More than four fifths of members who took part in the annual survey of the National Panel of Tenants and Service Users feel they would know how to report damp or mould concerns to their landlord. Around half had received information from their landlord about reporting damp and mould, and just over a quarter had reported a damp and mould issue previously.

This research comes after the Regulator increased its focus on social landlords’ responses to reports of damp and mould. From this year, its Annual Return on the Charter includes a new requirement for all social landlords to provide information on the length of time to resolve cases of damp and mould and the scale of open / re-opened cases.

Helen Shaw, the Regulator’s director of regulation, said: “When it occurs, damp and mould can be a serious problem for some tenants. Our new indicators will help us understand more about this complex problem and how landlords are dealing with it, and we will publish the first responses at the end of August. The National Panel’s feedback gives us a valuable and additional tenant perspectives around confidence in reporting cases of damp and mould, potential barriers to reporting, and lets us hear views on speed and effectiveness of landlord response.

“After the submission of the first data, we will review the effectiveness of the new indicators and consider some thematic work to review landlords’ approach to preventing and resolving cases of damp and mould. We will reflect on the Panel’s feedback as part of this broader work.”

In a wide-ranging research programme, Panel members shared views on issues including rents, value for money and SHR’s website. It also explored the experiences of people who had used homelessness services and landlord engagement on Gypsy/Traveller sites.

The research was carried out for the Regulator by Engage Scotland.

The National Panel of Tenants and Service Users has more than 420 members. It is open to anyone who is a social housing tenant or uses a social landlord’s services. Membership is diverse and includes people from urban and rural areas, across age bands, local authority and RSL tenants. Anyone interested in joining the Panel should contact Engage Scotland at natpan@engagescotland.co.uk.