A new law, named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, seeks to tackle the severe mould crisis affecting social housing in the UK. Awaab’s Housing Awaab Arif tragically died in 2020 after developing an asthma attack due to prolonged exposure to black mould in his flat in Rochdale. The legislation mandates social housing landlords to investigate mould issues, provide reports, and initiate remedial actions within days of being notified.
Awaab Ishak’s story brought national attention to the tragic effects of long-term exposure to mould. Thousands of affected residents, especially in Bristol, are still living with serious damp and mould issues in their homes. Bristol City Council understands that the new law creates a short time frame for addressing mould concerns. They concede they’re not quite prepared to be in compliance with the new rules.
Barry Parsons, a Conservative member of the council and chair of the cross-party Homes and Housing Delivery Committee, said it was “dire straits.” He assured members that fixing the backlog of mould complaints would take years.
“It really can’t be sugar coated that we’ve got really unacceptable levels of outstanding repairs across all of our council homes – they’ve been neglected for decades,” – Mr Parsons.
The recent horror story of social housing tenants such as the Bradley and Amanda Godwin highlight the need for immediate investment to improve conditions. The young couple, who live in Knowle West, Bristol, have been fighting the spread of extensive black mould in their Clifton flat. The fault had led to grave health consequences for their family. Amanda even one time developed pneumonia, and they many times suffered from chest-related infections.
Bradley Godwin, 52, recalled how the mould turned their housing situation unlivable and completely changed their social life.
“We started to withdraw from people, we didn’t have people round,” – Mr Godwin.
His wife Amanda, 50, echoed his optimism. She shared how their embarrassment related to the mold issue prevented them from having family members visit.
“It got to the point where we were so ashamed we didn’t even invite family in,” – Amanda Godwin.
Bristol Acorn’s head organiser, Sam Kidel, commented on the broader implications of Awaab’s law.
“A lot of tenants have been waiting for years and years for really hazardous damp and mould to be addressed in council properties and Awaab’s law gives some strength to those tenants to challenge that and get fixes done,” – Sam Kidel.
Councillor Parsons – We know that we have a significant backlog, and council’s been very focused on trying to address that. He knew just how difficult this multifaceted task would be.
“We inherited a huge backlog in damp and mould and other repairs and we’re working through them at speed but there is still a long way to go,” – Mr Parsons.
The council’s initiatives to raise standards in housing are commendable. They’ve tasked an external organization to review their management of damp and mould issues. As Mr Parsons noted,
“It’s going to be a long time before we’re going to be on top of all of that backlog,” – Mr Parsons.
