Clarion announces damp and mould action plan with commitment to hire one hundred new staff

Clarion Housing Group has announced it will be hiring 100 additional members of staff to help prevent and treat condensation, damp and mould in residents' homes.

The new staff members will include 70 more repairs operatives and at least a dozen specialist building surveyors. This is a new £5 million annual investment package, additional to the £364 million total investment made in Clarion properties last year.

Rob Lane, Chief Property Officer at Clarion Housing Group commented:

“After the tragic case of Awaab Ishak, it is right there is an even greater focus on the condition of social housing. At Clarion we believe now is the time for investment, new ways of working and a relentless focus on tackling damp and mould.

“There are no quick fixes, but by hiring 100 additional staff and setting out a dedicated action plan, we are doing everything in our power to make a difference for our residents.”

The group has set out an operational action plan for tackling condensation, damp and mould – which includes the following:

• As part of our ‘Property MOT’ service we will revisit every home that has reported damp and mould in the last 2 years
• Increased investment in humidity and ventilation monitoring devices, to enable early identification of problems
• Referring cases to specialist surveyors if there is a repeat instance of damp and mould
• Enhanced training for all colleagues and new reporting systems
• Using our ‘Every Visit Counts’ policy to ensure that if colleagues are in a property fixing a separate problem, they look for condensation damp and mould and raise any issue they identify

Clarion will also be writing to all residents with support and advice on how to best prevent damp and mould in their property, while encouraging people to get in touch and being clear that ultimate responsibility for addressing issues lies with the social landlord.