Tens of thousands of rented homes "at least" are feared unsafe to live in, Cabinet minister Michael Gove has revealed.
The Levelling Up Secretary's admission came just a week after a coroner ruled two-year-old Awaab Ishak died in 2020 after prolonged exposure to mould.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr Gove said: "I fear it's the case that there are tens of thousands of properties that are not in the state that they should be."
He said a "significant number" of properties - some built in the 1960s and 70s - are in poor condition while others have been "poorly maintained that simply need to be properly repaired and properly maintained".
Asked whether he was personally "embarrassed" by the tens of thousands figure - after 12 years of Tory rule - Mr Gove said he was "angry".
In 2016 Conservative MPs voted to reject a Labour amendment requiring landlords to make their homes "fit for human habitation".
Later today Mr Gove will hold talks with the Rochdale housing association who owned the flat rented out by Awaab Ishak's parents.
The Cabinet minister has also made the decision to block £1million in funding to Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) it was due to recieve to build new homes.
He said: "I'm going to Rochdale later today in order to talk to them and talk to others about the situation there.
"But my view at the moment is this organisation does not deserve to get this additional funding."
"I'm going to Rochdale later today in order to talk to them and talk to others about the situation there.
But my view at the moment is this organisation does not deserve to get this additional funding."
Labour's Shadow Levelling Up Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “It’s right to stand up to failing social landlords but there is no excuse for not showing the same regard for millions of private rented tenants who live in squalid, unsafe conditions and are evicted if they dare to complain.
"After years of broken promises, the government has taken no action to strengthen rules to protect those families.
"There is a political consensus on this, so there is no excuse for more delay."
Mr Gove also insisted on BBC Radio 4's Today programme that long-delayed reforms to renters' rights will be brought to Parliament next year.
The reforms, including abolishing no-fault evictions in the private rental sector, were first promised by ex-Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019.
