Letter from John Rouse, City Director, Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Please share this information with your members, clients, and service users.
Damp and Mould in our housing stock
I would like to share an important message with you about Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s plans to tackle the problem of damp and mould in the city’s housing stock.
As the city’s largest social housing provider, we, along with all landlords, have a duty to ensure all of our residents can live in safe, dry and warm homes.
We have embarked on an ambitious campaign to raise awareness about the effect damp and mould is having on the everyday lives of our residents and take swift, effective action to resolve these problems.
We are going to work hard to ensure that all rented properties in Stoke-on-Trent are damp-free and better insulated by responding more quickly to reports, tackling problems in our own housing stock before they escalate all landlords in the city of their responsibility for their properties. No one in our city should be living in a property which suffers from damp and mould.
As a valued member of our community, we would like to ask for your help in sharing important messages about damp and mould to ensure all our city’s residents can live in safe, dry and warm homes – particularly through the winter months.
When you are engaging with residents, and if or when the opportunity arises, we would ask that you speak to them about damp and mould and signpost them to where they can find help. Everyone is vulnerable to the health impacts of damp and mould, but people with certain health conditions, children and older adults are at greater risk.
We have launched a dedicated web page – www.stoke.gov.uk/dmc – which is full of useful information about damp and mould as well as hints and tips on what residents can do to help reduce condensation in their own homes.
We have also produced a social media toolkit containing a number of key messages which we would encourage you to share on your own channels. Download the toolkit here: FINAL – D&M social media toolkit for partners
Only by working together can we make a positive change to the lives of our residents.
If you would like to follow up this letter any further please contact Adrian Scarrott, Assistant Director for Housing and Community Safety via [email protected] or 01782 233449.
