Dealing with black mould has rocketed to the top of every social housing provider’s agenda after making national headlines for months. MRI Software’s Deborah Matthews looks at how using technology can help to proactively address the problem
The hazards presented by black mould in properties are nothing new to social housing providers. But a year of cost-of-living rises amid soaring energy costs has tipped the problem past the critical point for many housing associations, local authorities, and landlords – leaving them struggling to meet the challenge.
A survey of 5,700 social housing residents commissioned by MRI Software in late 2022 revealed that nearly a quarter (24%) were in energy bills arrears. The fact that such a large proportion of social housing residents have been unable to adequately heat their homes through the winter has exacerbated the problem, leaving many vulnerable to a negative impact on their health – especially young children, the elderly and those with chronic conditions.
A government report entitled Damp and mould in social housing: initial findings, showed in the first quarter that 3%-4% of the four million social housing homes in the UK – as many as 160,000 – have at least some notable damp and mould, with 1%-2% facing a severe problem. “These are not acceptable conditions for tenants to be living in,” the report stated.
Social housing providers are working hard to address the challenge, but there is no quick fix. Meeting that challenge can be hampered by sheer scale – providers may have up to 100,000 properties they are trying to monitor and maintain simultaneously. Indeed, addressing the scourge of black mould is no easy task for the many local authorities, housing associations and other landlords facing extensive repair and maintenance backlogs – often across ageing housing stock.
Triggering a warning before an outbreak gets too far
It is not all bad news, however. There are steps that social housing providers can take to create, in effect, an ‘early warning system’ for black mould. The key is to tap into integrated repair and maintenance solutions enabling them to better log, track, manage and even pre-empt black mould outbreaks.
Action on black mould can take two forms. The first is if the outbreak is an isolated occurrence resulting from resident behaviour. For example, a resident could be regularly drying laundry in a poorly ventilated room without opening windows or turning on a fan. The alternative is that black mould could be more widespread due to a structural issue. This type of outbreak could occur because of a design flaw across multiple homes, such as poor built-in ventilation.
What is essential for housing providers is to take a proactive approach to get ahead of the problem. Clearly, they want to be able to respond fast to residents reporting black mould. But, more importantly, they want to be able to respond before a black mould problem is even reported – whether in a single home or many.
Moreover, identifying properties that are at risk, based on their construction type or previous repair history, enables providers to set up a regime of pre-emptive inspections.
Being vigilant and equipped to be proactive
In the best-case scenario, repair and maintenance teams are able to identify a damp or mould outbreak first-hand and log the problem themselves before a resident even reports it. They become, in effect, the eyes and ears of the organisation because they do work in common areas within buildings, and service individual apartments or houses in social housing complexes.
Indeed, whenever there is a service or compliance task to be carried out such as a boiler inspection or repair, for instance, these teams have the opportunity to capture information on mould and damp and take pre-emptive action. For example, they find mould that is only a couple of inches wide and act before it becomes a larger patch that then becomes more complex and costly to deal with – or even a pre-mould damp issue that they can be addressed before it becomes a real problem.
Maintenance and repair teams need to be vigilant whenever onsite in a property so that they can be proactive. But they also need the tools and processes in place to take effective action when they do spot cases. In many cases, an integrated repairs and maintenance solution provides an effective first line of defence against damp and mould – equipping teams to create detailed follow-up actions, including identifying all at-risk properties, capturing more data and setting next steps.
Addressing structural problems leading to black mould
It may become clear to those on the ground that a black mould outbreak is not isolated to just one property but multiple homes. This type of situation indicates the problem is fundamentally a result of how the homes were built and not resident activity.
Having the technology and data capture in place to more broadly track instances of black mould enables resident-facing staff to look beyond localised cases. This type of broader view is critical to dealing with these more widespread black mould outbreaks.
Utilising an asset management solution to gain a longer-term picture of the work that needs to be done across often-extensive property portfolios is essential to taking the more complex and long-term approach. Solving this type of outbreak may involve steps such as installing extractor fans or insulation across a building or set of houses to address or prevent further black mould problems.
This type of solution becomes a planned project rather than a one-off repair.
Technology can play a critical role in making onsite teams more effective and efficient in tackling the many complex challenges black mould presents. In addition to leveraging the software now used to maintain properties, many social housing providers are increasingly deploying new solutions such as sensors and other IoT technology to automate some aspects of damp and mould detection – further bringing this scourge to UK housing under control.