Awaab Ishak: Guidance on mould to be reviewed after toddler's death

Ministers say guidance to landlords in England over mould and damp health risks will be reviewed, following the death of a toddler.

Awaab Ishak, aged two, died from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to mould at his Rochdale home, an inquest found.

The housing and health secretaries said new guidance would come in summer.

It comes after a coroner asked the government take action to prevent future deaths.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove and Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: "Awaab Ishak's death was a tragedy that should never have occurred. People across the country were horrified to hear about the terrible circumstances that led to it.

"Awaab's case has thrown into sharp relief the need for renewed action to ensure that every landlord in the country makes certain that their tenants are housed in decent homes, and they are treated with dignity and fairness."

The inquest heard Awaab's father repeatedly raised the issue with housing association Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), but no action was taken before his death in 2020.

The family said they had "no doubt at all that we were treated this way because we are not from this country and less aware of how the systems in the UK work".

Senior coroner Joanne Kearsley said RBH were not "proactive" and asked: "How in the UK in 2020 does a two-year-old child die as a result of exposure to mould?"

Following her damning conclusions, she asked the government to address the fact its housing health and safety rating system does not reflect the known risks of damp and mould to health.

She also raised how the private landlord sector does not have access to the Housing Ombudsman for their complaints to be investigated independently.

In the government's response to the coroner, Mr Gove said it was working on policy that would specify time limits landlords must meet on investigating hazards, and acting where there are health concerns.

He also said there were plans to introduce a new private rented sector landlord ombudsman, which was previously announced in June.

The chief executive of Shelter, Dr Polly Neate, said reviewing guidance does not go far enough.

She told Radio 4's Today programme what was more important was the government's social housing regulation bill, which would introduce inspections of social homes, adding: "Guidance is guidance, but accountability Is the key word here."

She also said "unliveable housing conditions" were very common in private housing because of a lack of protection for tenants.

"People in private rentals don't dare mention poor conditions because their landlord could evict them for no reason," said Dr Neate.

"For my colleagues up and down the country, these appalling situations are their daily workload. This is a huge problem."

More than 170,000 people have signed a petition calling for Awaab's law to ensure no other child dies due to mould in their home.

In a statement Mr Gove said: "We have already taken tough action against failing landlords - blocking Rochdale Boroughwide Housing from receiving taxpayers' money to build new homes until it can prove it is a responsible landlord and warning others that they will face similar consequences unless they dramatically raise standards.

"Our Social Housing Bill will strengthen the powers of the regulator to ensure tenants are listened to and their concerns dealt with quickly and fairly, with unlimited fines for failing landlords.

"We will work closely with Awaab's family to deliver tougher laws on damp and mould."