‘It’s not a home, at the end of the Residents in social housing tell day’ of frustration at conditions they have to live in
trained properly. Even their own RBH staff, their knowledge is lacking.
“I think a few people have issues with damp and mould on this street.”
Walking through the estate the occasional RBH work van can be spotted whizzing through the streets – which locals say is a regular occurrence.
And not everyone is dissatisfied. One man, also a Hill Top Drive resident, said he’s had no problem with the housing association for the many years he has been with them.
Indeed, Alan Camp is complimentary of RBH’S service, something that a number of other residents agreed with on the street.
“I’ve lived with council housing all my life and never had issues,” the 68-yearold former milkman said. “It depends on how important the issue is, but they come out quite quickly to check, they get someone out and they get it done when it needs to be done.
“I’ve been happy with them. I’ve heard of mould issues but I think it’s the people not looking after their homes.
“My accommodation is fine because I keep on top of things. If people leave it, it gets worse.”
I bought my home at a 70 per cent discount – but I have some regrets David Evans, 45, bought his home for £70,000 from Rochdale council. It’s of the same stock as the nearly 14,000 council homes that the council transferred to RBH in 2012.
He says he inherited issues of damp that he’s had to fork out to fix. Due to his home being connected to an RBH property, the work to the exterior is still partly funded by the housing association.
“I think the damp is possibly due to the foam in the walls they put in a few years back in all these homes,” the 45-year-old said.
“I believe there is dampness in houses but we’re up on the hill and they’re old houses, so it is what it is.
“I inherited issues here when I bought 15 years ago – it’s stuff like the roofing and the pointing [mortaring between the bricks]. I paid around £3,000 for roof repairs.”
The illustrator and designer highlighted the pointing on the brickwork on his exterior wall – flicking it off with ease.. He believes this is the cause of damp in his home, and many of the other RBH run homes on the estate.
Due to a herniated disc and issues with a trapped nerve, David has only recently been able to walk properly recently, and has been slowly getting round to sorting the work required in his home.
David explained that he did get a 70 per cent discount when buying his council home via the Right to Buy scheme, so counts himself lucky to be in his position – meaning he feels less obliged to complain about the issues. He has spent thousands on the upkeep of his home already with more costs sure to come.
He explained that anything leaning against an exterior wall has been left damp or mouldy – he even had a bed frame that rotted away because of the damp.
“All the pointing is coming away, you can’t put anything against a wall because there is damp in the wall. It goes all the way up.
“They have obviously come and done a quick job with it. There is moss here that grows on damp.
“I complained about damp a few times before I bought it and they said it’s due to single-pane windows. I got a big discount when I bought this, but I have regrets that I didn’t push more before regarding the damp.
“I took their word that once the windows were sorted it would be fine. But it’s not.”
The UK has the oldest and most poorly insulated housing stock in Europe – and contractors are in demand Asked about the housing stock they had inherited, Amanda Newton, RBH Chief Executive, said: “It is widely reported that the UK has the oldest and most poorly insulated housing stock in Europe, and in common with many areas, there is a lot of work to do in Rochdale to modernise our homes.
“We’ve got a clear plan on how we are going to ensure that the homes that we own are fit for the future, and are working hard to make sure we do all we can to support customers while this investment work is happening.
“We’re undertaking a full condition survey of all our homes to identify any work required to help reduce the risk of damp and mould in our homes, and we’ve already committed an initial £45m to invest in those homes and complete any work identified in our surveys. Our Damp and Mould Taskforce is in place to respond to all reports of damp and mould in our customers’ homes.
“We will inspect any reports that come to us quickly and any work required to treat mould is prioritised to ensure that high-risk issues are fixed promptly. We then follow up with customers after 6, 12 and 18 months to confirm that the damp or mould has not returned.
“We are aware that some customers have had recurring issues, and this often relates to work to the outside of the property where we have found demand for contractors a real challenge. We now have a number of new contractors on board, and we will be investing more over the coming months to address this.
“If any of our customers have any concerns about damp and mould, they should contact us straight away so that we can take action. We are here to fix things and help.”
Amanda Newton added that she was ‘extremely sorry’ that’ some of our customers have concerns with the condition of their homes’, said RBH was ‘investing in homes across Rochdale’ and ‘had made significant improvements to many of our properties, but we know that there is still much more to do.’
“We welcome the feedback from our customers and we continue to listen and respond to ensure our services improve. Some of the issues we face are complex and we are working hard to deliver longterm, sustainable repairs,” she added.
“If we suspect that there is damp or mould in a home, we will send out an inspector to find out what could be causing the problem. We listen to our customers and take every report seriously. If any customers have any concerns about damp and mould, we urge them to contact us as soon as possible so that our specialist team can attend, investigate and carry out the works that are needed.”
Speaking of Tania’s situation, the Chief Executive added: “We are very sorry about the issues that Ms Walsh has experienced. Our surveyor has carried out a thorough inspection of Ms Walsh’s home. While no structural safety issues have been identified, we have identified localised leaks and rising dampness, and we are arranging works to address these issues as quickly as possible. We are also installing additional loft insulation in her home.
“We aim to make it as easy as possible to report any issues to RBH. Customers can contact us on Freephone 0800 027 7769, email us at customer@rbh.org.uk, or contact us via our online MYRBH portal. They can also attend one of our regular drop-in sessions across the Borough – where no appointment is needed – and we are looking at how we can increase the number of ways customers can meet the RBH team face-to-face.”