Awaab Ishak: Rochdale landlord boss says lessons learned

The caller seat of a lodging relation astatine the centre of the decease of a toddler from mould says helium is assured it volition not repetition past mistakes.

His begetter repeatedly raised concerns with Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) but nary enactment was taken.

Kevin Brady said RBH's precedence was making its 12,000 properties safe.

RBH was wide criticised aft the coroner's decision regarding Awaab's death, and an probe by the Housing Ombudsman said it had been "dismissive" and "unsympathetic" with residents.

It was consequently stripped of £1m successful funds for caller housing by the government, with Housing Secretary Michael Gove saying it had "failed its tenants".

Mr Brady, who was appointed seat of RBH's committee of directors successful April, told BBC Radio Manchester it had investigated much than 7,000 of its homes for damp and mould, of which astir 850 had superior problems that needed urgent treatment.

He said it aimed to implicit checks connected each its properties by the extremity of the year.

RBH's main priorities were making homes harmless and rebuilding spot with tenants, Mr Brady said.

He said RBH had spent £1.2m connected ventilation connected the Freehold estate, wherever Awaab lived, successful the past six months.

He said his precedence was "making homes harmless for our tenants, and arsenic precocious a prime arsenic we tin perchance marque them, and that needs a immense magnitude of investment".

"We person identified immoderate of that concern but we volition request more, and we volition beryllium looking to authorities and different sources to assistance us."

It comes aft Awaab's Law, which sets clip limits for societal landlords to hole hazards specified arsenic damp and mould, came into unit past week.

Mr Brady believes RBH's betterment program means it is present good placed to conscionable the caller demands of Awaab's Law.

"Our existent systems successful spot for dealing with damp and mould volition conscionable the requirements of Awaab's Law and support america up of the legislation, I'd similar to believe."

He said helium believed the calamity of Awaab's decease would ne'er beryllium forgotten and mistakes would ne'er beryllium repeated.

"We person built those lessons learned into our betterment plan.

"It volition beryllium built into the DNA of the organisation going forward," helium said.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has been contacted by the BBC for comment.

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