The tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak shook the country to its core. The loss of a child is always heart-breaking - even more so when it is entirely avoidable.
As MEN readers will know, Awaab died in 2020 after being exposed to hazardous mould in his rented home.
Throughout his short life his worried parents had pleaded for action only to be betrayed time and again.
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Shamefully, the landlords, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, not only failed to get rid of the mould; they unfairly blamed the family for causing it.
Awaab’s parents, Faisal Abdullah and Aisha Amin, have pursued justice for their son with unwavering courage and dignity, fighting even in their grief to improve living conditions so that others in social housing do not suffer as they have.
I vowed to them that deaths like Awaab’s must never be allowed to happen again.
And this New Year, we are doubling down on the progress we have already made to hold rogue landlords to account and empower tenants.
Our new ‘Awaab’s Law’, part of the Social Housing Regulation Act passed last summer, requires social landlords to assess and fix reported health hazards such as dangerous damp and mould within strict time limits.
Today, we are launching a public consultation on what those time frames should be.
I am keen to hear from tenants and others across the sector, including landlords, social housing providers and councils in England - all of which, alongside my department, have a responsibility to deliver for people living in poor-quality housing.
Awaab’s Law is part of the biggest government reforms to affect social housing in a decade, which will be crucial in addressing systemic issues relating to safety, quality and tenant-landlord relationships that were identified after the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017.
Everyone deserves to live in a home that is decent, safe and secure - and now tenants have the legal tools to hold failing landlords to account.
Even though there has been a steady improvement, severe problems remain rife.
Damp and mould, for example, affect 177,000 social homes. There is much more to do to improve living conditions for thousands of families.
And Awaab’s Law will soon deliver meaningful and tangible change by enabling residents to challenge landlords who are shirking their responsibilities.
It will hit rogue landlords where it hurts - with the full force of the law - where they do not show every effort to comply with the new timescales.
Landlords who fail to fix issues in a timely fashion will be brought before the courts by their tenants– with those found guilty ordered to rectify their mistakes and pay compensation to tenants.
Beyond Awaab’s Law, our Regulator will be given even stronger powers to clamp down on bad practices. These will include the ability to issue unlimited fines and to grant the right to enter properties at just 48 hours’ notice and to arrange for emergency repairs to be made in the most severe cases.
Awaab’s Law will stand as a lasting tribute to his family’s campaigning, which was supported by this newspaper to excellent effect as well as the brilliant housing charity, Shelter. Thanks to all these efforts, tenants will now have the law on their side when landlords fail them, and living standards will improve across the sector - for readers and residents in the North West and beyond.
Michael Gove is a Conservative MP and Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations.