Awaab Ishak died shortly after his second birthday in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by months of exposure to black mould, concluded the coroner
A coroner has found that two-year-old Awaab Ishak died from a cardiac arrest respiratory condition due to months of exposure to black mould in his home, a damp one-bedroom flat in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
Coroner Joanne Kearsley said Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) were not “proactive” and asked: “How in the UK in 2020 does a two-year-old child die as a result of exposure to mould?”
Rochdale Crown Court heard that there was “extensive” mould on the walls and ceilings of the family home which had been there for a “considerable time”.
Awaab Ishak’s father first raised concerns about the mould in 2017
The family were initially told to paint over the mould by RBH when they spotted it developing. In June 2020 Awaab’s father Faisal Abdullah contacted solicitors and initiated a claim over the recurring mould issue, but RBH policy meant any repairs would not be done until an agreement had been reached.
Awaab’s family said they repeatedly “shouted as loudly as they could” about the presence and risk posed by the mould in their home, but that they were left “left feeling absolutely worthless at the hands of RBH.”
“We cannot tell you how many health professionals we’ve cried in front of and RBH staff we have pleaded to, expressing concern for the conditions ourselves and Awaab have been living in,” they said in a statement following the inquest.
The inquest also heard that Awaab had consistently suffered from cold and respiratory issues throughout his life.
RBH chief executive Gareth Swarbrick has faced criticism for his role in the tragedy
Swarbrick said he was “truly devastated about Awaab’s death and the things we got wrong”.
“We know that nothing we can say will bring Awaab back or be of any consolation to his family.”
He continued: “We didn’t recognise the level of risk to a little boy’s health from the mould in the family’s home [and] we allowed a legal disrepair process, widely used in the housing sector, to get in the way of promptly tackling the mould.”
He said Awaab’s death “needs to be a wake-up call for everyone in housing, social care and health”, adding: “We will take responsibility for sharing what we have learnt about the impact to health of damp, condensation and mould with the social housing sector and beyond.”
Housing secretary Michael Gove called Awaab Ishak’s death an ‘unacceptable tragedy’
Gove said local authorities and housing associations could not blame a lack of government funding for the death of Awaab Ishak.
“We all know that local authorities are facing challenging times when it comes to finance but, frankly, that is no excuse,” Gove commented.
“When you have got a situation where you have a young child in a house that is unfit for human habitation, it is a basic responsibility of the local authority – but particularly the housing association – to make sure that people are in decent homes.”
The housing secretary has summoned Swarbick, who earned £170,000 in the year of Awaab’s death, to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Mr Swarbrick’s pay increased to £185,000 the year after Awaab’s death, according to RBH’s financial reports.
