Damp, leaks and damage – some of the first signs of property disrepair, and when these occur in rented properties the responsibility more often than not lies with the landlord.

What constitutes as property disrepair? In short it can be as ‘simple’ an issue as damp and mould within a property or a faulty or broken boiler, but at worst it can cause illness or long-term negative effects to the tenants.

Social housing landlords need to be more proactive in disrepair issues for the protection of the building as well as for the tenant’s health and wellbeing.

Social housing landlords ultimately need a crystal ball! 

They need to be able to stop a property falling into disrepair but also, they need to be able to fix any issues before they become detrimental to both the tenant and the property. Social housing landlords need to be knowledgeable that the fault and issue was not a purposeful act, and they also need to know the issues are being resolved by their property services partners in a timely manner in order that no social housing landlord is liable under the Habitation Act.

How can they do this? With TECHNOLOGY of course. 

goldeni is that crystal ball – it can enhance the property disrepair works providing insights and evidence to social housing landlords and their tenants that the property is fit for purpose. 

IoT with goldeni can help prevent and support property disrepair issues a number of ways, it can monitor and alert on:

  • Boiler operations. To ensure they are managed and maintained for adequate supply of heating and hot water, any faults are alerted by IoT devices to enable engineers to be made aware of the fault often before the tenant notices that there is no heating or hot water. Property services teams can then attend the site with full insights into what led to the fault for speedier repair onsite. 
  • Gas, electricity and water meters. High consumption levels or spikes in consumption could indicate poor insulation and potential water or gas leaks. 
  • Internal humidity and temperature which can contribute to the growth of damp and mould.
  • Leak detection in kitchens and bathrooms which if left undetected cause damage the tenant’s home and the neighbouring homes.

goldeni provides the audit trail before, during and after an in-building issue/complaint. It provides social housing landlords with the confidence that their properties are being cared for and the tenants are living in a healthy space. 

goldeni also offers the added reassurance of smart asset management which provides insights to confirm that the remedial works have had the desired effect.

There are a host of mutual benefits of goldeni’s IoT technology deployments to social housing landlords and tenants:

  • For social housing landlords, the main benefits of IoT are access to real-time data about the performance of their properties, reduced costs, pre-emptive repairs and improved maintenance routines. Insights into property disrepair and evidence for compliance to the Habitation Act.
  • For their tenants, the benefits are mainly around improved internal environmental conditions, better customer service, such as pre-emptive repairs and more accurate maintenance schedules. Benefits for tenants also include lower running costs, typically based on reduced energy bills due to improvement to building fabric and boiler controls.

One major benefit is that goldeni can provide an audit trail for social housing landlords in regard to property management and property/tenant health and wellbeing – it can confirm that works have been done, that the internal environmental conditions are safe and habitable, the ventilation, humidity and that the temperature levels are suitable for tenants. That there is no humidity which can cause mould build up, there are no ventilation issues which can cause concern for tenant health and the heating and hot water is working effectively as it should thanks to boiler sensors. 

For more information please contact the team on info@goldeni.com