Awaab Ishak: Rochdale housing group dismissed residents - report

A housing association criticised over the death of a toddler treated its residents in "dismissive, inappropriate or unsympathetic ways", a report says.

The Housing Ombudsman launched an investigation after the death of Awaab Ishak, who lived in a mouldy flat owned by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH).

Until the two-year-old boy's inquest, the company had struggled to "learn from its mistakes", the report said.

RBH's interim chief executive Yvonne Arrowsmith has apologised.

"We accept their findings," she said. "Sadly for me there were things that weren't surprising, there were things that we've found over the last few months that need to be addressed and really I'd just like to start by saying sorry."

Richard Blakeway, housing ombudsman, said: "Our investigation has highlighted that culture change will be central to the landlord's recovery.

"The weakness in policies, repeated failures and failure to learn from complaints has led us to conclude there was wider service failure by the landlord in areas other than its response to damp and mould, including record keeping and communication.

"Our investigation found reoccurring instances of residents being treated in dismissive, inappropriate or unsympathetic ways. In some instances, the language used was derogatory."

Awaab died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to mould in his home.

RBH, which has 12,500 properties in the borough and has admitted more than 1,800 homes have issues with damp, was widely criticised after the coroner's conclusion regarding Awaab's death.

The boy's father had repeatedly raised concerns with the housing association but no action was taken.

RBH was consequently stripped of £1m in funds for new housing by the government, with Housing Secretary Michael Gove saying it had "failed its tenants".

The ombudsman's special investigation found the "dismissive and discriminatory attitude towards residents" was not restricted to Awaab's family, nor complaints about damp and mould - with issues arising in cases involving general repairs, the ending of tenancies and anti-social behaviour.

The report said: "This strongly indicates that unsympathetic, inappropriate, or even heavy-handed behaviour towards residents is present throughout the landlord's interactions.

"While all staff were provided with 'respect' training at induction there is no evidence this is repeated.

"This is a significant concern and requires a comprehensive and sustained focus on shifting behaviour and culture."

But it praised Ms Arrowsmith who was "determined to lead from the front with the development of their recovery plan".

She said it was "just not acceptable" that any residents "felt that their voice hasn't been heard".

But she said "we do have a lot of very good staff here who are really want to make the changes that are needed and we have a plan in place".

Ms Arrowsmith acknowledged there was "a significant problem with damp and mould" in homes but said her organisation was "trying to get all of the treatments done as quickly as we can".

Staff were also looking at "vulnerabilities within the household to see how we prioritise them," she said.

"But it's a big task and it's going to take us time to work our way through that."

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