Awaab's Law - reporting damp and mould

Awaab's Law is an amendment to UK housing legislation, proposed in honour of the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in December 2020. 

Awaab's Law came into effect on October 27th. 

Key changes include strict and clear timescales for damp, mould, and condensation-related repairs (DMC) and emergency repairs. For ‘significant hazards’, under Awaab’s Law, we will:

• Investigate within 10 working days of being made aware of the hazard.
• Provide the tenant with a written summary of the investigation and its findings within three working days.
• Begin work within five working days of the investigation conclusion, if possible.
• If delayed, works must start within 12 weeks

A ‘significant hazard’ poses a ‘significant risk of harm’ to the health or safety of the customer. This means something in or around your home that could seriously affect your health or safety if it’s not sorted out. It’s not an emergency, but it needs sorting soon because it could cause harm if left too long.

For example, persistent damp and/or mould that is not yet causing acute health issues but could worsen if left untreated. 

To report DMC, please either call 0161 217 6017 and our call handlers will triage your report of DMC through a series of questions created through our specialist surveyors to ensure all tenants receive the most suitable response, or report via our online damp mould & condensation report form.

Introducing Stockport Manbassadors for men's mental health

With Stockport Manbassadors, our aim is to raise awareness locally of the mental wellbeing issues facing men, helping them find and use the local services and support they require with a bite-size intervention.

The project will help grow a network of local organisations across the Stockport Borough acting as men’s health advocates. Find out more about the project and how you can get involved: 

Your Local Pantry hits one million visits!

Your Local Pantries have now been visited one million times! That’s a million welcomes, friendly smiles, chats, greetings, and moments of hope. To everyone who makes Pantries the wonderful communities they are - THANK YOU! 

Stockport Homes staff celebrated this incredible milestone with cupcakes and a brew alongside members at Pantry at Number 5.

“Brilliant, lovely food and everyone is so friendly! I’ve been a member since The Pantry started. It’s good value for money to buy food that lasts all weekend. All the colleagues and volunteers are great. I find it lovely to attend, and nobody looks down their nose at you”.

Repairs service update

We’re excited to share the latest improvements to our Repairs Service - and it’s all thanks to you! Whether you filled out a survey, joined a focus group, or shared your thoughts in another way, your feedback has helped guide the changes we’re making. We’ve listened carefully and acted upon your suggestions and feedback.

Take a look at the key changes we’ve made, from faster response times to clearer communication and more reliable appointments through to being clear on what standards you can expect from our service.

Looking for a new home? Mutual Exchange might be for you!

Are you finding it hard to secure a move through Homechoice due to low bidding points? Mutual Exchange can be the quickest and most flexible way to find your ideal home.

A Mutual Exchange is where you can swap your Council or Housing Association social housing property with another property. Here's how it works: 

• Register and apply for Mutual Exchange via the Stockport Homechoice website.
• Stockport Homes Tenants can also register free for the National House Exchange service to view thousands of properties.
• It’s important to keep your contact details up to date so you don’t miss any messages from potential match tenants.

Tackling Tenancy Fraud

At Stockport Homes, we’re committed to keeping our communities safe and ensuring our homes go to those in genuine need. Our Tenancy Fraud Service continues to deliver excellent results, successfully identifying and resolving cases of unlawful subletting across our housing stock.

With more than 9000 applicants on the waiting list for a property with us, it's vital that we investigate all cases of housing fraud and take necessary action.