Process for reimbursing tenants for expenses incurred in damp and mould remedial works

1. Introduction

In dealing with damp and mould problems in someone’s home, two matters in particular will affect tenants as a direct result of remedial works:

• The cost of the electricity used in drying out the home through the installation of dehumidifiers;
• Any redecoration work agreed by the council as a direct consequence of the remedial works carried out and which the tenant(s) agrees to do himself or herself.

2. Principles of compensation/reimbursement

2.1 - The council will reimburse the actual cost of electricity used through the deployment of dehumidifiers based on 24-hour running, the power rating [kWh] of the dehumidifier and the current cost of price-capped electricity including VAT.

2.2 - The council will reimburse costs of redecoration, agreed with the tenant in advance and will cover items as follows:

• White or magnolia emulsion paint;
• White undercoat for woodwork;
• White gloss or satin for woodwork;
• White spirit for cleaning brushes etc;
• Powder or ready-mixed filler;
• Sandpaper;
• Filler knife;
• Roller;
• Paint tray for emulsion (or tray and roller set combined);
• Brushes appropriate to the nature of work carried out;
• Dust sheet(s) to cover the room or area of the room to be redecorated.

2.3 - The maximum amount at which the above itemised redecoration costs will be set will be equivalent to the cost of B & Q own-label products. These amounts will be revised annually.

2.4 - No reimbursement will be made unless valid receipts are provided.

3. Reimbursement process

3.1 - If the tenant has rent arrears or other debts the agreed sum to be reimbursed will be offset against this debt and only any balance will be sent to the tenant.

3.2 - The tenant may appeal against decisions made under this procedure on the following grounds:

• He or she has incurred additional redecoration expenses not provided for under this procedure and that this was reasonable given the circumstances;
• That he or she would incur significant hardship if the amount agreed to be reimbursed were to be offset against existing debt such as rent arrears. This will apply only to the reimbursement of electricity costs.

3.3 - The officer considering an appeal made by a tenant under this element of the procedure will not be the person making the decision about which the appeal is made but rather someone of equal or superior position.

3.4 - If a claim for hardship is made the authorising officer should refer the matter to the housing income officer or financial inclusion officer, who should complete an income and expenditure form. Only essential expenditure should be considered (e.g. you should ignore things like TV packages). If the tenant says that he or she is on universal credit but that the personal allowance has been reduced as a result of various deductions, evidence of this should be obtained from the tenant’s UC journal.

3.5 - The relevant principal officer will decide whether hardship exists based on the advice of the housing income/financial inclusion team. If the claim of hardship is accepted, the full amount agreed will be reimbursed to the tenant. If the claim of hardship is rejected then the principal officer will direct the amount agreed to be credited to the rent or other account where the debt exists and any balance will be reimbursed as in 3.4 above.

3.6 - The tenant may appeal against a decision to offset an award under this procedure against an existing debt. The officer considering an appeal made by a tenant under this element of the procedure will not be the person making the decision about which the appeal is made but rather someone of equal or superior position.