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Getting ahead of damp and mould while the sun is still shining
Last winter, we saw a 300% rise in damp and mould cases from our residents. This is what we are doing to be better prepared this year, writes Charlotte Todd
We may be in the middle of some of the hottest (and wettest) summer months on record, but my head is already buried deep in winter 2023-24.
With the school holidays only just beginning, I hate to be the one who brings down the mood by reminding my colleagues that temperatures will begin to dip in just a couple of months’ time. And how that will bring an influx of calls from customers who cannot afford to heat their homes and are already experiencing damp and mould.
The ongoing cost of living crisis, combined with increased awareness of the potential health implications of living with damp and mould – thanks to the wide reporting of the inquest into the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale – mean that Eastlight’s residents are now more likely to take note of the damp and mould in their homes and report it to us – their landlord.
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Last year, these reports started coming in in October and they continued until March, by which point we had received 1,382 cases of damp, mould and condensation – approaching 300% more than the previous year.
We responded to the customers who reached out to use for help and support, by visiting each of them within 10 days. This was a huge effort, which involved us all needing to adapt to increased demand.
Members of Eastlight’s Home MOT Team – whose jobs normally involve visiting our customers’ homes to proactively identify and carry out repairs and maintenance before the work becomes urgent – were able to step in and help carry out initial mould cleans, take damp readings and check ventilation.
“That is why we have used this quieter time to organise damp and mould awareness training for every Eastlight colleague… ready for an anticipated spike in cases being reported in November”
At Eastlight, we are fortunate to have good-quality housing stock, and the initial, timely action meant that less than a third of damp and mould cases (around 400) reported to us required follow-on work.
But that was last year. This year, we’re able to better anticipate what the cold months ahead have in store – and we want our response to be even better. As Fiona MacGregor, chief executive of Regulator of Social Housing, wrote in her foreword to last month’s Damp and mould in social housing: learning the lessons report: “Landlords cannot afford to be complacent.”
Eastlight is a resident-led organisation and, as a team, we feel highly accountable to our customers. So to put damp and mould to one side during the summer months, while telling ourselves that what we did last year was good enough, just wouldn’t feel right.
That is why we have used this quieter time to organise damp and mould awareness training for every Eastlight colleague, starting September and running to mid-October, ready for an anticipated spike in cases being reported in November.
Frontline team members – that’s anyone whose job involves visiting customers’ homes – will receive more in-depth training on how to spot damp and mould and how to ensure it is dealt with. Our surveyors, meanwhile, will receive technical training designed to equip them with a better understanding of how to identify potential causes within homes, including any structural issues.
In a special report on Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, published in March this year, the Housing Ombudsman once again urged housing providers to “find their silence”, urging them to “help those members of the community who may otherwise struggle to access services”.
“Damp and mould will continue to be a problem for our customers, so it’s best to face up to it while enjoying these warm – sometimes stormy – days as they last”
During the longest, warmest days of the year, the Eastlight team was busy putting together a list of 600 homes where no repairs have been reported in the past two years. They will now visit the customers living in these homes to find out whether they have been living with damp and mould, but not reporting it.
They are initially focusing on 45 homes where residents have high rent arrears and known vulnerabilities and could potentially be experiencing poor health and well-being due to damp and mould, but haven’t contacted us to make us aware.
I love summer as much as anyone, but there’s no point in pretending that winter won’t be here before we know it and that the cost of living crisis and all the struggles that come with it have gone away.
Damp and mould will continue to be a problem for our customers, so it’s best to face up to it while enjoying these warm – sometimes stormy – days as they last.
Charlotte Todd, property director, Eastlight Community Homes
