The Week in Housing: a defining moment

Third, for any landlords grappling with the issue of damp and mould (which, realistically, is everyone in the sector), they should refresh their memory with the Housing Ombudsman’s carefully written report into the issue from last year, which is available here.

In particular, the headline message that pointing to a tenant’s lifestyle choices is an insufficient response is an important one to embed across organisations.

Finally, the excellent legal commentator Giles Peaker has provided some commentary on the case, particularly the impact of the family’s legal claim and how that was dealt with by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH).

In short, RBH had a policy which it said prohibited it from carrying out the work unless agreed by the family’s lawyers. Mr Peaker gives this short shrift, writing: “There is no, zero, nada requirement in the pre-action protocol for the landlord to hold off on works until they are agreed.”

In fact, doing so works against the landlord’s interests – potentially increasing damages.

The practices of the various law firms operating around the sector – particularly the growing problem of claim farming by firms with little interest in tenants’ well-being – is undoubtedly a problem. But it does not change the landlord’s fundamental duty to keep the property to a liveable standard.

There is much to take from this case. Addressing the toddler’s parents, coroner Ms Kearsley said: “I hope you know that Awaab will, I am sure, make a difference for other people.”

The fulfilment of this promises rests with the housing sector. This is the most important coroner’s inquest for the sector since the investigation of the Lakanal House deaths in 2013.

No one in receipt of this newsletter should need reminding what happened four years after the Lakanal investigation, and we can only hope this inquest does not meet a similar fate.

The problem of damp and mould is undeniably large, complex and sometimes expensive, but it’s also one where there are – as the ombudsman report showed – similarities between failures. But this makes the solutions clear, too.

To quote the ombudsman: “Our view is that landlords should adopt a zero-tolerance approach to damp and mould. This does not mean zero cases. But it does mean less fatalism. Fatalism that can sometimes result in a loss of empathy.”

One particularly depressing feature of this case was the assumption from the social landlord about “ritual bathing”, which was made without evidence and denied by the parents.

This is clearly not an assumption that would have been made about a white European family. Sadly, the comments from other Black and minority ethnic tenants on social media in recent days suggests this sort of attitude was not unique. 

These kind of prejudices must be addressed and stamped out rapidly in the sector wherever they exist. The end result is tenants being treated less favourably on the basis of their race – a position that is as unacceptable as it is illegal.

A final note is to the government. While it is unsurprising that housing secretary Michael Gove is calling on the association to account for its failures, he must also acknowledge the role of the governments in which he has been a part in giving us the current state of play.

Ministers were advised of the risks of removing consumer regulation in 2010, but did it anyway. It has been government policy for most of the past decade to push the attention and investment decisions of social landlords away from maintenance and towards supply.

None of that excuses what happened in Rochdale. Housing associations are independent organisations, accountable to their tenants, and whatever the government’s priorities, conditions like those endured by Awaab’s family can never be tolerated.

This story will deeply depress everyone who cares about social housing. It can only be hoped that it represents the nadir of the repairs crisis which has emerged over the past couple of years and that we will move to a better place as a result.

Quote of the week

“I have been alerted to three complaints, which have also been assessed as high or medium risk. Under the circumstances, I have instructed my team to expedite these investigations.”

Housing ombudsman Richard Blakeway revealed that the watchdog has sped up three investigations into RBH after the tragic death of Awaab.

Peter Apps, deputy editor

@PeteApps

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