Damp or mould found in almost 400 Wiltshire social houses
The Council's dealing with active cases across the county
There are almost 400 active cases of reported damp or mould in social housing across Wiltshire.
The majority of these cases have been categorised as minimal, but 149 cases are having an “impact on indoor air quality”, whilst 59 cases have not yet been assessed.
Of the more extreme cases, 13 are “leading to increased risk of respiratory issues or allergies” and three are “posing serious health risks to occupants”.
This information is included in the report due to be shown to the environment select committee next week (Tuesday 12th November).
It reveals how Wiltshire Council is performing in its landlord role through the provision of social housing.
As a provider of social housing, the council is responsible for the repair, maintenance and compliance of houses, communal blocks and sheltered living schemes.
There are approximately 5,300 such dwellings in the county.
According to the document, the service is reporting “a high level of performance against the key compliance indicators”.
It states: “Where compliance is not 100% the service has a full and detailed understanding of why, and plans are developed to improve performance towards achieving that goal.
“The service continues to promote a culture of check and challenge throughout all areas of the compliance framework and continues to make improvements to delivery and performance in this field.”
However, the service is not currently meeting its target of investigating damp and mould reports within seven days.
The report notes: “The volume of reports over the autumn and winter have meant that this target has not been achieved, with the average being 11 days.
“For context, it should be noted that the proposed legal requirement on landlords will be to investigate hazards within 14 days.”
It also says that of the 59 active cases under assessment, 37 have been reported within the last 14 days and the remaining 22 cases are “a combination of difficult to access where tenants are not responding or engaging to provide access to inspect, and cases where we have not managed to respond in an adequate timescale”.
The report indicates that some “complex cases” can take years to fully resolve.
It explains: “At the most severe end of scale, a tenant can be decanted to another property while emergency works are undertaken if it was considered that the tenant was at risk.
“It should be noted that this measure has not been required to date.”