Gove tells councils and housing providers “not to hide behind legal process” when tackling damp and mould cases

November 21, 2022

The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, has written to council leaders and other social housing providers demanding that they improve conditions.

This follows the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died in his family's Rochdale flat from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to mould.

At an inquest which concluded last week, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) accepted it should have undertaken remedial works over the mould in Awaab's home.

The coroner found that the boy had passed away as a result of 'acute airway Oedema with severe granulomatous tracheobronchitis' and 'Environmental Mould Exposure'.

Commenting on the outcome of the inquest, RBH’s chief executive, Gareth Swarbrick, admitted that the provider had "allowed a legal disrepair process to get in the way of promptly tackling the mould".

The chief executive initially refused to resign and received the backing of the RBH board, but has since been fired. He has been in charge of the housing association since 2008.

In the letter to social housing providers, Gove said the coroner’s report into Awaab’s death had revealed a “litany of failure”, adding: “we must raise the bar dramatically on the quality of social housing and empower tenants so that their voices are truly heard”.

The letter noted that all social homes must meet the Decent Homes Standard. However, the Secretary of State asked providers, in light of the case, to “go further than the letter of the Standard and have particular regard to damp and mould.”

He added: “Damp and mould are not ‘lifestyle issues’ as the Housing Ombudsman Service underscored last year.

“Where people complain about damp and mould, you must listen; where you find them, you must take prompt action. To keep tenants safe, you must not hide behind legal process.”

The letter noted that all social housing providers should be undertaking assessments of:

damp and mould issues affecting their properties, including the prevalence of category 1 and 2 damp and mould hazards;
the action they have identified that may need to be taken in relation to damp and mould issues affecting their properties.

Gove also said providers should also self-refer to the Regulator of Social Housing should they become aware through those assessments, or other means, that they may be in breach of its regulatory standards.

He claimed that the Government’s new Social Housing Regulation Bill would enable a “rigorous new regime that holds all landlords to account for the decency of their homes and the service they provide”.

The Secretary of State noted that under the Bill the Regulator of Social Housing will proactively inspect landlords and issue unlimited fines.

Meanwhile in a letter to the Secretary of State, Cllr Neil Emmott, Leader of Rochdale Council, Cllr John Taylor, Conservative group leader, and Cllr Daniel Meredith, Cabinet member for housing and highways, said that in light of the coroner’s findings and the recommendations she intends to make in her Regulation 28 Report, they agreed that strengthening the Decent Homes Standard must be prioritised alongside an updated health and safety rating system.

They pointed to a Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) pilot that would provide new powers to improve housing standards, and said they looked forward to seeing it being put into place along with the other measures to strengthen the rights of tenants that the Secretary of State had outlined.

In terms of the local situation in Rochdale, the letter proposed two measures that the signatories said would “radically transform the quality of services being provided to people currently living in Rochdale Boroughwide Housing homes”:

the housing stock managed by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing should be returned to the control of the local authority alongside the required funding;
alongside an investigation being carried out by the Housing Ombudsman, in a similar way that commissioners are appointed to failing councils, the Secretary of State should direct representatives of that body or the regulator Homes England to take temporary charge of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing until the organisation can regain the trust of its tenants, the council and government.

the housing stock managed by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing should be returned to the control of the local authority alongside the required funding;
alongside an investigation being carried out by the Housing Ombudsman, in a similar way that commissioners are appointed to failing councils, the Secretary of State should direct representatives of that body or the regulator Homes England to take temporary charge of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing until the organisation can regain the trust of its tenants, the council and government.

Lottie Winson