Is Newcastle City Council Ready for Awaab’s Law? Join the Fight for Safe Housing
Is Newcastle City Council Ready for Awaab’s Law?
Join the Fight for Safe Housing
‘All Together Better Living’
Awaab Ishak was a toddler full of smiles and laughter. He loved riding his bike, playing with his ball. But in the months before his death, he was having coughing fits that lasted for days. He was too ill to go out but staying in only made things worse.
‘Trapped’, his family say, and completely ignored by the people who had a duty of care to make sure his home was safe, two-year-old Awaab died in 2020 from exposure to the black mold infesting the family’s council home. The coroner’s findings forced RBH (Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, motto ‘All Together Better Living’) to accept responsibility for Awaab’s death but claimed they ‘didn’t recognise the risk’ despite repeated pleas for action from the family and health professionals.
Awaab’s parents ‘shouted as loud as [they] could’ and nothing was done; they described how they had been left feeling ‘worthless’ by RBH, horrified to discover in court the derogatory manner in which they had been discussed by staff who had not only dismissed their concerns but blamed them for the disrepair that eventually killed their son, making assumptions about them that can only be described as ignorant and racist.
In a further insult, The Chief Executive of RBH, Gareth Swarbrick (salary £170,000 pa) refused to resign. He was sacked by RBH four days after the inquest.
In a statement outside the court, Awaab’s family described how they weren’t even guaranteed Legal Aid to pursue their case against RBH, their lawyers were prepared to act pro bono and only learned that they would be paid two days before the case went to court. Faisal Abduallah and Aisha Amin have fought hard to get justice, Awaab’s Law comes into effect for social landlords on the 27th of this month. But justice does not fill the ‘huge void’ in their lives where their son should be. Awaab Ishak should have turned 7 this year, and would have if the mold in the family’s home had been repaired when told to ‘paint over it’.
‘Paint Over It’
“When one individual inflicts bodily injury upon another such that death results, we call [that] manslaughter; when the assailant knew in advance that the injury would be fatal, we call [it] murder. But when society places hundreds… in such a position that they inevitably meet a too early and an unnatural death… [it] is murder, just… as the deed of the single individual”
According to the British government, 2 million people live in homes with significant damp and mould and ‘ethnic and minority and disadvantaged groups’ are disproportionately impacted. Families who come to the UK from other parts of the world, especially those seeking refuge and asylum, face undeniable racism which often manifests in neglect, if not outright hostility, from local authorities, housing providers and the private companies who are supposed to support them.
Food & Solidarity members have previously forced action and apologies from Newcastle City Council, Mears and private landlords who exploit the vulnerability of families who are unfamiliar with their systems and often fearful of drawing attention to themselves. We have seen families threatened with immediate relocation, and even the removal of their children, in order to discourage them from complaining about inaccessible housing and serious disrepair.
RBH blamed ‘family lifestyle’ for the damp and mold in Awaab Ishak’s home, this despite the fact that there was no window in the bathroom, no effective form of ventilation in any of the rooms, and a kitchen window that opened onto a hallway. Having reported damp and mould way back in 2016, Awaab’s father, originally from Sudan, had been told to “paint over it”.
Households here in Newcastle are particularly at risk from the effects of poor housing — the city is ranked 5th worst nationally for damp and mould and the council is failing to tackle the problem in both the homes it manages and the private rental sector it is supposed to oversee. Indeed, the Regulator of Social Housing found more than 1,800 overdue repairs and a backlog of 1,000 damp and mould cases in homes managed by Newcastle City Council.
What is Awaab’s Law?
A new law that comes into force on 27 October 2025. Awaab’s Law means that social landlords will have to address all emergency hazards and all damp and mould hazards that present a significant risk of harm to tenants within fixed timeframes. This means that social landlords must:
- Investigate and action any emergency repairs within 24 hours.
- Begin work to make a home safe within 5 working days of identifying a significant or emergency hazard.
- If it is not possible to begin works within 5 working days, start them within 12 weeks.
- Arrange and pay for alternative accommodation until the home can be made safe (if it’s not possible to do this within the timeframe set out by Awaab’s Law).
Awaab’s Law — Are Newcastle City Council Ready?
It’s hard to believe they are. The council has already fallen behind on basic repairs, and the culture that allowed families to live for years in damp, dangerous homes cannot be changed by legislation alone. Will they invest in proper inspection teams, or continue to rely on contractors who dismiss tenants’ complaints? Will they listen to residents this time, or treat them as nuisances to be managed? Unless there is a clear plan to overhaul how housing disrepair is identified, prioritised, and fixed, and to hold those responsible accountable, the promises of Awaab’s Law risk becoming just another set of targets ignored while families suffer.
We’re out this weekend talking to our neighbours about damp in their homes, and we need more people with us. Every doorstep conversation helps uncover what’s really happening behind closed doors and builds the pressure for change that laws alone won’t deliver. Would you like to come? Drop us an email.
If you’ve ever wanted to take action but weren’t sure where to start, join our door-knocking session and come to our “Power of Face-to-Face Conversations” training in November. You’ll gain the skills and confidence to connect deeply, listen well, and help turn shared frustration into collective power. Sign up and be part of the team making sure no one in Newcastle is left living in unsafe housing again.
The Fight Continues
It should not have taken the death of a toddler to bring about this legislation, and it remains to be seen whether social housing providers will adhere to the requirements. The fight for safe, secure housing continues and Food & Solidarity members will go on holding housing providers to account here in Newcastle and building power to make change nationally as part of the Homes for Us Alliance. We are attending the summit and will present stories from our work to housing groups and tenant organisations from around the UK—many of which involve Newcastle City Council as landlord, and many directly related to Awaab's Law.
We will not forget Awaab Ishak. We demand decent housing for all, and we will fight until we get it.
