Government funds being made available to help deal with issues of damp and mould in social housing in Coventry will help - but more is needed.
That’s according to the Cabinet Member responsible for housing standards in Coventry ahead of the Cabinet meeting to accept a £2.1 million grant to improve standards of social housing.
Coventry City Council has been awarded a share of £15m being made to West Midlands local authorities, via the West Midlands Combined Authority from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities – part of the Social Housing Decency Fund.
The cash is to support improvement to the standards of social housing within the region – by tackling issues including mould and damp.
The Council is making the funds available to Citizen with the aim of benefiting families in more than 1,000 homes across the city.
Cllr David Welsh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, said: “We need to raise housing standards and this money will make a difference to the lives of people living in homes with problems of damp and mould.
“As a Council we are not a housing provider, but we are working closely with Citizen and are helping to monitor the work that is already underway. And I’m pleased that Citizen is also contributing additional funding so even more can be done.
“This work will be a good start but it’s the tip of the iceberg – we need more funding and we need it now so we can make even more improvements for people living in social housing and in the private rented sector too.
“Damp and mould can have a real impact on wellbeing so, like many Councils, we are calling for more government funding.”
Chief Operating Officer at Citizen Mads Nelson said: “We work in partnership with Coventry City Council across the city, supporting the Council to meet housing need. We are delighted to have been granted this funding to help improve the quality of homes across the city. Our aim is to make a difference and raise the quality of social housing.
“Our strategy is focused on making sure that our homes are safe and warm. We are committed to investing in homes to improve their quality.
“The funding will help us deliver an even bigger programme of investment which includes improved ventilation and tools to help customers and Citizen monitor the thermal efficiency of homes.
“I’d like to say a huge thank you to the Assets team here at Citizen who put the bid together as our success will have a really positive impact on our customers. This is just one programme of improvements that Citizen is delivering. We are also working with the City Council on a programme to improve over 2,000 homes, creating warm and modern homes through better insulation and heating.”
The works planned to be carried out by Citizen include improvement works to 1,045
properties in Coventry which will benefit from the installation of mechanical ventilation systems and Switchee Home Monitoring technology to help combat issues relating to damp and mould.