The Housing Secretary Michael Gove is encouraging social housing tenants to complain to the government, spearheading the ‘Make Things Right’ advertising campaign. When residents are unsatisfied with their landlord’s final response, they should escalate their complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.
In addition to time limits for landlords to investigate and fix damp and mould, Awaab’s Law mandates that social housing managers have qualifications to assure residents receive quality service.
Through the national campaign, black mold and leaking ceiling images will appear on social media platforms, radio stations, and streaming platforms such as Spotify.
The campaign will also fund training in 2 pilot areas – London and the North West – so they can support more residents who have problems.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove said:
“Too many social housing tenants are being let down and ignored. This government is determined to stand up for them and give them a proper voice. They deserve a decent, safe and secure home, just like everybody else.
So we are shining a light on rogue landlords that ignore their tenants time and again and allow families to live in disrepair.
This campaign will make sure tenants know their rights and how to make a complaint – giving them the confidence to go to the Ombudsman and ensure action is taken.”
Social housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa said:
“What we’ve learnt is that social housing in the UK is far from where it should be, and tenants have been monumentally let down whilst enduring terrible living conditions.
It’s clear things must change, this campaign is the start of that. The campaign makes clear that disrepair issues from damp and mould to collapsed ceilings must be fixed. Tenants have a right to complain and be listened to, treated with dignity, fairness and respect but most of all live in a house they can call a home.”
Findings from the government`s social housing resident panel – bringing collectively over two hundred residents throughout the country – located 65% of individuals stated their studies of elevating proceedings with their landlord were unsatisfactory. Some of the important thing problems residents raised include:
- The time taken for complaints to be addressed and resolved
- Disrespectful conduct, lack of communication, or inaccuracy of information experienced during the previous complaints process
- Lack of repercussions for landlords if residents are not taken seriously or complaints are not resolved satisfactorily
- Burden and complexity of the complaints process
Nearly a third of all social tenants considered making a complaint in 2020-21, but 27% chose not to because they believed nothing would be done in return, according to the data. data from the UK Housing Survey.
Since October, residents can make complaints directly to the Housing Ombudsman, after requiring people to first approach their local MP or councilor and wait 8 weeks after completing the process, the owner was deleted. The government continues to take decisive action to protect social housing tenants. The landmark Social Housing (Regulations) Bill would strengthen the regulator’s powers – allowing it to enter properties with just 48 hours’ notice, carry out urgent repairs with owners bill payers and unlimited fines for the offending owner.
Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said:
“Effective complaint handling starts with landlords getting things right first time. If and when things do go wrong, landlords must fix the issue, apologise, offer appropriate compensation, and show they have learnt from those errors.
If that doesn’t happen then residents can take their complaint to us at the Housing Ombudsman. We’re free, independent and impartial in order to help residents and landlords find a resolution to their complaint.”
More information
The campaign will run across the UK from today until the end of April and will provide tenants with key information on their rights, and landlord responsibilities and offer step-by-step advice on how to file a claim. complaints through its own website gov.uk/socialhousingcomplaints.
The government’s latest campaign on social housing, which runs from February to March 2022, has seen a 25% increase in requests to the Housing Ombudsman from two months earlier.
Radio commercials will air on commercial radio stations (including Capital, Gold, Heart, Hits Radio, Kiss, Magic, Smooth, and dozens more). The ads will also air on community radio in English and also have a translated version on radio stations in Arabic, Polish, Romanian, Urdu, Punjabi and Bengali.
Ads will also run on audio streaming platforms like Spotify, Amazon Music, and SoundCloud, as well as podcasts across all platforms. Social media ads – in the form of images and animations – will target social housing residents on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and NextDoor.
Media toolkits for owners and partners (such as Citizens Advice, charities, and community groups) have been created with printable posters and flyers, as well as articles posted on social media. The campaign’s website offers advice on how to file a complaint that will be advertised on online search platforms, such as Google and Bing.
Take Home
It’s clear that complaints of damp and mould are going to get worse before they get better, with the launch of the ‘Make it right’ campaign. Social housing organisations are being urged to put their tenant’s well-being and home health at the forefront of their plans.
Remote monitoring can be an effective, economical way to watch for the dangers of damp and mould. Additionally, it provides insight into environmental conditions that may cause mould growth and may give warning to homes in threat of fuel poverty.
Gathering data on patterns over time provides a helpful body of evidence, which can then be used to enhance operational measures, prompting repairs or customer service agents to take action. Furthermore, this ensures that any steps taken can be measured for success and avoids a recurrence.
Reach out to Caption Data to book a discovery call, and you’ll be paired with your own dedicated IoT Solutions Professional.
