Representing you to government
Damp and mould in homes has remained firmly in the spotlight this week, with Amnesty International releasing a high profile promotional video Before our Eyes starring Oliver Coleman. The video is designed to draw attention to the possible tragic implications of poor quality housing in a way that is likely to catch the attention of the nation.
As an industry with extensive understanding of damp problems, we undoubtedly play a role in bringing about the change that is required.
Legislation bringing about change...
There are several pieces of key legislation which are set to help introduce this change, and this week saw the government consultation amendments to the Social Housing Regulation Bill (Awaab's Law) come to a close. The law will force social landlords to fix damp and mould within strict time limits.
There can be no doubt that any attempt to improve the quality of social homes should be applauded. However, there is a tightrope to tread here, which may force landlords into action too quickly. This could lead to the undesirable effect of pushing them toward inferior contractors and specialists who can accommodate works at short notice, rather than the qualified and competent professionals who will be in demand with longer wait times.
Our responses
This is a point we have raised within our response to the consultation which can be seen in full here. We also formally submitted the association’s response to the Future Homes Standard consultation. A full copy of this response can be found here. However, it is worth noting that due to an issue with the consultation version of the Home Energy Model software, the deadline for this consultation has been extended to 23:59 on Wednesday 27 March.
Awaab's Law response