Regular briefings on the number of complaints of damp and mould in Renfrewshire Council housing will now be delivered to elected members.
The development comes as steps were taken by the local authority to strengthen how it tackles the problem in its properties in light of the death of a two-year-old boy in England.
Awaab Ishak died from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in a housing association flat in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, a coroner ruled last November.
His family had repeatedly raised the issue with Rochdale Boroughwide Housing before his death in December 2020.
The tragedy shone a spotlight on landlords and how they deal with reports of damp and mould in their properties.
Since the Rochdale case was reported, Renfrewshire Council has reviewed its own processes and moved to bolster its approach.
Discussing a report on the issue at Tuesday’s communities and housing policy board, SNP councillor and convener Marie McGurk said: “I know that a lot of members, like myself, receive emails and phone calls from residents all the time and we have done for some time.
“We’re now in a position to do something more about that and this paper is the beginning of that process.”
Councillor Colin McCulloch, communities and housing spokesperson for the Labour group, welcomed the report but sought assurances members would receive regular communication around complaints and their outcomes.
He said: “What I wanted to ask was in future boards, somewhere in the reporting framework, could we get an update of how many such complaints are made by tenants, how many inspections are carried out and what the outcomes were?
“That’s just so we can be satisfied that what happened in Rochdale could never happen in Renfrewshire.”
Instances of damp, mould or condensation have been reported in 630 properties in the current financial year – compared to 665 in the previous financial year.
Mary Crearie, the council’s director of communities and housing, said the figures provided were a “high level” summary of reports, before adding: “Certainly we would be in a position to issue some more information about the number of reports.
“There’s a difference between the number of properties affected and number of reports, because some of them can be repeat reports. I’ll speak to the housing investment team and make sure that we’re able to provide that information going forward.”
The council has an established process for responding to cases of damp and mould in its housing stock, which involves a repairs and maintenance officer (RMO) attending and assessing the situation.
They have meters to inspect walls and will look for potential causes, such as leaks, gutter damage or roofing problems.
RMOs will also check that extractors fans are present in bathrooms and kitchens and make sure they are working.
Repair lines are raised for any issues identified, which may include fixing the cause of the problem. If anti-fungal paint is needed, this is applied by building services.
Severe cases or those where there isn’t an obvious cause are forwarded on to a specialist rot works contractor, who will provide a detailed report and recommendations for works to be carried out.
Additionally, the council has been installing monitors which measure temperature and humidity levels.
Properties considered at risk of damp and mould are visited by the housing energy team, who offer advice to tenants and identify whether follow-up inspections or repairs are needed.
Actions taken in light of the Rochdale case include improvements being made to RMO processes to ensure checklists are always completed for inspections and that records are properly stored.
RMOs have also been asked to be “vigilant” for cases of potential mould or damp when carrying out an inspection – even if the tenant has not reported it directly.
A training session has been arranged for February, which will be carried out by a specialist in the field.
Discussions have taken place with building services to ensure adequate resources are in place for anti-mould paint applications after an influx of inspections in recent weeks.
Talks have also been held with the specialist rot works contractor to consider recommendations as a result of the Rochdale case.
On top of these measures, other steps have been identified, which include reviewing the history of damp in empty properties to make sure potential problems can be fixed before they are in use.
A strategy will be developed for managing damp, mould, and condensation, which will link into the overall asset management strategy.
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