Children still living in hell of mouldy homes three years after toddler's death

13 January 2024 , 18:00

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Awaab Ishak died because of a flat riddled with mould (Image: MEN Media)

Children's lives are still at risk from mould-infested homes three years after a toddler’s death sparked a national outcry.

Awaab Ishak, two, died of prolonged exposure to damp despite his parents’ pleas for help to their landlords. Despite the tragedy, fellow tenants of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing say their complaints continue to fall on deaf ears.

Leah Nuttall said: “It’s been three years since Awaab passed and we’re still in this position, so who else has to die before they’ll do something?” Mum-of-six Tania Walsh added: “It’s just empty words all the time and nothing is being done – it’s exhausting.”

Our revelations come days after the Government unveiled a law to force property owners to fix problems in days. It is dubbed Awaab’s Law in tribute to the lad killed by mould in December 2020 – and his grieving parents back the measures.

Mould in an RBH flat (STEVE ALLEN)

Faisal Abdullah, 31, and wife Aisha Amin had complained for three years but to no avail. Housing staff blamed their lifestyle for the extensive black mould on walls of their one-bed flat in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

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An inquest rubbished that theory and, after the coroner’s damning verdict in November 2022, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing was stripped of its funding and its chief executive sacked.

But three years on, tenants of RBH – whose website is branded with the phrase “All Together Better Living” – tell us little had changed.

Tania Walsh (STEVE ALLEN)

"It grows everywhere" (STEVE ALLEN)

Tania said mould had blighted her end-of-terrace home for 11 years and it was getting worse. She told us: “It grows everywhere – on our clothes, the furniture and even on the kids’ toys. My two-year-old has a heart condition and he spent most of his first year in and out of hospital with bronchitis because the mould spores went to his chest. I’ve also had a chest infection for at least nine weeks and the other kids are constantly unwell.”

Tania, 40, a part-time dog walker, said complaints to the housing association “go nowhere”. She added: “They blame it on the house being overcrowded, as if I can help having six kids, and they tell me to keep the heating on which we obviously can’t do because the cost of living is so high.

“When they do eventually act, they do a half-hearted job of sticking some paint over, but the walls are so wet that mould starts growing back a few days later.”

Leah says complaints are a waste of time (STEVE ALLEN)

Leah, 25, also believes complaining is a waste of time, adding: “You get sent round in circles. You speak to someone who says they’ll put you through to a manager and then it doesn’t connect and the line goes dead.”

Leah, who has shared a ground-floor flat with her parents since 2014, went on: “I have asthma and was fine before moving in, and now I’m back on steroid inhalers and sleeping on a mattress in the living room because we have thick, green mould growing up bedroom walls. It really upsets me. People are suffering and they [RBH] need to hold their hands up and accept accountability.”

Mould always grows back, Leah says (STEVE ALLEN)

It’s a similar story for dad-of-two Sean Doyle, who has mould all over his two-bed semi. The part-time builder told how his five-year-old daughter and son, 10, have developed severe asthma from the damp.

Sean, 30, said: “My boy was a healthy young lad and he’s been recently diagnosed after sleeping in a mouldy room since he was born, and my daughter is on tablets. It makes you angry, it makes you sad and it mentally drains you because you’re constantly complaining and getting nowhere. It can take over a month for them to come out. Each time they’re just bodging it up by painting over the worst instead of treating the root cause by stripping the plaster back to the brick.”

Sean Doyle's children have developed asthma (STEVE ALLEN)

Barrister Christian Weaver, who represented Awaab’s family, said: “Across the UK people are living in unsuitable, dangerous conditions. I urge all relevant stakeholders to participate in the consultation on Awaab’s Law.”

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Under the law, due to come into force later this year, landlords get 14 days to investigate hazards and another seven to complete repairs.

Sean Doyle says RBH aren't doing enough (STEVE ALLEN)

RBH describes itself as “the UK’s first tenant and employee co-owned mutual housing society, with over 12,000 homes”. It did not respond to our request for comment but chief executive Amanda Newton said last week: “Our Damp and Mould Taskforce has been in place since December 2022 and we’re working hard to identify and resolve issues at the earliest opportunity.

“So far we’ve committed to investing £45million in people’s homes over the next five years. We encourage all of our customers to contact us about any concerns so we can resolve them.”

The Government said: “It is appalling that three years since the death of Awaab Ishak, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing residents are facing serious mould issues. We have banned RBH from bidding for our Affordable Homes programme and the Regulator of Social Housing is working intensively to make sure its tenants do not live in unacceptable conditions. Subject to consultation, we will introduce Awaab’s Law regulations as soon as possible.”

Christian Weaver represented Awaab’s family

Tragedy led to legal reform

2016 Awaab’s family moves to the UK from Sudan.
2017 His dad Faisal Abdullah makes a formal complaint to Rochdale Borough Housing about mould and is told to paint over it.
June 2020 Solicitors support Awaab’s parents to initiate a claim.
December 2020 The two-year-old dies and a surveyor describes conditions at his one-bedroom flat on the Freehold Estate as “unfit for human habitation”.
November 2022 Inquest finds he died from prolonged mould exposure.
February 2023 Government unveils Awaab’s Law, which requires social landlords to remedy damp and mould within strict time limits.
January 2024 Awaab’s family back proposals in their boy’s name for repairs to be fixed in seven days.

Saskia Rowlands