Conservatives voted against amendment to ensure rented houses are fit for human habitation in 2016 – including Michael Gove, the current Secretary of State for Housing who now says every house must be “decent, safe and secure”

Conservative MPs previously voted against ensuring rented houses are fit for human habitation – including Michael Gove, the current Secretary of State for Housing who now says every house must be “decent, safe and secure” after the tragic – and preventable – death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak.

Awaab died in December 2020 as a result of a severe respiratory condition due to prolonged exposure to mould in his home, which was managed by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing.
 

Read more: Prolonged exposure to mould in RBH flat led to death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, inquest concludesPublished: 15 November 2022

Speaking in Parliament on 16 November, Mr Gove said: “Awaab’s case has thrown into sharp relief the need for renewed action to ensure that every landlord in the country makes certain that their tenants are housed in decent homes and are treated with dignity and fairness.

“Let me be perfectly clear, as some landlords apparently still need to hear this from this House: every single person in this country, irrespective of where they are from, what they do or how much they earn, deserves to live in a home that is decent, safe and secure.

“While there is no doubt that this property fell below the standard that we expect all social landlords to meet, Awaab’s death makes it painfully clear why we must do everything we can to better protect tenants. Our Social Housing (Regulation) Bill will bring in a rigorous new regime that holds landlords such as these to account for the decency of their homes.

“It is the universal right of everyone to feel safe where they and their loved ones sleep at night, which is why our levelling up and private rented sector White Papers set out how we will legislate to introduce a new, stronger, legally binding decent homes standard in the private rented sector as well for the first time.

“We recently consulted on that decent homes standard and we are reviewing the responses so that we can move forward quickly.

“We hope that, as a result, no family ever have to suffer in the way that Awaab’s family have suffered. We hope that we can end the scandal of residents having to live in shoddy, substandard homes, such as some of those on the Freehold estate.”

However, in 2016, Conservative MPs – including Michael Gove – voted against proposed new rules requiring private sector landlords to ensure their properties are fit for human habitation.

The Labour amendment to the government’s housing and planning bill – which was rejected by all 309 Conservative MPs – would have placed a duty on landlords to ensure that their properties are fit for habitation when let and remain fit during the course of the tenancy.

Speaking to the Guardian in 2016, then-local government minister Marcus Jones said the proposal would result in “unnecessary regulation and cost to landlords” that would deter further investment and push up rents for tenants.

“Of course we believe that all homes should be of a decent standard and all tenants should have a safe place to live regardless of tenure, but local authorities already have strong and effective powers to deal with poor quality and safe accommodation and we expect them to use them.”

 

 

Awaab's parents had previously made complaints about the black mould present in the kitchen and bathroom and had also made requests for re-housing.

His father had been told to paint over the mould, whilst a 2020 report by RBH claimed the majority of the mould was caused by ‘lifestyle and bathing habits’.

Over the weeks prior to his death, Awaab developed flu-like symptoms and had difficulty breathing. On 19 December 2020, he was taken to Rochdale Urgent Care Centre due to his difficulty breathing and was then transferred to Royal Oldham Hospital, where he was given supporting treatment and then discharged.

Awaab continued with difficulties at home and his breathing became worse, so his parents requested a GP and gave him medication. As his presentation was worsening, he was taken to Rochdale Urgent Care Centre on 21 December 2020, where he was found to be in respiratory failure.

He was transferred to Royal Oldham Hospital where upon arrival he was in cardiac arrest and sadly was pronounced dead on the same day.
 

Read more: Housing association ‘are modern day slum lords’, says MP Chris ClarksonPublished: 17 November 2022

The court heard how Awaab’s health visitor sent a letter to RBH in July 2020 supporting a request for the family to move due to damp and mould. She expressed her concern over Awaab living in the flat and highlighted the health issues that the mould could cause him: the pathologist who carried out post-mortem found evidence of fungus in the little boy’s blood and lungs.

An expert on mould and fungi found “extensive mould” on the walls and ceilings of the bathroom and kitchen and also found mould in a cupboard in the bedroom. He told the court that the flat would have been contaminated “for some considerable time.”

Rochdale Council building surveyor, Daniel McVey, inspected the property two days after Awaab’s death and told the court that it was not fit for human habitation without repairs being carried out.

Despite this, Awaab’s parents had to continue living in the flat following his death following unsuccessful requests for rehousing, in spite of Awaab’s mother being pregnant at the time.

Councillor Daniel Meredith, cabinet member for housing on Rochdale Council, has asked the chief executive of Rochdale Borough Council, Steve Rumbelow, to look into the death of Awaab Ishak to see if any information was passed to the council.

Councillor Meredith was formerly on the Rochdale Boroughwide Housing representative body panel, made up of tenants, employees and councillors which responsibilities that include approving RBH’s corporate strategy and appointing non-executive directors. He has said that he was not aware of the Ishak family's plight prior to Awaab's death.

Councillor Meredith and another councillor at the time, Sultan Ali, were voted off the panel for publicly criticising controversial plans to demolish four of the town’s ‘Seven Sisters’ tower blocks.
 

Read more: Councillors removed from RBH panel over criticism of plans to demolish landmark flatsPublished: 13 April 2022

Christian Weaver, counsel for the Ishak family, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that “we often see these things happening but so little accountability.”

Speaking after the inquest, he said: “Awaab’s parents did everything within their powers to try and have the issues within their home fixed – however time and time again – their pleas were ignored. Awaab’s parents have shown remarkable dignity throughout the inquest process.

“Their only ask is that, once and for all, the conditions for those in social housing can be improved – particularly where damp and mould is concerned, and particularly where the occupiers of the homes are refugees and may not be as aware of systems and processes here in the UK.”

Richard Blakeway of the Housing Ombudsman for England told the coroner's court that the law needs to be reinforced to compel landlords to address damp and mould problems, as the issue is not given the same legal standing as gas safety and legionella.

He said that some social landlords have an “outdated, ineffective, sometimes dismissive” approach with an overemphasis on blaming the tenant’s lifestyle.

 

 

Gareth Swarbrick, the Chief Executive of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, is facing growing pressures to resign, whilst the Housing Ombudsman, Richard Blakeway, has reviewed the Housing Ombudsman Service's current casework related to the landlord and instructed his team to expedite three investigations.
 

Read more: RBH CEO Gareth Swarbrick faces mounting pressures to quit his £185k position after death of Awaab IshakPublished: 17 November 2022

A spokesperson for Rochdale Boroughwide Housing said: "We can confirm receipt of the Housing Ombudsman’s letter, and will meet with Mr Blakeway or a member of his team at the earliest opportunity to discuss these three cases.

“We can confirm a conversation has taken place between Mr Swarbrick and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Mr Gove.

“We cannot provide a further comment at this time.”

Mr Gove, and local MPs Sir Tony Lloyd and Chris Clarkson, have all been approached for comment. When the 2016 vote was taken, the borough was represented by two Labour MPs, Simon Danczuk (Rochdale) and Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton).

Mr Clarkson, who became the Conservative MP for Heywood and Middleton in 2019, said: “Whilst I was not a member of Parliament in 2016, I can say with certainty that it’s common practice for the opposition to try to amend Bills in a way which would make them unworkable or too expensive to implement.

“Without seeing the specific amendment I cannot speak to its merits or otherwise, but is clear that the unintended consequence of passing higher costs to renters in an already volatile market would go against the spirit of the legislation.

“Throughout this process, the Secretary of State has been proactive, compassionate and diligent in his dealings and I welcomed the statement he made at the dispatch box.

“I could not have had more engagement or access if I had asked for it and I am satisfied that the work being done at DHLUC [Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities] will make significant improvements to the lives of people in social housing.”

Mr Lloyd said: “Awaab Ishak's death was unforgiveable. He was failed by RBH, the landlord of the home that the family was asked to live in. We've got to make sure that this cannot happen again.

“There needs to be an inquiry into what went wrong; RBH failed in their duty of care. But importantly the law has got to make sure that landlords, both social and private, cannot ignore the health risks of damp and mould.

“That should have been there already and that's what Labour wanted in 2016. That was dismissed by Tory ministers.

“No child should be put at risk in this way ever again.”

Mr Gove had not responded at the time of publication.