The profile of damp and mould in homes has been raised by the case of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, whose death was caused by the damp and mould in his home in Rochdale. The UK Government made amendments to the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill, which was intended to raise standards in the social housing sector and hold landlords to account over the services they provide to their tenants.
Taking these changes on board, Selwood Housing updated its policy and procedure to improve how it manages damp and mould issues within its homes.
With this subject having a high profile, the scrutiny team decided to undertake a review of the new process and procedures Selwood Housing had adopted to manage damp and mould issues, to assess whether they had made the required improvements.
Through this review, the scrutiny team increased their knowledge of the subject, carried out desktop exercises into best practice from other housing associations, held a customer workshop that included presentations and discussion with heads of service, created a customer survey and called respondents to follow up on the issues raised. They then completed their report and put forward recommendations to improve Selwood Housing’s damp and mould process and procedures. Of the nine recommendations four have been adopted and two are in progress. This was then taken to board in July 2024 and approved. You can see the full report and management response below.
