With winter approaching and damp and mould cases likely to rise again, social landlords need to ensure they are ready to meet the challenge.

And with the imminent arrival of Awaab’s Law, landlords will be under pressure to meet the new requirements and strict timescales.

As Awaab’s Law had cross party support when it was passed it is likely that the details will be implemented by the new government as soon as is practicable.

Under the new legislation, landlords must:

• Investigate any known or reported hazards within 14 days
• Provide a written summary of their findings within 48 hours
• Begin repair work within seven days if the hazard is found to pose a significant risk to the health or safety of tenants
• Address emergency repairs that pose an imminent danger within 24 hours.

If landlords don’t meet the timeframes set out in the law, residents can take them to court.

For this masterclass, HQN’s experts Mike Victory-Rowe and Wayne Hughes will examine the implications of Awaab’s Law and its wider scope while focusing specifically on practical solutions on tackling damp and mould so you can hit the ground running when the weather changes and the legislation drops.

What will be covered:

• An overview of Awaab’s Law
• Advice on how to meet the new requirements and timescales
• Practical tips on dealing with damp and mould
• Case studies from social housing organisations.

Essential for:

• Directors of Housing
• Asset directors and managers
• Strategy and policy leads
• Operational teams – housing, repairs and maintenance, customer services
• Those who want to gain a better understand of Awaab’s Law.

10:30am Chair’s welcome and introduction

• Mike Victory-Rowe, Associate, HQN

10:35am Best practice on damp and mould

• Mike Victory-Rowe, Associate, HQN

Mike will set the scene in terms of the on-going problems that tenants and landlords are facing with damp and mould in social homes.  He will outline the challenges in detecting the source of damp and mould in homes as well as successfully treating it.  He will share his best practice guidance and top tips based on his vast experience in the sector and as an advisor and consultant in the field using case studies from across the country to illustrate what can be done to improve outcomes for tenants.

11:05am Learning on damp and mould and decants from the Housing Ombudsman

• Anthea Chilton, Sector Learning and Development Lead, Housing Ombudsman Service

Anthea will outline the Housing Ombudsman’s latest severe maladministration report involving temporary moves, known as ‘decants’ by the social housing sector.

This report comes ahead of the introduction of Awaab’s Law, which has specific requirements for landlords on temporary moves where there are risks to the health and safety of residents.

11:45am Break

12:00pm Implementing a successful damp and mould policy

• Aileen Evans, Group Chief Executive, Grand Union Homes

Aileen will talk about Grand Union’s extensive work on developing and implementing their damp and mould policy.  She will outline the work they did with tenants in reviewing the Damp, Condensation & Mould Management Policy and what the results of their engagement showed them.

12:30pm Latest on Awaab’s Law

• Wayne Hughes, Associate, HQN

Wayne will get everyone up to speed on where we currently are with Awaab’s Law in the social housing sector, government plans and timetables so far and the detail of the previous consultation so you can get ready to implement the changes as soon as they are announced.

1:00pm Preparing for Awaab’s Law

• Stephanie Allen, Head of Strategy and Delivery, Riverside

Stephanie will outline the work that Riverside has undertaken to get themselves ready for Awaab’s Law, covering the policies and processes they have reviewed, the additional steps they have added and the systems that can be altered.  Delegates will be able to learn all about their preparation in detail so that when the final announcement is made, you are as ready as you can be.

1:30pm Close

Mike Victory-Rowe, Associate, HQN

Mike is a chartered building surveyor with 30 years’ property asset management and social housing experience. Mike has extensive experience in senior managerial and leadership roles in a customer-facing housing organisation across multiple service areas. As Assistant Director of Asset Management for Knightstone Housing (2007-2016), he had responsibility for the development and delivery of strategic asset management. Over the last 7 years, Mike has helped social housing landlords develop their strategic asset management thinking and produces asset management strategies and delivery plans.

Wayne Hughes, Associate, HQN

Wayne Hughes is an experienced consultant who has worked at a senior level within private and public sector housing related organisations for the past 40 years. He has authored several articles on asset management related activities and has sat on several advisory bodies for the social housing sector, including sitting on the panel which developed the widely used Disrepair Pre-action Protocol. He was also part of the team which established the English House Condition Survey (now called the English Housing Survey).

Aileen Evans, Group Chief Executive, Grand Union Housing

Aileen Evans is Chief Executive Officer of Grand Union Housing Group and at the end of June 2021 completed her term as the president of the Chartered Institute of Housing, the professional body for those working in housing.

A qualified coach and NLP master practitioner she has a strong interest in understanding healthy organisational cultures and the impact on performance.

An emerging mental health campaigner, she was, as part of her presidential campaign, working with the metal health charity MIND to provide a guide for housing organisations on creating mentally health organisations and had set a fundraising target of £50K to support MIND this year.

Anthea Chilton, Sector Learning and Development Lead, Housing Ombudsman Service

Anthea Chilton is a Sector Learning and Development Lead at the Housing Ombudsman Service. Anthea is part of the Quality, Engagement and Development (QED) department and the team delivering the Housing Ombudsman Service Centre for Learning (CfL). The CfL provides landlords with access to a wide variety of learning resources to enhance their complaints management and drive a positive complaint handling culture.

If you are unable to attend an event or public training course, please let us know in writing (email is fine) at least 48 hours before. Please email [email protected]

Otherwise, a cancellation fee of £60 plus VAT will be chargeable.

If you are using a package place to attend and do not inform us within the agreed time frame, then a place will be taken to cover your non-attendance.

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