Mould complaints in England’s social housing double over two years

Ombudsman criticises ‘disappointing’ response by landlords in wake of Awaab Ishak’s death from respiratory illness in 2020

The number of social housing tenants in England complaining of damp and leaks is on course to more than double in the two years since a child died after living in a rented flat with chronic mould.

However, less than half of landlords are estimated to have introduced policies to tackle the problem and some are still blaming tenants’ lifestyles, the housing ombudsman said.