You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
RBH apologises after family living in mouldy home was told they ‘breathe too much’
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) has apologised after a family living in a mouldy home was told they were “breathing too much”.
Responding to a report by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) on a meeting held by residents of the social landlord living in disrepair, RBH chief executive Amanda Newton said “our top priority is the health and well-being of our customers, and we are working hard to carry out the repairs required”.
On Saturday, the LDRS reported the experiences of several RBH residents living with damp and mould.
One woman said the air in her bedroom was so heavy with damp and mould that she sleeps on a mattress in the living room.
She said her family was told by RBH that they were “breathing too much at night”.
Another resident said they were told to use bleach, open windows, or put the heating on to solve the problems.
The residents said they were afraid the damp and mould was affecting their health.
RBH is the housing association whose mould-ridden flat led to the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak.
READ MORE
The toddler’s case, the circumstances of which were condemned nationwide, was the catalyst for Awaab’s Law, which will legislate strict new timescales for social landlords to fix hazards, including damp and mould.
Before Awaab died from prolonged exposure to mould, his family’s pleas for help were ignored, while RBH staff blamed them for the state of the property.
This included an assumption about “ritual bathing” based on a bucket being present in the home and a “style of cooking by boiling food”, which appears to have been based on their race.
In response to the latest incidents reported by the LDRS, Ms Newton said RBH was “sorry” the residents experienced issues with their homes. She also referred to previous works done to address the damp and mould, apologised for delays, and confirmed the landlord had made further appointments for more works, including to fit a ventilation system.
“Like many housing providers, there is high demand for contractors to support work relating to damp, and we are doing our best to prioritise the homes and families affected.
“We are sorry for the delay in carrying out this work,” she said.
Ms Newton added: “I must reassure all customers that any feedback from them is taken seriously and we absolutely do care about the experience they have with RBH.
“We have a comprehensive training programme in place for our contact centre to ensure that we handle all calls from customers in the right manner and provide callers with the support that they need.
“We record all our calls, and if any customers feel that we have not handled their call appropriately, we encourage them to get in touch with us so that we can listen to the call and investigate their concerns.
“Over the past year, colleagues from across the organisation have undertaken customer service training to ensure that we are in the best place possible to support the people and families living in our homes.
“We encourage all of our customers to contact us immediately about any concerns they have with damp and mould or other issues in their homes so we can investigate and resolve them as quickly as possible.
“I also encourage any customer not receiving the service they need to make a formal complaint – this can be done by phone, by email or in writing.
“Customers who still feel this is not working for them can contact me directly or any one of the executive team.”
Inside Housing revealed in November that an interim employee at RBH presented “ritual bathing” as the cause of condensation in a workshop on damp and mould organised by the housing association six months after the inquest into Awaab’s death, and two-and-half years after he died.
In response, Ms Newton said that “while this incident was disappointing, we take comfort from the fact that employees present were prepared to challenge the inappropriate comments that were made”.
When asked how the person was hired, RBH said the interim employee was brought in through a “reputable recruitment company working” within the housing sector.
“We are constantly reviewing our processes around recruitment to ensure that they are as robust as possible,” an RBH spokesperson said at the time.
Sign up for our asset management newsletter
Already have an account? Click here to manage your newsletters
