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Council to write to RBH boss after conclusion of Awaab Ishak inquest
Rochdale Borough Council is set to write to the head of the housing association it transferred its stock to after a toddler died from long-term exposure to mould.
Danny Meredith, cabinet member for highways and housing at the council, will outline the local authority’s concerns about Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH).
It follows the conclusion of the inquest into the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by mould in an RHB flat in Rochdale.
Awaab lived there with his parents Aisha Amin and Faisal Abdullah. His father repeatedly raised concerns about the mould with the housing association, which failed to fix the problem.
The coroner said Awaab’s death should be a “defining moment” for the housing sector.
Rochdale Council’s ALMO became the housing association RBH in 2012.
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Mr Meredith said the “appalling state of their home and the indifferent response” are “shaming” and have raised serious questions about largest social housing provider in the council’s area.
He said: “First, my deepest sympathy remains with the family for the tragic loss of their son.
“No one should have to live in the degrading conditions that Awaab Ishak and his family were forced to endure.”
He said he will be writing to Gareth Swarbrick, chief executive of RBH, to “outline the council’s concerns and will continue to monitor their reaction to this judgement and their ongoing performance in relation to repairs and complaints”.
It comes as housing secretary Michael Gove summoned Mr Swarbrick to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Speaking to Sky News, he said the tragedy “should never have occurred”.
He added: “There is no way that a young child being brought up in a home with damp and mould of this kind can be considered to be a decent home.
“It’s already the case that the standards that the housing association should have upheld have been breached.
“That’s why I asked the guy in charge to come to this department to explain himself, because this is simply an unacceptable tragedy.”
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