Issue - meetings

This item was chaired by Diana Minns (Vice-Chair Tenant Representative).

 

Matter for Decision

The Council completed a self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman’s recommendations from their spotlight report on Damp and Mould. A specific policy on managing damp and mould was drafted.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Housing and Homelessness

      i.         Acknowledged the self-assessment and subsequent action plan.

    ii.         Approved the Council’s Damp and Mould Policy (as amended) that sets out the framework of activities and responsibilities in response to mould and damp reports and complaints.

 

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

The Committee received a report from the Director of City Services.

 

The Director of City Services advised that an additional paragraph (set out below) was proposed to be added into the Policy as new paragraph 11 and then all subsequent paragraphs would be renumbered sequentially.

 

11.Leaseholders’ Responsibilities

Damp and mould can be caused by condensation and may adversely affect your health and your home. Whilst the Council is only responsible for the external building elements and structure of the building Leaseholders are requested to make sure that they take appropriate steps to prevent significant amounts of condensation that results in damp or mould growth. This preventive action includes:

·      to adequately heat rooms – ideally between 18° and 21°C

·      regularly check for any leaks, or faulty heating, windows, or extractor fans.

·      To keep extractor fans uncovered.

·      to keep their property well ventilated by keeping windows slightly open especially while cooking or bathing, ensuring that extractor fans are in working condition and vents are clean and left open.

·      Leaseholders are asked that extractor fans are not turned off in kitchen & bathroom

·      ensure windows vents and wall vents are not blocked or closed.

·      the Council actively encourages leaseholder to take out household contents insurance, leaseholders are responsible for arranging adequate household contents insurance, to protect their home from damage caused by damp, mould, or condensation.

The Council has a responsibility in maintaining the structure of the building that may contain leasehold properties, in these instances there may be a shared responsibility for both leaseholder and the Council depending on the location and cause of the problem.

Leaseholders that have concerns can report this either by phone, report it on the repairs page Request a repair for your council home - Cambridge City Council or by emailing: condensation@cambridge.gov.uk. The Council Surveyor will make an inspection and discuss where the responsibilities lie.

 

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the amendment.

 

The Director of City Services said the following in response to Members’ questions:

      i.         Improvements to communication with tenants required a combination of active engagement (going out and speaking to people), online engagement and written engagement. Hoped to have a formal tenant engagement policy as soon as was practicable. 

    ii.         A private company had been engaged to respond to in-house treatments regarding damp and mould. Officers would no longer be required to redirect their time to damp and mould as this work was being covered by an external company. 

   iii.         The Environmental Health Team investigated complaints against private landlords (for example regarding overcrowding of housing) where issues were reported. Officers were looking to see how help could be provided to tenants to set up stronger engagement mechanisms for private tenants.

  iv.         Damp, condensation and mould (DCM) work tended to reduce during the summer because of dryer, warmer weather. Work was currently being undertaken to proactively treat houses which had DCM. An education programme was also being run to try and assist tenants to know what to do in order to reduce the risk of DCM occurring.  Housing Officers should also be checking for and reporting issues of DCM if these were observed during any property visits / inspections.  

    v.         Timescales for a surveyors visit to be undertaken within the DCM Repair Request Flowchart would be added.

  vi.         Large national Housing Associations were unlikely to record data regarding DCM by Local Authority area. Asked Councillors, Tenant and Leaseholder Representatives to let the Council know if they became aware of any tenants (housing association / private tenants) who were having problems with DCM.

 

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the recommendations as amended.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations as amended.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.