All outstanding repairs relating to mould, damp and condensation in council homes across Manchester are being reviewed after the death of Awaab Ishak. Further training is being rolled out to all relevant staff at Manchester council while housing associations have also agreed to urgently address complaints.
And the town hall is reviewing how tenants in the private sector can report these issues as the council continues its clampdown on rogue landlords. It comes after a coroner ruled that the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak was due to prolonged exposure to mould at the Freehold estate flat in Rochdale where he lived with his family who repeatedly complained about the issue.
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, which owns and manages the estate, has now set up a specialist task force to tackle mould and damp in its homes. In Manchester, the council is revisiting all repairs relating to mould, damp and condensation across all 12,500 homes which it owns and manages directly.
A deadline of five working days for significant issues and 15 working days for minor ones has been set for this work on the council's own housing stock. All repair works where young children or vulnerable people are part of the household are being completed first, according to Manchester council chiefs.
Further training is being given to all staff, surveyors and officers involved in these cases to ensure complaints are listened to and responded to properly. The council does not have any statutory powers over social housing providers, but has been working closely with them in the aftermath of Awaab's death.
Labour councillor Gavin White, who is the executive member for housing and development at Manchester council, said that housing associations share his 'determination' for such a 'tragic' case like Awaab's to never happen again. But he called for the social housing regulator's powers to be strengthened.
He said that damp, leaks, excess cold and associated mould are 'by far the largest' category of complaints that the town hall's housing team receives. Of the 1,800 complaints to the council's private rented sector team, 37 pc were for damp and mould with 21 recorded as Category 1 – the most serious.
The council has taken enforcement action through fines, prohibition orders and improvement notices in 79 of these cases in the last financial year. There are also seven landlord licensing schemes in place across the city which aim to address poor standards of housing in the private rented sector, with an additional eight new areas of selective licensing set to come into force soon.
However, Manchester council wants more powers to tackle rogue landlords. Speaking at a scrutiny committee meeting on Tuesday (December 6), Coun White said: "A lot of work is going on and rightly so after the tragic and heartbreaking case with Awaab Ishak which really shone a light on housing conditions in the city and in the UK, particularly in relation to damp and mould."
Anyone in a private rented sector home can complain to the council about issues in their accommodation, and action can be taken against landlords.
For more information, visit the council website.
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