If you or you believe a person you know is at risk of suicide, you can reach the Samaritans day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.

It’s deeply distressing and upsetting that a tenant died by suicide due to his landlord Clarion Housing Association who failed the tenant in so many ways that they made the decision to leave him suffering for months on end until his tragic death. Clarion who are notorious for being one of the worst social housing landlords in the UK was told by the Housing Ombudsman to apologise to the family after his death. Clarion had countless opportunities to make the tenant’s life better, healthier and bearable but they chose to ignore him and label him. 

This tragic case is an example of the many ways in which social housing landlords discriminate against tenants with mental health conditions and this type of discrimination often leaves a devastating impact on the lives of tenants being discriminated against especially when the tenant has to go through a complaint procedure that is often designed in such a way, it’s impossible not to become more sick and unwell due to the difficulties and barriers created by landlords and the lengthy process it takes to get a case with the Housing Ombudsman.

Mental health discrimination is increasingly common, ignored and overlooked problem in the social housing sector with the ombudsman’s, NHS trusts, police, local authorities fully aware of the social housing landlords who intentionally worsen and discriminate against tenants mental health conditions with more and more tenants ending up suicidal due to the direct actions of their landlord and failings by the local authority. Councils are refusing and failing their duty of care to housing association tenants by excluding them from the same help and support given to tenants living in PRS properties. 

Using the Housing Ombudsman service should not be contributing to poorer mental health or suicide as they’re meant to be there to help tenants but we have seen time and time again of tenants being failed and some ending up suicidal because of how the system in place is designed to help landlords and the ombudsman and make the tenant give up or withdraw their complaints. The ombudsman supports the landlord while the tenant is left suffering, waiting and ignored. The ombudsman must take accountability and responsibility for the actions carried out by landlords against tenants who bring complaints to their department. 

How many more people are going to die due to their landlords? It’s not the mental health condition that makes a person want to die, it’s the landlord that makes you die or want to die. It’s the Housing Ombudsman that prolongs the harm and misery inflicted on tenants by landlords. Housing associations, councils, MP’s and the ombudsman are seriously failing to take mental health discrimination, the stigma and prejudice that comes with mental illnesses seriously when it comes to complaints, help and support. To blame a tenant for their own death and blaming their mental health condition or state when it would have been avoided if the landlord, ombudsman and others in authority had taken seriously the causes then a life would have been saved. Until people realise to true extent of the harm and damage caused and desperation a person is under to stay alive, people are going to continue to die by suicide because those in charge do not care and would rather see your death than save your life. 

After the tragic death of Awaab Ishak and Awaab’s Law, we need a law to help and prevent future deaths by suicide as landlords like Clarion, Housing for Women, L&Q along with the Housing Ombudsmanwill continue violating and worsening people’s mental health and when it comes to suicide, it’s often the person who tragically dies that is blamed for their own death rather than the landlord who caused it and pushed the tenant too far.