Over 1 in 10 RBH houses affected by damp and mould

More than one in 10 Rochdale Boroughwide Housing properties are affected by damp, the interim chief executive has admitted.

The social housing prover has 12,500 properties in the borough, and of these, 1,800 houses have damp and mould.

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester on Friday (10 February), Yvonne Arrowsmith – who became interim chief executive in December after Gareth Swarbrick was sacked – said: “Trying to understand how we didn’t know is part of what we’re doing.

“We should have known: we were having stock condition surveys done, they weren’t highlighting this as a major issue for us.

“They are very high numbers and I don’t think that it’s anything that anyone can be anything but ashamed about, because people shouldn’t be living in those conditions.”

 

 

Ms Arrowsmith said she had been out meeting local residents and listening to their stories, noting that there had been “a loss of confidence and trust” in the organisation.

“We do have a recovery plan in place, that was approved last week. We’ve written to tenants to tell them what we plan to do and tenants will hold us to account,” she told BBC Radio Manchester.

She said that some tenants she spoke to felt “let down” whilst others were “very happy with their properties and services.”

The revelation comes after the Regulator of Social Housing recently estimated 120,000 to 160,000 social homes in England had "notable" issues with mould.

Furthermore, the government has said that Awaab’s Law will be introduced, meaning landlords now have strict time limits to investigate and fix issues with damp and mould before being prosecuted.

Read more: Government to deliver Awaab’s LawPublished: 10 February 2023