DAMP and mould are still making social housing tenants’ lives a misery — three years after an infestation killed a two-year-old child in Rochdale in Greater Manchester.

Awaab Ishak died in December 2020 after living in a damp home owned by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), the coroner ruling that his respiratory disease was caused by black mould.

But the government has been accused of failing to introduce promised new laws forcing landlords to tackle damp and mould in their properties following the child’s death.

Tenants living in properties managed by RBH met recently and said the problems still exist and are affecting their health. 

Tenant Leah Nuttall said the landlord told her family that problems with mould in her flat were “due to them breathing too much at night.”

She said the air in her bedroom is “so heavy with damp and mould” that she sleeps on a mattress in the living room.

Tenant Sean Doyle said: “We’ve had our 10-year-old son diagnosed with asthma now and the doctor said it is because of the property and bad living conditions.

“No-one else wants their children to end up with the same fate as the little boy who died.”

RBH chief executive Amanda Newton has apologised and said: “Our top priority is the health and well-being of our customers and we are working hard to carry out the repairs required.”

A spokesman for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said that a consultation was underway on introducing regulations to force landlords to act swiftly.

“Subject to consultation, we will introduce those regulations as soon as possible,” he said.