Social tenants urged to speak out against 'rogue landlords' in wake of Awaab Ishak case

Social tenants are being urged to speak out against 'rogue' landlords in the wake of the Awaab Ishak tragedy. A major campaign is being launched today (March 6), pushing the vital message that social landlords must 'make things right' when tenants are faced with issues, including damp and mould.

Awaab died aged two in December 2020 following prolonged exposure to mould in Rochdale, which the family's social landlord failed to treat. The campaign for Awaab's Law, backed online by more than 175,000 people, passed a major hurdle in the House of Commons last week.

Kwajo Tweneboa, who endured social housing with 'mould on every wall' before exposing shocking conditions elsewhere, says the national campaign is the 'start' of delivering real change for tenants. He said: "What we’ve learnt is that social housing in the UK is far from where it should be, and tenants have been monumentally let down whilst enduring terrible living conditions.

READ MORE: Little Awaab's death shamed our country - now the tide could be turning

“It’s clear things must change, this campaign is the start of that. The campaign makes clear that disrepair issues from damp and mould to collapsed ceilings must be fixed. Tenants have a right to complain and be listened to, treated with dignity, fairness and respect but most of all live in a house they can call a home.”

The campaign sees social housing tenants being encouraged to make their voices heard by making a complaint about damp, mould or disrepair to their landlord in the first instance. If they are unhappy with the landlord's final response, tenants are urged to escalate the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.

It comes as research from the government’s social housing resident panel, made up of more