Extend Awaab's Law to private tenants to stop more children from dying from damp and mould

I was pregnant and having a mental breakdown.

I'd been diagnosed with OCD and traits of two personality disorders around the time we moved into a new privately rented property in 2020, all during the pandemic.

We feared the mould in our bedroom could put our unborn child at risk, but it also placed additional stress on our shoulders during an acutely vulnerable time. My mental health even put me in the hospital for a night.

We reported the issue numerous times to the letting agent during our son's first year of life but our concerns were dismissed, and our lifestyle was blamed, despite keeping our bedroom window open throughout winter and drying 99% of our clothes in a dryer.

We were embarrassed to have friends over - the smell of mould was awful.

But most concerning was that our baby began to develop a nightly cough. We took him to our GP, who believed the mould was causing it, and prescribed him with an inhaler. We moved our son to another bedroom, and his cough vanished overnight. He's never needed an inhaler since and he's now a healthy three-year-old.

We relayed the news to the letting agents, and when a specialist was sent out to inspect the property, they advised us that structural work was needed to fix the problem but it was not carried out.

As tenants we felt neglected by the letting agents and saddened that the risk to our baby's health was not taken seriously.

Then came the heart-breaking news about Awaab Ishak, the two-year-old boy who died of heart failure due to living in a mouldy and poorly ventilated flat.

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), which owned the flat where he lived, continually dismissed his family's pleas for repairs, leading to his death.

I still cry when I see pictures of Awaab. Any parent can surely imagine the anger I feel whenever I think about how my partner and I were also invalidated when we reported the mould in our home.

We've since discovered how our young family fitted into three of the Government's most at-risk categories for mould and damp.

These are:

1) People living with a mental health condition;

2) Pregnant women, their unborn babies, and women who have recently given birth, who may have weakened immune systems;

3) Children and young people whose organs are still developing and are therefore more likely to suffer from physical conditions, such as respiratory problems.

The Government adds that while damp and mould pose a risk to anyone’s health and should always be acted on quickly, other groups who are more vulnerable are:

• People with a pre-existing health condition (for example allergies, asthma, COPD, cystic fibrosis, other lung diseases and cardiovascular disease);
• People with a weakened immune system;
• Older people;
• People who are bedbound, housebound or have mobility problems

We knew the law needed to change to better protect tenants, especially those who are vulnerable.

It was amazing to see Manchester Evening News campaign for Awaab's Law with support from change.org, Greater Manchester MPs, and homelessness charity Shelter to help protect other children living in social housing from dying from mould and damp.

But we knew, from lived experience and my work as a journalist in a working-class town, that many private tenants suffered the same plight.

The Burnley Express has spoken to numerous vulnerable families living with black mould, in privately rented properties. 

Many have children who suffer from conditions like asthma and eczema and say their doctors have warned that mould is contributing to their child's ill health. These parents fear what could happen to their child due to living in these conditions but also feel frustrated and unheard when they report their concerns to their landlord. Many feel depressed and anxious because of their circumstances and fear their landlord will make them homeless if they complain about disrepairs.

Numerous people across the UK are in the same boat, with mould and damp left untreated for months and years.

Earlier this year, the Labour Party vowed to extend Awaab's Law to private tenants.

We want to help keep the pressure up to make sure this happens to protect other children from dying from mould and damp in UK homes.

(Getty image for illustrative purposes)