A petition calling for a new UK law to prevent any more children dying from damp and mouldy social housing has been launched following the tragic death of young Awaab Ishak, who died in 2020 after mould and damp was left untreated for years at his home in Rochdale.

The toddler died in December 2020 following a cardiac arrest after living in the damp one-bedroom housing association flat in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. His father Faisal Abdullah had complained about the mould to Rochdale Boroughwide Housing but no action was taken.

Awaab’s Law would mean all housing associations are legally obliged not to allow anybody to dwell in uninhabitable conditions. Started by Manchester Evening News, the petition currently has over 66,000 signatures.

“Awaab Ishak died aged just two years old after living in a mouldy and poorly ventilated flat that led to him suffering heart failure. His home was unfit for human habitation but Rochdale Boroughwide Housing consistently ignored the family’s desperate pleas, which ultimately led to Awaab’s death,” the change.org page reads.

“We at the Manchester Evening News are in touch with his family, and are campaigning with Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity, to get justice for Awaab Ishak.”

In a statement released by their lawyers following the inquest into their son’s death, Awaab’s family said: “Senior coroner Joanne Kearsley said that the tragic death of our beautiful Awaab should be a ‘defining moment’ for the housing sector.

“At present, we see nothing to indicate that the death of our son will, in any way, serve as a defining moment. Accountability must be done and be seen to be done.”

Currently, both Rochdale Boroughwide Housing and the landlord of the property are being investigated by a housing ombudsman.

In the House of Commons on 16 November, Secretary of State for Housing Michael Gove said: “They deserved better. Their son deserved better.

“As so many have rightly concluded, Awaab’s case has thrown into sharp relief the need for renewed action to ensure that every landlord in the country makes certain that their tenants are housed in decent homes and they are treated with dignity and fairness.”

Gove later promised further social housing reform, including the Social Housing Regulation Bill, inspired by the experience of tenants leading to the terrible tragedy of the Grenfell fire.

Find out more about the Awaab’s Law petition here.

Images: Getty/Farleys Solicitors