Our Marketing Coordinator, Abbie Ridgway, recently watched Panorama’s documentary Britain's Mouldy Homes, and the images and stories she saw were nothing short of harrowing. The documentary researched the widespread issue of black mould in rental properties across the UK, highlighting the serious health risks faced by tenants. It’s a crisis that is affecting hundreds of thousands of families across both privately and socially rented properties.
Awaab’s Law: Change is still to come
In Britain, more than half a million rental homes are plagued by the dangerous problem of black mould. This persistent issue has long been a silent health threat, but the tragic death of a toddler, Awaab Ishak, in 2020 has brought it into the spotlight, leading to promises of change. However, four years later, significant action to combat this health hazard remains slow.
Awaab's tragic passing at just two years old was linked directly to exposure to mould in a flat in Rochdale. His father, who had repeatedly raised concerns with the housing society, faced a frustrating lack of action. Sadly, Awaab's death was a wake-up call, but one that came far too late for the young boy and his family. Despite government promises, two years after his death, the law designed to prevent such tragedies has still not come into force.
Awaab's Law, designed to tackle dangerous mould and dampness in rental properties, will take effect in October 2025. While this is a step forward, its phased rollout means that landlords won’t be legally obligated to address all hazards until 2027. Even so, from October 2025 onwards, social landlords will have a legal responsibility to investigate and resolve dangerous dampness and mould within specific timeframes. Failure to act on these issues within 24 hours for emergencies will result in severe legal penalties.
However, many tenants across the UK are still living in poor housing conditions, and health risks related to mould are on the rise. NHS Digital figures show that in the past year, around 26,000 babies and toddlers were admitted to hospitals due to respiratory conditions, likely linked to mould and dampness. For many families, the reality of mould is all too familiar.
The Stories of Families
Reporter Rahil Sheikh visited numerous families throughout the documentary. A young mum, living in a flat in Brighton, is paying £1,100 a month for a place where black mould covers the walls. Just two weeks after moving in, the problem began. Despite notifying her landlord, the mould spread relentlessly across all the walls and even onto the furniture and bed where her son was sleeping. The landlord's solution was to simply paint over the mould and conduct a professional clean, but when colder weather returned, so did the mould. With Housing Ombudsman, Richard Blakeway saying “ Landlords need to take these issues seriously and work to find long-term solutions—whether the problem is structural or not.”
For the young mother living in the flat, the constant presence of mould is a major concern for her son’s health. In 2021, just 12 months after moving in, her son developed a persistent cough that lasted for eight months and was later diagnosed with asthma. When the landlord failed to fix the problem, she escalated the issue to Brighton and Hove City Council. The response? Two dehumidifiers and a suggestion that the issue was due to the tenant's cooking and showering. An inspection by Legal Aid concluded that the flat was "unfit for human habitation" due to poor ventilation.
Despite the council's involvement, the mould continued to be a problem. The landlord blamed the tenant for not wiping away condensation, claiming it was a simple and inexpensive issue to fix. But for many tenants, this ongoing battle with mould is far from simple. It is part of a larger issue where approximately 3 million tenants live in homes that fail to meet the government's "decent housing standard." Whether due to disrepair, poor facilities, or inadequate heating, these conditions are causing serious health problems for tenants.
Lack of resources and funding for councils
The documentary highlighted the issue of a lack of resources available to councils through the Freedom of Information Act. With limited staff, they are unable to effectively address the complaints of tenants. Between 2016 and 2023, over 570,000 complaints about privately rented homes were made to councils across the UK. But in over 90% of cases, no further action was taken against the landlords. Less than 1% of complaints led to prosecution. With some of the oldest housing stock in Europe, the system seems to be failing tenants.
This is a problem affecting families of all ages. One elderly couple interviewed has been suffering from mould and dampness in their home for years, submitting countless complaints to their management company. They don’t even know who their landlord is, from research conducted by Panorama they discovered that the property is owned by Williams Pear Group, a company whose CEOs live in one of London’s most expensive postcodes.
Black Mould complaints in social housing are growing
In social housing, mould issues are growing. The Housing Ombudsman is receiving a call every 30 seconds from residents reporting issues, and it completes 600 formal investigations each month. Despite this, complaints continue to mount. One family, living in temporary accommodation for seven years, had black mould develop just 3 years after they moved in. The local council charges £650 a month for the accommodation, despite the unfit conditions. Their youngest daughter has developed asthma, and despite their best efforts to wipe away the mould, it grows back within days.
In many cases, the law is not being enforced, and tenants continue to live in dangerous conditions. Once Awaab’s Law is fully implemented, it should offer better legal protection for families. However, without better enforcement of the existing laws, tenants will continue to face threats to their health and well-being.
The solution to this crisis is clear: landlords must be held accountable, the law must be enforced, and tenants need to be provided with safe and healthy homes. Until then, the health of millions of families will remain at risk.
At Box Legal, we consider Housing Disrepair to be an extremely serious issue. We have a number of panel firms that cover these cases and we have worked with them and with experts to fully understand the case and the needs of the client. To find out more about our ATE policies for Housing Disrepair claims for social housing contact us here.
