We are dedicated to ensuring that the homes that we provide our residents are habitable, warm and free from damp and mould. The effective management of damp and mould within our properties is a priority and is managed accordingly to reduce risks to health of our tenants.

We work with our contractors to ensure there is a dedicated resource for the management of damp and mould within our properties and to ensure that reports of damp and mould are responded to with sensitivity and prioritised.

We and our contractors ensure that employees have suitable training to be able to effectively inspect, assess risk to occupiers, identify causation of damp and mould issues and produce suitable remedial action plans and carry out necessary remedial works. 

All damp and mould jobs raised to the contractor (from any source) are managed by the dedicated resource to ensure that:

• properties are inspected in line with contract timeframes (subject to future possible regulatory changes), 
• works needed are identified and completed in a timely way,
• damp and mould jobs receive follow up calls/inspections at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after work is completed to see if things are resolved,
• the tenants are kept informed at all steps through clear written and verbal communications in a timely manner,
• concise auditable records are kept on all damp and mould jobs to include dates and times of all actions taken, to include but not limited to phone calls, voice messages, text messages conversations, emails sent/received, letters sent, appointment dates, missed appointments, changes in appointments, works scheduled and completed etc,
• damp and mould cases are monitored over time to identify trends to manage available resources and see if there are any trends across the council homes,
• clear reporting and monitoring on works and any access issues or wider tenant support

Reports of damp and mould can come from a range of sources which may include:

• day to day reports of damp and mould direct to our contractor,
• day to day council officers and contractor’s operatives reporting damp and mould,
• complaints/escalations raised directly to contractor,
• complaints/escalations raised to us (internal, ombudsman or regulator),
• referrals from third parties,
• planned proactive works.

Whilst damp and mould can pose a risk to anyone’s health, certain people are more susceptible, such as:

• people with pre-existing health conditions,
• people with weakened immune systems,
• people living with mental health conditions,
• pregnant women, their unborn babies, and women who have recently given birth,
• children and young people,
• older people,
• people who are bedbound, housebound or who have mobility issues.

Where vulnerabilities have been identified to us we will work to ensure the best course of action is taken.

There is currently no statutory or guidance timeframes for responding to reports of damp and mould cases. However, we aim to inspect and complete any required interim mould washes within 14 days of the case being reported.

Where reports are identified as high risk, either due to severity or vulnerability of individuals within a property we aim to go a lot sooner. Then, where works are identified as needed, these are raised with the aim to complete them within 28 days of being raised.

We are working towards the goals as outlined within the consultation on Awaab’s Law with a view that the timeframes and recommendations presented will become the requirement. This will require additional resourcing and contractual adjustments to enable delivery. 

We meet with our contractors’ Damp and Mould team on a weekly basis to discuss open cases, monitor progress of individual cases, monitor performance against key indicators, and discuss more complex cases. Damp and Mould cases are tracked with the contractor’s system providing any supporting documentation. 

Tenants who have a damp and mould cases have follow up calls and/or inspections at 6-weeks, 3-months, and 6-months following the completion of work to check if the issue is resolved.

Addressing damp and mould is part of the “Council Plan”, with updates provided to senior management on a regular basis.

All initial reports of Damp and Mould are to actioned by the contractor in the first instance with initials inspections and a damp and mould wash aiming to be completed within 14 days of being reported.

Investigations of cases identified as high risk, new or ongoing complaints, where mould returns following works, or escalated to MKCC following initial inspections or works, are checked by MKCC’s dedicated Damp and Mould Surveyor. Surveyor inspections are done when needed. 

Where a report of damp and mould is received by the contractor’s call centre directly, calls are triaged to obtain sufficient information at the first point of contact to establish the severity of the issue and actioned accordingly either as a day-to-day repair or referral to the contractors Damp and Mould Team or MKCC surveyor for inspection.

All works are completed by competent contractors either directly employed by MKCCs main contractor or their sub-contractors.

All reports of damp and mould are recorded on a tracker by the contractor’s damp and mould team, or MKCCs. Where reports of damp and mould are raised via the contractors call centre and initial action is taken by day-to-day repairs, these jobs are captured on a weekly trigger report by the contractor’s repairs team and provided to the damp and mould team to be monitored.

Follow up inspections and calls are completed by the contractor’s damp and mould team or MKCC, with information to tenants in writing, email, text, at visits or by phone.

In cases where tenants require decanting either due to the risk to health or to enable some works to be completed, these are supported on a case-by-case basis, and we follow our decant process.  Interim mould washes are completed as necessary to remove any immediate risk.

Contractor’s operatives are able to report or escalate concerns around mould in any homes when doing other works. 

We will always ensure that we and our contractors respond sensitively to issues of damp and mould. This approach helps us support tenants and prioritize cases effectively.

Information on the causes of damp and mould and things tenants can do to reduce it as well as how to report it is on our website and we also share our damp and mould leaflet.

We aim to take a proactive approach to ensure that our properties safe and are to standard. 

We monitor reports of mould across our council homes so that we can take preventative action as needed and also look identify any property trends.

This includes the use of technology for more complex cases to investigate issues through the use of environmental monitors which we are currently trialling. These give us and our tenants information on temperature, humidity, air quality, heat loss risk, and damp risk etc in the home. 

Our contractor’s operatives and phone handlers have been provided with suitable training to be able to triage reports, identify damp and mould, and be able to provide basic advice to tenants and be able to know when to escalate cases to the damp and mould team.

Our frontline housing colleagues have received training on damp and mould to enable them to provide advice on good practice and to allow them to triage cases appropriately so that cases are referred to the damp and mould team as required. 

We are investing in a programme of condition surveys for all of our Council homes so we know what condition they are in and can appropriately prioritise investment and identify any property archetype themes. 

• Linked with wider work on consumer standards, establish, across all teams that deliver Housing Services, a set induction and training process that includes damp and mould.
• As we mobilise more modules within the Housing Software system, NEC, transition towards holding damp and mould case information and work in NEC.
• Set out Housing Service wide damp and mould training routine.

Read in-depth guidance on damp, mould and the responsibilities of landlords here.