Ditch The Damp, Manage The Mould

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Our Technical Support and Repairs Team have been working hard on our new 'Ditch the Damp, Manage the Mould' survey. This has been spearheaded by our innovative young apprentices. This project started in May 2023, with a view to contact at least 10% of all tenants by the end of May. Having done this, we have continued to call tenants, focusing on the areas we suspect are more likely to be experiencing damp or mould. So far, we have spoken to 811 tenants (27%), sent emails / voicemails to a further 966, and letters to 175 people without access to email.

We have historically had a poor response rate to damp and mould surveys, even in homes where tenants do have damp or mould issues. The Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) in a 2021 report highlighted to landlords called this our 'silence' and encourages us as landlords to find ways of 'finding our silence'. In August 2024, we trialled a new style of survey cover letter, making use of 'Nudge Theory' and saw a 300% increase in response rates.

The aim of the survey project is to find out about the current damp and mould status and offer repairs or advice as required. We have looked into two years' worth of repairs history in order to find historic information to help us target our survey calls. The survey has allowed us to receive feedback on what measures to tackle damp or mould in the past have been successful and why some tenants do not contact us to report damp or mould.

This project has also allowed us to identify households experiencing damp or mould which would otherwise be off our radar. We are now able to link damp and mould status to a property type, age, EPC rating etc which helps us to identify patterns and consider a 'fabric first' approach. Some of the information we have learnt from this invaluable survey and housing system data can be seen below:



Open image in a new tab to view full screen or download it from the document section on the right hand side.



Completely resolving damp and mould issues can be notoriously difficult and often involves a lot of trial and error, for both landlords and tenants and can be affected significantly by fuel poverty. By using information from our damp and mould surveys, as well as reviewing success rates of various improvements (such as the positive input ventilation systems), between May 2023 and September 2024 we have been able to improve our 'intervention success rate' from 31% to 51.5%. We will aim to improve this further, however from here it is likely to be much small improvements seen as it needs to be a joint approach with tenants and other support agencies. It is also important to note that this is only looking at whether there is any damp or mould remaining, and does not reflect where interventions or advice have improved conditions. Based on other data, it is likely that the 'improved or resolved' after intervention could be up to 85%.


Throughout the surveys we have also been asking tenants about their experience and we have found that tenants were often not using the older style mould kit due to it being too complicated to use. In June 2023, we created a new kit which now includes a simple mould spray, a humidity/temperature monitor, optional damp trap and a new damp and mould leaflet. We reviewed the success of this new kit recently and found that it was more likely to be used, and more likely to be successful at resolving condensation related mould issues. What's in the Mid Devon Housing Damp and Mould Kit (youtube.com)

If you are experiencing damp or mould in your home please report it to our repairs team by completing the damp and mould report form Damp and Mould Report Form (office.com), calling us on 01884 255255 or by emailing repairs@middevon.gov.uk.

Our Technical Support and Repairs Team have been working hard on our new 'Ditch the Damp, Manage the Mould' survey. This has been spearheaded by our innovative young apprentices. This project started in May 2023, with a view to contact at least 10% of all tenants by the end of May. Having done this, we have continued to call tenants, focusing on the areas we suspect are more likely to be experiencing damp or mould. So far, we have spoken to 811 tenants (27%), sent emails / voicemails to a further 966, and letters to 175 people without access to email.

We have historically had a poor response rate to damp and mould surveys, even in homes where tenants do have damp or mould issues. The Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) in a 2021 report highlighted to landlords called this our 'silence' and encourages us as landlords to find ways of 'finding our silence'. In August 2024, we trialled a new style of survey cover letter, making use of 'Nudge Theory' and saw a 300% increase in response rates.

The aim of the survey project is to find out about the current damp and mould status and offer repairs or advice as required. We have looked into two years' worth of repairs history in order to find historic information to help us target our survey calls. The survey has allowed us to receive feedback on what measures to tackle damp or mould in the past have been successful and why some tenants do not contact us to report damp or mould.

This project has also allowed us to identify households experiencing damp or mould which would otherwise be off our radar. We are now able to link damp and mould status to a property type, age, EPC rating etc which helps us to identify patterns and consider a 'fabric first' approach. Some of the information we have learnt from this invaluable survey and housing system data can be seen below:



Open image in a new tab to view full screen or download it from the document section on the right hand side.



Completely resolving damp and mould issues can be notoriously difficult and often involves a lot of trial and error, for both landlords and tenants and can be affected significantly by fuel poverty. By using information from our damp and mould surveys, as well as reviewing success rates of various improvements (such as the positive input ventilation systems), between May 2023 and September 2024 we have been able to improve our 'intervention success rate' from 31% to 51.5%. We will aim to improve this further, however from here it is likely to be much small improvements seen as it needs to be a joint approach with tenants and other support agencies. It is also important to note that this is only looking at whether there is any damp or mould remaining, and does not reflect where interventions or advice have improved conditions. Based on other data, it is likely that the 'improved or resolved' after intervention could be up to 85%.


Throughout the surveys we have also been asking tenants about their experience and we have found that tenants were often not using the older style mould kit due to it being too complicated to use. In June 2023, we created a new kit which now includes a simple mould spray, a humidity/temperature monitor, optional damp trap and a new damp and mould leaflet. We reviewed the success of this new kit recently and found that it was more likely to be used, and more likely to be successful at resolving condensation related mould issues. What's in the Mid Devon Housing Damp and Mould Kit (youtube.com)

If you are experiencing damp or mould in your home please report it to our repairs team by completing the damp and mould report form Damp and Mould Report Form (office.com), calling us on 01884 255255 or by emailing repairs@middevon.gov.uk.

Page last updated: 02 Oct 2024, 10:38 AM