Kyle, a resident of a three-bedroom house in Greater Manchester, reported the presence of mould in his home soon after moving in with his pregnant wife and two children. Despite cleaning the mould repeatedly, it returned and spread through the house, affecting plug sockets and forcing the family to discard belongings. They eventually resorted to sleeping in the living room after the birth of their newborn.
Kyle claims that his landlord only painted over the mould without addressing the root cause. After seven months of enduring these issues, the family moved into temporary accommodation. According to recent government statistics, approximately 1.3 million homes in England had damp issues in 2023-4, affecting 5% of all dwellings. Alarmingly, over a million children lived in these damp conditions.
The case draws a stark parallel with Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old who died in 2020 from respiratory complications linked to mould exposure. His father had consistently raised concerns with their housing association, yet no effective action was taken prior to Awaab’s tragic death.
In response to this incident, new legislation known as Awaab’s Law is set to take effect in October 2023. This law mandates that social landlords address damp and mould issues within strict timelines. However, it currently applies only to the social renting sector, excluding the 4.6 million private rental households. Although the government has indicated plans to extend the law to the private sector, no precise timeline has been established.
Health professionals have linked living in mouldy homes with increased respiratory issues, especially among vulnerable populations. While some experts believe improvements are needed in the overall housing stock, others express skepticism about the sufficiency of the new law in preventing future tragedies like that of Awaab Ishak.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwvzxzzxrxo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss