4 cases per month were reported, however since that time,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55