Awaab's Law- Holding Social Landlords to Account for Damp and Mould

This is Awaab Ishak. He died when he was 2 years old due to a respiratory condition caused by extensive damp and mould in his flat. He will never be forgotten.

Access to safe, secure and adequate housing is a human right as outlined by international human rights law. However, millions of people across the UK are denied this basic human right and are living in housing that is substandard and detrimental to their mental and physical health. 

Over the last 30 years, a political programme of privatisation and deregulation of housing has allowed the landlord class, including local authorities, to get away with forcing working class people to live in homes that are not fit for human habitation. Issues such as mould, disrepair, infestations, leaks, lack of heating or insulation and lack of fire safety to name a few, are common in both social and private rented housing across the country. Not only is it scandalous that these issues are so widespread in the first place, but deregulation has led to a situation where landlords and social housing providers are able to avoid resolving these issues and avoid accountability. This is something we know all too well in South Norwood - it was only when residents at Regina Road organised themselves collectively and built a campaign to highlight the condition of their flats, that Croydon Council were forced to take them seriously, begin repairs and begin moving people to adequate housing. Read more about the condition of flats at Regina Road here: ‘I had to put my kids on inhalers because of the black mould’ | Inside Croydon. 

Awaab’s death was a result of policies and decisions made by an elite political class that will never understand what it’s like to live in substandard housing. Awaab’s family had been complaining to their housing provider, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), about the damp and mould in their property for years - they even noted that theirs wasn’t even the worst on the estate. However, their complaints weren’t taken seriously, and the housing provider even had the audacity to blame the issue on the family’s ‘ritual bathing habits’ (of which there was no evidence), rather than tackle the issue themselves as the housing provider. A system that allowed RBH to behave like this with no fear of accountability led to Awaab’s death. 

The inquest into Awaab’s death found that he died as a result of the conditions he was living in. It also found that 80% of RBH’s properties had damp and mould in them. Its chief executive earned £170,000 during the same year Awaab died.

However, Awaab’s legacy will live on. Following his death and increasing pressure from housing campaigners and organisations across the country, including Awaab’s parents, ‘Awaab’s law’ was passed as part of the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023. Awaab’s law requires landlords to investigate and fix reported health hazards within specific timeframes. It is now the landlord’s responsibility to identify and address the underlying causes of damp and mould. 

However, Awaab’s law does not apply to all landlords. Asylum seekers, private renters and families being temporarily housed will not benefit from this, and we know that some of the worst conditions are in these types of accommodation. These small step changes to legislation should be rolled out to all providers of housing, not just social housing. 

Furthermore, without enforcement, such laws are not worth the paper they’re written on. Awaab’s Law is due to come into effect in 2024 - if you or someone you know is experiencing issues in their property and would like support to force your housing provider to address them, please come down and see us at SNCK and we will do what we can do help!