Landlord checks homes for mould and damp after boy’s tragic death
Bosses at Sunderland’s biggest landlord say its teams have put in “countless hours” and carried out almost 2,000 inspections over recent months to help tackle mould and damp in properties.
It comes after an inquest in November found two-year-old Awaab Ishak died from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to mould in his rented Rochdale home.
Bosses at Sunderlandbased Gentoo stressed they were already doing a great deal to tackle mould and damp, but work on the issue has been “heightened” nationally and regionally following the “very tragic” case.
Since November 24, they have completed 1,846 inspections, which resulted in 962 physical repairs and further residents being referred to other services for additional support.
The update came at an extraordinarymeetingofthecity council’s Economic ProsperityScrutinyCommittee,where housing bosses stressed they are “trying very hard to do the very best” for tenants.
James Haste, director of property maintenance at Gentoo Group, said they have a dedicatedphonelineformould and damp issues which has been “non-stop” and “hectic” sincethedaytheypromotedit.
He said: “We were already doing a lot of work before [the deathofAwaabIshak],havewe rampeditupsince,yeswehave.
“Since October last year there has been countless hours put in, there’s been a lot ofresourceputin,butweknow there is still work to be done and we’ve got work to be doing going forward.
“Some of it will be seasonal, so as we move out of the wintersomeofthosenumberswill falloff,whatwon’tfalloffisour empathyinourworkthatwe’re going to do because it’s going to come again next year, and we knowthenumberswillgoback up.”
Louise Bassett, interim chief executive officer, added theyhavedonesome“fantastic work”sofarbutthereareproperties in parts of Sunderland “worsethanothers”whichthey are working to address.
At the time of the meeting Gentoohad35propertieslisted as being in “urgent” need of repairworkformouldanddamp, whotheywouldaimtogettoin a seven-day period.
They also had 830 “routine” inspections outstanding, which they would aim to carry out to support residents at the next available appointment within 25 days.
Representatives from the housing association stressed they are taking a number of proactive steps to tackle the issue including increased data analysis, more resources
into inspections and future investment works.
Councillors heard demand is trending in a “positive direction” on the issue, while additional training for call handling, inspections and
repairs awareness will be carried out.
The presentation from Gentoo chiefs also provided a general update on work they are doing to help and support their 60,000 tenants living in
28,500 homes in Sunderland.
Ms Bassett, interim chief executive officer, said: “We aren’t perfect, we don’t get everything right, but we really do try very hard to do the very best we can for our tenants.
“Communication is one of the biggest challenges we face and we don’t always get it right, and it’s not acceptable and we need to get that better, but we are doing our very best.”