64 REPORTS A DAY OVER DAMP AND MOULDY COUNCIL HOMES
Leader gives update since launch of crackdown last November
AROUND 3,700 council tenants have reported damp and mould problems since the start of a council crackdown five months ago.
Stoke-on-trent City Council launched the DAMP campaign in November, urging tenants to report issues and promising them a speedy response.
Council leader Jane Ashworth gave an update on the programme to a full council meeting, saying that the authority was currently receiving an average of 64 reports of damp and mould each day, and that repairs teams had visited 3,600 properties since the start of the campaign. She also said that the council had secured government funding to carry out improvements such as insulation and double glazing to 100 council-owned properties.
Mr Ashworth said: “We announced in November a crackdown on damp and mould problems in council properties. We’ve committed to ensuring our housing repair teams will deal with calls for help to treat condensation, damp and mould.
“It is totally unacceptable for families to be risking serious health issues by living in damp, mouldy, cold conditions in a very rich country such as ours. I’m really passionate about improving housing conditions for all our residents. Housing quality has such a huge impact on people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing.
“So I’m particularly pleased to say that our campaign will be powered by a grant we’ve just secured from the government’s social housing development fund to improve the quality of about 100 council-owned homes in the city, on top of the work we’re already doing for damp and mould. This will include cavity and external wall insulation, ventilation and double glazing.”
Last year the Housing Ombudsman ordered the city council to pay £1,000 in compensation to a mother who had said her daughter’s acute asthma had been affected by the damp and mould in their council property.
The ombudsman found there had been ‘severe maladministration’ in how the authority had handled the Tunstall tenant’s complaint. While the issues were first reported in 2020, the tenant was still facing difficulties in getting the repairs completed in 2022.