Due to new amendments to the Social Housing Regulation Bill, social landlords are now required to investigate and fix damp and mould issues in affected properties within strict time limits. As the damp and mould issue in social housing becomes an increasingly more complex task to deal with, we would like to explore how can tech and digital innovation support local authorities and housing associations with their strategy on tackling damp and mould issues and managing risks.
In February 2023, the Regulator of Social Housing published the “Damp and mould in social housing: initial findings” report, which involved local authorities and private housing providers to understand how the issue is tackled and what changes are necessary. As a result, this will trigger from April 2024, more active consumer regulation of social housing.
We are convening local authorities, housing associations and members for this Innovators Network workshop to understand what the art of the possible is to create safer and healthier homes. This event will facilitate collaboration and bring together key stakeholders to help solve the damp and mould crisis. This event is for techUK members and digital and data leads, operational directors for housing, public health directors, compliance managers, head of strategic asset management, operational directors and digital transformation leads across local authorities and housing.
What will the Innovators Network entail?
The day will begin with short presentations from industry and public sector to set the scene and we will break out into groups to interrogate the challenge and problem solve together what the art of the possible is. There will be plenty of time for group discussion and the chance to feedback and hear from others.
Main points of discussion:
- Understanding what tech solutions and digital innovation are needed to mitigate risks and manage properties e.g. using sensors, apps, dashboards, modelling tools and AI for prevention
- How can we communicate effectively considering not everyone might be digitally enabled?
- What sort of finance and strategic planning is needed to support this?
- How can we use data effectively and do we have the right data frameworks?
- How can we take a systems approach and see the damp and mould challenge as a gateway towards asset optimisation?
- How can we influence long-term behaviours both from residents and landlords side?
- Understanding how this issue fits under the overarching theme of achieving net zero, including energy efficiency, retrofitting, maintenance etc.
The event is open to all local authorities and techUK members.
On the day we will be interrogating 3-4 challenges and if there are any that are not captured above and that you would like to cover please email Ileana Lupsa at [email protected]
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