Four learnings for social landlords from the new Regulator of Social Housing report on damp and mould

The Regulator of Social Housing has published a new report examining how social landlords are addressing damp and mould inside their residents’ homes. The report, based on a survey sent to all large, registered providers of social housing, which received 386 responses, concluded that most residents live in homes that are largely free from damp and mould and that most landlords are able to deal with damp and mould effectively.

Despite this, the report emphasised that there are lessons to be learned from poor practice and ways that good practice can be replicated across the sector. In this article, we draw out four of the main topics highlighted in the report and the key messages social landlords should take away.

Good governance is critical

The report highlights that good governance is critical to the establishment and maintenance of best practice on addressing damp and mould. It found that some social housing boards or councillors had limited governance or oversight of the condition of homes in general, and the prevalence and severity of damp and mould specifically. It suggests that good governance of damp and mould issues needs to include:

• Strong board and councillor oversight of the condition of homes, including damp and mould, with regular progress reports made to governing bodies.
• A robust damp and mould policy, with clear stated timescales for response and clear landlord ownership of the issue.
• A process that gives governing bodies all the information and data they require to scrutinise landlord practice, including the ability to look at disrepair cases in the wider context of what each case says about home condition, repairs performance, and resident experiences.

Know your homes and your residents

The report underscores that social landlords are unlikely to improve the quality of their homes if they do not have a good understanding of what condition they are in, and what investment they need. It also points out that knowing the condition of homes is not in itself enough and must be paired with a good understanding of different residents and their specific vulnerabilities and communication needs. As well as having accurate and up-to-date stock condition information, the report suggests that landlords should:

• Manage their data well, including resident data from a range of sources, and have the facility to share it across their organisation.
• Have an effective stock condition survey validation process, including external data validation if required.
• Use other forms of data (e.g. responsive repairs requests, open data) to feed into the overall picture on stock condition.
• Collect accurate and up-to-date information on residents, including any vulnerabilities in the household and their language/communication requirements.
• Consider all aspects of Decent Homes Standard compliance, including category one and category two HHSRS hazards.

Plan your repairs spend and prepare for new regulatory changes

The report notes that the quality and responsiveness of repairs and maintenance is one of the main ways residents judge the performance of their landlord. As part of new Tenant Satisfaction Measures, data on repairs performance and the views of residents on the services they receive from their landlord will be published from the summer of 2024. The report highlights several areas that the regulator will be watching closely, including the need to:

• Have a clear link between stock condition data, the forecast spend on repairs and maintenance, and the actual spend on repairs and maintenance.
• Integrate repairs requests and complaints with wider stock condition data, to better understand the prevalence of damp and mould issues and where they might occur.

Put your residents at the heart of your thinking

Ultimately, addressing damp and mould is not about housing stock. It is fundamentally about ensuring that residents have a safe, decent, and dry home to live in, and that any issues are identified and addressed effectively as soon as possible. The report points out that social landlords often take additional steps to make sure that residents are adequately supported with damp and mould issues, steps that should be replicated as far as possible across the sector. Specifically, the report suggests landlords should:

• Offer residents the choice of temporary accommodation while damp and mould issues inside their homes are dealt with.
• Revisit the home at regular intervals (e.g. after three and six months) to ensure that damp and mould has not returned.
• Provide clear information in a range of formats to residents on damp and mould, including how to report it and any escalation or complaints processes.
• Make sure all staff who visit residents in their homes are given training on damp and mould identification.
• Have specialist teams to respond to damp and mould, and the resource to bring in specialist damp and mould contractors where necessary.

Additional support and guidance from CIH

CIH has a range of resources that social landlords can use to support the effective prevention and mitigation of damp and mould issues. They are available here.

In partnership with the National Housing Federation, CIH has also launched an action plan to deliver on the recommendations of the Better Social Housing Review. This will include a programme of work that will collate and share best practice in repairs and maintenance services, enabling social landlords to learn from colleagues across the sector and consistently deliver better outcomes for residents. The project will engage with contractors, social landlords, their staff, and residents to understand the principles underpinning good repairs and maintenance services and how they can be applied in practice.

In addition, we are continuing to work with the National Housing Federation on the Knowing our Homes project, which aims to establish a standardised approach to gathering and utilising information about homes and residents to drive improvements in service provision.