There have been 1,031 inquiries about dampness in Douglas Council homes in the past five years, the housing chairman has revealed.

The figure is slightly higher than 5% of all enquiries received about housing repairs in the time.

Housing chairman Councillor Clare Wells was asked by Councillor John Skinner how many complaints had been received in the past five years relating to damp and how many, if any, were outstanding. He also asked for the average response time to complaints.

Mrs Wells said: ’No complaints have been received through the council’s formal complaint system in relation to dampness in housing properties.

’However, in total 1,021 inquiries have been made in relation to dampness during the five-year period.

’These were all investigated and reported upon, and where required, action taken. It is important to place that total figure in the context of a total of 20,296 inquiries received about housing repairs.’

Broken down for each year, between November 1 and December 31 2015, there were 40 enquiries made, in 2016 this was 260 for the whole year, 179 in 2017, 215 in 2018, 166 in 2019 and from January to November 1 this year, there were 171 inquiries made.

The figures combine enquiries about damp, condensation, ingress and insulation. The response time for emergencies, such as burst pipes is 24 hours, urgent incidents are within 7 days and routine enquiries within 28 days.

Mrs Wells added: ’The housing department is measured against the success of these defined response times quarterly and this is reported to the housing and property committee and the Department of Infrastructure.’