Join our call for change in law to end suffering
IT’S an image that could be from any child’s birthday. Little Awaab Ishak, on December 13, 2020, wearing a party hat as he stands next to his second birthday cake.
He died just eight days later. Awaab suffered a cardiac arrest due to respiratory failure, which had been caused by mould affecting his airway, in a poorly ventilated flat which an expert would describe as ‘unfit for human habitation.’
It was a tragedy that could have been prevented, and should have been prevented.
That’s why, today, the Observer - with its sister title the Manchester Evening News - is launching a new campaign. A campaign for a change in the law that would compel housing associations not to allow any other child, or anyone else, to suffer in damp and mouldy social housing.
Our campaign calls for a change in a law which would give social landlords deadlines to sort mould problems out.
Awaab’s Law would compel housing associations not to allow any other child, or anyone else, to live in the uninhabitable conditions like the toddler suffered for so long.
You can sign the petition online at Change.org by searching ‘Awaab’.
As Awaab’s health deteriorated, requests from his family - and from a health visitor - for a move, went unheeded. Our campaign calls for bids for new homes in such cases - ones where medical professionals believe there’s an urgent risk to health - to be treated as a high priority.
Something has to change - and soon. Almost two years on from Awaab’s death, the Rochdale Observer has found other families on the same estate who had similar experiences as Awaab’s family.
The Social Housing Regulation Bill is currently going through Parliament, and if approved it would bring back regulation on consumer standards for social housing. The Observer calls on all MPS and peers to support the Bill and strengthen it, by including Ofsted-style inspections at short notice and increased professionalisation of housing management to improve the experience of tenants, including those living with damp and mould.
The Observer also calls on MPS and peers to support an ‘Awaab’s Law,’ in addition to the Social Housing Regulation Bill. This would:
● Require social landlords investigate the causes of damp and mould within 14 days of complaints being made and provide tenants with a report on the findings
● Give social landlords seven days to begin work to repair a property if a medical professional believes there is a risk to a tenant’s health
● Ensure bids for new social housing properties are treated as a high priority if a medical professional has recommended a tenant moves home after identifying a risk to health at their existing property
● Mandate social landlords to provide all tenants with information on their rights, how to make a complaint and what standards they can expect under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, provided in simple English or the language a tenant is most proficient in. The campaign already has the backing of Citizens Advice in Rochdale, as well as national housing charity Shelter.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Nobody’s home should ever put their life at risk. For too long, too many social housing tenants have been forced to live in dangerous conditions in homes riddled with mould and worse, yet are being ignored when they complain. The government promised it would bring in reforms and make sure social landlords are properly held to account. Its long overdue Social Housing Regulation Bill is a vital opportunity to make sure tenants are listened to and their homes are fit to live in.
“As the Bill moves through Parliament it’s crucial that it has the clout to keep people safe in their homes.”