Regulation Notice - Fire safety, damp, mould and condensation

Tenant safety is our top priority.

We have put measures in place to ensure that tenants are safe in their homes while we carry out the larger programme of works to implement fire safety improvements across our housing stock.

We need to spend over £115 million pounds to carry out the fire safety work required. It is not possible to fund all this work in one go, and we also need to ensure we invest in other work needed to improve and maintain the quality and safety of homes.

Virtually every social landlord in the country needs to carry out a lot of work, so demand for contractors, materials and labour is high and this sometimes limits what we can do. We are lucky to have our own in-house contractor, Property Services. They carry out a lot of fire safety work in homes, but there are some works that are very specialised and for those we need external contractors.

We have made progress with fire safety improvement work across a number of council properties; this is ongoing work that we plan to wrap up by 2031. We just need to ensure we are rolling out this work across our housing stock at the quickest pace we can, while ensuring they are of the right quality and delivered in the right way.

These risk management and mitigation measures are in place across six-storey blocks:

• All have communal and individual fire detection and alarm installations in place.
• All have emergency lighting.
• Daily inspections of the premises are carried out.
• Fire alarms and emergency lighting are tested weekly.
• Any incidence of fire triggers the undertaking of a new fire risk assessment.

These risk management and mitigation measures are in place across retirement living schemes:

• All have communal and individual fire detection and alarm installations in place.
• All have emergency lighting.
• All but one have sprinkler systems in place. The retirement living scheme which does not have sprinklers and integrated alarm systems, is not a communal scheme and is formed of individual flats. The only communal space is a communal lounge. The individual flats and communal lounge all have their own fire detection and alarm systems.
• Daily inspections of the premises are carried out.
• Fire alarms and emergency lighting are tested weekly.
• Any incidence of fire triggers the undertaking of a new fire risk assessment.

These risk management and mitigation measures are in place across low-rise blocks:

• Individual alarms are in place and checked during gas safety visits. If there is no gas in the property, then the alarms are checked during electrical safety visits. Alarms are reinstated during these visits where this is necessary, or if they are reported as repairs by the resident.
• Fire safety inspections are undertaken on a monthly or weekly basis depending on risk.
• Any incidence of fire triggers the undertaking of a new fire risk assessment.

These risk management and mitigation measures are in place across high-rise blocks:

• We have 24-hour CCTV monitoring and waking watches in place.
• All fire safety repairs are assigned as emergencies with a response time of 3 hours.
• There is emergency lighting throughout each block.
• Fire alarm and emergency lighting tests are carried out weekly.
• Trade button access has been removed. Access can only be gained via a key or if provided by a resident or concierge.
• We have provided information to all residents in high-rise blocks about fire safety measures and their role in keeping their homes and building safe. This information is updated and re-provided as the situation changes.
• Temporary simultaneous evacuation arrangements are in place until works are completed.
• The West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service have upgraded their response to fire alarms at high-rise blocks and bring an additional pump, engine, and high ladder to each call.

Fire safety in your home

Fire safety in your building

The notice from the regulator states that there are over 1,000 cases of damp, mould and condensation that are classed as high risk. We want to assure tenants that this is because of the length of time it has taken to address these cases. We have a plan in place to address this and will be contacting those with outstanding cases imminently.

Over the past 18 months, there has been a big increase in the number of reported damp and mould issues. It means some tenants have been waiting too long for their problem to be solved. We know this is not acceptable and have already put in place additional capacity to deliver mould treatments and other ways. We are looking at more ways to address current jobs and will be contacting tenants directly over the next few weeks.

We are continuing to review our approach to damp, mould and condensation and have allocated a further £2 million per year to the budgets for this over the next three years.

We are already working hard to make sure everyone who has contacted us about an issue gets a solution as quickly as possible.

Since January 2023 we have made several changes and improvements to the way cases are managed. In the 12 months up to March 2024 we have closed over 1600 cases, however, new cases continue to be reported.

Changes and improvements include:

• A new dedicated IT and data system to help manage cases and provide staff with the information needed to support tenants with damp and mould issues.
• Identification of household vulnerabilities to help us prioritise works.
• Forming an in-house team to carry out mould treatments and bringing in an external contractor to help deal with the backlog.
• Putting in place a dedicated triage team to support with an early diagnosis of underlying causes and issues, to ensure jobs are prioritised and that works are completed.
• More rigorous and proactive no-access processes to make sure we follow up until a case is resolved.

We prioritise work based on the information provided at the time of the repair request. This includes:

• Length of time the case has been outstanding.
• Vulnerability (including household members under 14 and over 65)
• Any existing health issues that tenants are living with.
• Properties where there have been previous damp, mould, and condensation cases.

There are a few ways to prevent this from occurring in your home:

• Try and keep temperatures above 17° in living areas.
• Try and keep air vents free from blockages - air flow helps to prevent condensation.
• Dry washing outside when possible. Use fans where installed, especially in the kitchen and bathroom.
• Keep trickle vents open, try to open windows for at least 10 minutes daily and report any that aren'’'t working as a repair.
• Leave space or a gap between furniture and walls for airflow.

Please report all cases of damp, mould and condensation to us and contact us if you have any concerns or need assistance.

You can also request damp, mould and condensation, and all other repairs at Report a repair .

Damp, mould and condensation