Bromford housing association has set aside an additional £2 million to address damp and mould issues within its stock after a TV news crew reported on poor conditions within its stock.
Bromford said the money will help it deal with damp and mould cases “more proactively with customers when issues arise in their homes”. The new funding is on top of the £35m it has already spent over the past year maintaining and improving existing homes with a further £42m planned for the current year.
The association has 44,000 homes spread across central and south west England. It is one of the country’s biggest developers of social housing and by 2030 it plans to have all of its homes at the EPC energy rating of C as a minimum.
In mid May an ITV News bulletin reported on the damp and mould suffered by one of Bromford’s tenants, as part of a national investigation into the poor conditions experienced by many tenants in the social housing sector.
Paul Coates, executive director of transformation and compliance at Bromford, said the additional funding was just one aspect of the association’s approach to addressing the issue, which it said is one of the organisation’s top priorities.
He said: “We are now looking at other live cases of damp and mould and have already started contacting these customers to understand what their issues are, what experience they’ve had with our service so far, before carrying out a physical inspection of the home to identify any remedial action that needs to be taken.
“Additionally, we will be looking at historical cases, to make sure any issues haven’t returned, and our neighbourhood coaches are having those proactive conversations right now in our communities.
Mr Coates visited the tenant whose home was featured on ITV News, with a technical colleague before the programme aired. “While there were no leaks or structural issues, there was a high level of moisture being created inside the home and we identified a number of remedial works to help with ventilation in the kitchen and bathroom. Those works have now been completed.”
By Patrick Mooney, Editor