Gentoo checks 2,000 Sunderland homes for mould and damp after death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale

It comes after in November two-year-old Awaab Ishak died from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to mould in his rented Rochdale home.

Bosses at Sunderland-based Gentoo stressed they were already doing a great deal to tackle mould and damp, but work on the issue has been “heightened” nationally and regionally following the “very tragic” case last year.

Since November 24 they have completed 1,846 inspections, which resulted in 962 physical repairs and further residents being referred to other services for additional support.

The update came at an extraordinary meeting of the city council’s Economic Prosperity Scrutiny Committee at the end of last month, where housing bosses stressed they are “trying very hard to do the very best” for tenants.

James Haste, director of property maintenance at Gentoo Group, said they have a dedicated phone line for mould and damp issues which has been “non-stop” and “hectic” since the day they promoted it.

He said: “We were already doing a lot of work before [the death of Awaab Ishak], have we ramped it up since, yes we have.

“Since October last year there has been countless hours put in, there’s been a lot of resource put in, but we know there is still work to be done and we’ve got work to be doing going forward.

“Some of it will be seasonal, so as we move out of the winter some of those numbers will fall off, what won’t fall off is our empathy in our work that we’re going to do because it’s going to come again next year, and we know the numbers will go back up.”

Louise Bassett, interim chief executive officer, added they have done some “fantastic work” so far but there are properties in parts of Sunderland “worse than others” which they are working to address.

At the time of the meeting Gentoo had 35 properties listed as being in “urgent” need of repair work for mould and damp, who they would aim to get to in a seven day period.

They also had 830 “routine” inspections outstanding, which they would aim to carry out to support residents at the next available appointment within 25 days.

Representatives from the housing association stressed they are taking a number of proactive steps to tackle the issue including increased data analysis, more resources into inspections and future investment works.

Councillors heard demand is trending in a “positive direction” on the issue, while additional training for call handling, inspections and repairs awareness will be carried out.

The presentation from Gentoo chiefs also provided a general update on work they are doing to help and support their 60,000 tenants living in 28,500 homes in Sunderland.

Ms Bassett, interim chief executive officer, said: “We aren’t perfect, we don’t get everything right, but we really do try very hard to do the very best we can for our tenants.

“Communication is one of the biggest challenges we face and we don’t always get it right, and it’s not acceptable and we need to get that better, but we are doing our very best.”