‘A defining moment for the housing sector’ was how the coroner described the death of Awaab Ishak, aged two. In the report, she said: ‘I find as a matter of fact that the development of Awaab’s severe respiratory condition which led to him going into respiratory arrest was entirely due to the prolonged exposure he had to mould in his home environment.’

Whether Awaab’s death will become a ‘defining moment’ remains to be seen. It has certainly caught the attention of the media and government, with Michael Gove, levelling up, housing and communities secretary, confirming that he did not have confidence in the leadership of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), the property’s landlord, and would cut funding from the Affordable Homes Programme to RBH and any social landlords that fail their tenants.

It is clear from the case that the complaints from Awaab’s parents regarding the condition of the property were either ignored or his parents were themselves blamed for the damp and mould. RBH’s allegation of ‘ritual bathing’ was never put to the family directly, but was in any event incorrect. RBH refused to do works when proceedings commenced – instead deciding to wait for the outcome of the case. Awaab died before that happened.

The Housing Ombudsman’s report, Spotlight on: damp and mould. It’s not lifestyle (October 2021), said that blaming tenants for having baths and drying clothes should be ‘banished from the vernacular’ of landlords when discussing damp and mould. Most housing advisers will recognise this culture of blame – that a tenant’s lifestyle is at fault for the condition of their home ­– and this needs to change, especially now.

The death of Awaab has caused others to speak out and, as I write, the Guardian’s headline housing news is: ‘Woman dying of lung disease “caused by mould” urges action on rogue landlords’ (Robert Booth, 28 November 2022). The tenant, who did not want to be named, ‘warned the lack of legal aid for victims to claim compensation over personal injury gives bad private landlords the green light to treat potentially deadly mould casually’. She called on Gove to formally join her legal action against her landlord as the costs for her illness will be borne by the taxpayer. The proposed introduction of fixed recoverable costs in civil cases will also work in a landlord’s favour, making these cases financially impossible to run, and as we begin to see the demise of (the increasingly scarce) housing legal aid lawyer, tenants will not be able to enforce their rights.

Michael Gove admitted in a recent interview with journalist Vicky Spratt (see also page 42 of this issue) that poor housing conditions are a ‘public health issue’. One of the things I went to explore in Australia with my Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship was Health Justice Partnerships. We know from legal needs research that people are more likely to tell their doctor about their social welfare issue than go to a lawyer to seek help. Doctors can provide medication to assist with the effects of poor housing, but they are not going to solve the underlying problem until works are carried out. By co-locating legal and health services, we can provide holistic advice and make real change for our clients.

One of the doctors I met in Australia had received funding to provide a multi-disciplinary approach to resolving emergency admissions, which were proving costly to the hospital in Katherine. He told me it made no sense to him that he was spending thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of dollars to medically treat someone and then had to discharge them back into accommodation that was not fit to live in – only for them to become unwell again. He was able to cut hospital admissions by 50 per cent by having a joined-up approach and patients were supported out of inadequate housing as well as being treated for their medical condition.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, in its November 2022 study, Anxiety nation?, found a clear link between economic insecurity and mental distress. The short-term nature of tenancies, poor housing stock and unaffordable rents all impact on health and wellbeing. Poor housing is costly financially as well as emotionally.

Everyone should have the right to live in a safe, secure, affordable home. With the current spotlight on housing, we have an opportunity to shape this debate. Join us for a discussion on housing as a human right on 12 December at 1 pm.