Regulator of Social Housing publishes statement on Rochdale Boroughwide Housing

The Regulator of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing has taken action against Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) after an investigation found widespread failings on damp and mould.

The investigation follows the coronor's verdict on the death of Awaab Ishak. The coroner found that mould in his home contributed to the five-year-old's death.

The investigation by the Regulator of Social Housing found that Rochdale Boroughwide Housing had breached the regulator's consumer and governance standards.

The investigation found that RBH waited nearly two years after Ishak's death to check for damp and mould in other homes on the estate and when they did carry out checks, damp and mould was found.

It was found that the regulator was given inadequate information about damp and mould after Ishak's death, due to failings within RBH.

The investigation also concluded that RBH has weaknesses in its IT and internal communications and this led to vital information being missed. RBH's repairs team were not aware of concern's raised by Ishak's healthcare worker.

The investigation also found that RBH did not treat Ishak's family with fairness and respect.

In a statement, the regulator said: "The regulator expects RBH to take urgent action to address these failings and will take enforcement action if necessary. In particular, the regulator is pushing RBH to improve the way it is run and to fix its approach to managing damp and mould in tenants’ homes."

Fiona MacGregor, chief executive of the Regulator of Social Housing, said: "Our investigation reveals significant failures in the way RBH manages damp and mould in its homes, resulting in harm to tenants. The tragic death of Awaab Ishak should have led to action to establish wider risks, but RBH failed to respond quickly or effectively. This is unacceptable. RBH needs to address the issues we have found and we will take further action if it fails to do so.

"Our judgement sends a clear message to social landlords that they must deal with damp and mould as the serious hazards that they are, treat tenants with respect, and take their concerns seriously."

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