The chair of a social housing landlord is to quit after an investigation found it left hundreds of tenants exposed to harmful damp for nearly two years following the death of an infant from respiratory failure in one of its mould-infested homes.
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) waited nearly two years after Awaab Ishak died to check other homes on the estate, the regulator of social housing concluded on Thursday. When it did, it found hundreds of tenants living with damp and mould.
Minutes after the announcement of the “unacceptable” conduct came news that the chair of the landlord, Alison Tumilty, will quit and be replaced next year. The move follows increasing pressure from Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, and comes three weeks after Awaab’s parents called for the board to go, describing them as a “danger” to residents.
RBH’s chief executive, Gareth Swarbrick, was initially backed by the board but was sacked following a public outcry when the landlord blamed the mould on “lifestyle issues”.
New figures show 3.4m homes in England failed to meet the “decent homes standard” in 2021 and 4% of social rented dwellings – about 164,000 – were affected by damp. The problem is worse in private rented homes, where more than 10% have damp – 473,000 homes, according to the government’s English Housing Survey 2021-22 – and 23% failed to meet the decent homes standard.
When RBH did eventually check the estate after Awaab’s death, it found hundreds of tenants were living with damp and mould causing “harm”. Almost 80% of tenants in the complex where Awaab lived who had had their properties surveyed since this summer had signs of damp and mould of which RBH was not previously aware.
A coroner concluded last month that Awaab died as a result of prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s flat in Rochdale.
Fiona MacGregor, the chief executive of the Regulator of Social Housing, said its investigation revealed “significant failures in the way RBH manages damp and mould in its homes, resulting in harm to tenants”.
“The tragic death of Awaab Ishak should have led to action to establish wider risks, but RBH failed to respond quickly or effectively,” she said. “This is unacceptable. RBH needs to address the issues we have found and we will take further action if it fails to do so.
“Our judgment sends a clear message to social landlords that they must deal with damp and mould as the serious hazards that they are, treat tenants with respect, and take their concerns seriously.”
Gove said he would continue to withhold £1m in government funding from RBH and said he was planning to legislate “to deliver urgent action when people complain about damp and mould”.
“This isn’t just an issue in Rochdale,” he said. “It is clear from today’s English Housing Survey there are very serious issues with the quality of homes in this country.”
He said to landlords: “Get a grip of your homes and make improvements now.”
“We must honour Awaab’s memory, so I am looking at new measures – including legislation – that will go further to deliver urgent action when people complain about damp and mould, and make sure the rights of tenants are respected. There is consensus across the country that landlords must do better. Let RBH be a warning: I will use every power at my disposal to make sure people have good quality homes and are treated with dignity and respect.”
RBH repeated its apology for failing “Awaab, his family and the community we serve” and said it accepted the regulator’s judgment. A spokesperson said its new “damp and mould taskforce” had accelerated remedial work and a £1.2m programme was under way to improve ventilation on the estate where Awaab lived.
They said: “There are hard lessons to learn: process must never get in the way of people; tenant voice must always be valued; maintenance and property renewal should be prioritised; tenant safety must always be the first and foremost consideration.”
