100 complaints to mould death group in one year
Housing body admits: We got it wrong
OVER 100 complaints about mould and damp were made to Rochdale Borough Housing in the year after little Awaab Ishak died from exposure to mould in one of its flats.
The housing group admitted it was wrong when it “made assumptions” about Awaab’s family’s lifestyle, after it was slammed for appearing to try to blame them for the mould.
Dad Faisal Abdullah and mum Aisha Amin said desperate pleas for help from the provider, which started before Awaab was even born, were ignored.
RBH chief Gareth Swarbrick was sacked after an inquest last week ruled twoyear-old Awaab died due to prolonged exposure to his mouldy home on the Freehold Estate in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
The hearing was told RBH inspected the flat twice in 2020, the year Awaab died. Seeing a bucket in the bathroom, inspectors wrongly assumed the family were using it for ritual bathing.
RBH said yesterday: “We did make assumptions about lifestyle and we accept that we got that wrong. We abhor racism in any shape or form.”
It came as ex-RBH staff admitted they quit due to a “toxic culture” that was “all about cost-cutting”. One told Sky News: “RBH have been putting profit before people for a long time.”