Awaab Ishak death: Landlord sets up mould task force

The housing association that rented out a flat where a toddler died from exposure to spores says it has set up a specialist damp and mould task force.

A coroner concluded Awaab Ishak died of a respiratory condition caused by mould and Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) did nothing to solve the issue.

RBH told a Rochdale Council meeting it had "failed" Awaab's family and the community and had "taken steps to ensure this never happens again".

It added improvement work had started.

Two-year-old Awaab died in December 2020. His father, Faisal Abdullah, had complained to his landlord Rochdale Boroughwide Housing for three years.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove said it was "unforgivable" and pledged new laws to hold landlords to account.

Awaab's family has called for legislation to stop further deaths caused by mould in homes, which has the backing of Mr Gove.

RBH told a meeting of the council's overview and scrutiny committee: "We would like to express our deep sorrow - but know no words will take away the pain of Awaab's family.

"We failed Awaab. We failed the family. And we failed the community... which is why we've taken steps to ensure this never happens again.

"We've now set up a specialist damp and mould task force."

It said it would prioritise the work and carry remedial action to solve issues.

The housing association added a team of surveyors would inspect all homes in the Freehold estate, where Awaab lived, for signs of mould.

RBH also told the committee £1.2m of work to improve ventilation on the estate had started.

The housing association also said it was implementing a new complaints process which will be signed off by tenants as well as running workshops "to look at how we can make tenants' voices heard more loudly on mould and damp issues".

After a meeting with the Secretary of State and Housing Ombudsman, RBH said it was now "working in lockstep" with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the regulator of social housing "to address their concerns and improve the quality of our services".

It added: "We are rooted in this community and we know the process of rebuilding trust will take time, but we are determined to do it... and are now treating damp and mould as a health and safety issue."

The housing association sacked its chief executive four days after the inquest's findings and has appointed Yvonne Arrowsmith as the interim chief executive from 12 December.

RBH said it had met the council's housing standards team and agreed a system of reporting damp and mould cases - as well as placing a housing officer in the council's neighbourhood hub teams.

It told the committee in the update its "priority" was to tackle concerns of damp and mould in all of its homes.

A number of councillors at the meeting claimed they still had tenants contacting them, complaining of damp and mould.

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