A review of Oldham’s housing stock is planned in response to the death of a two-year-old boy who suffered prolonged exposure to mould in his housing association flat in Rochdale.

Awaab Ishak died at the Royal Oldham Hospital in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by mould in the one-bedroom Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) association flat where he lived with his parents, Faisal Abdullah and Aisha Amin.

Awaab’s inquest heard that concerns about the mould in the family’s flat had been raised with RBH a number of times, but no action had been taken.

Gareth Swarbrick, chief executive of RBH, lost his position at the association earlier this month following the highly-critical inquest.

Following Awaab’s death Oldham Council is set to launch a review of its approach to the borough’s housing stock.

Councillor Amanda Chadderton, leader of Oldham Council, said: “I’m deeply saddened by the tragic death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale.

"On hearing the news at the beginning of this month I asked Harry Catherall, chief executive of the council to launch a review of how we approach our housing stock to ensure we do not see a repeat of this sad event in Oldham.

“Council officers have discussed the Rochdale case with housing partners at the monitoring meetings and full reassurance has been provided.

“As a council we are doing everything we can to make sure no Oldham residents have to endure what Awaab and his family have.”

Housing organisations in Oldham have been asked by the council to outline what existing measures are in place with regards to the current quality of homes, and to include details of mould, damp, or water ingress.

Regular inspections are undertaken by the providers and there is also a lifecycle replacement programme for all borough properties, according to Oldham Council.

The council is set to hold the next meeting of the Strategic Housing Partnership in January during which all the registered social housing providers in the borough will offer reassurances to the council and residents.

Temporary accommodation providers are also being written to by Oldham Council and asked to provide the same level of assurance as social housing partners.

Oldham Council is also planning to refresh the Private Sector Stock Condition survey to ensure landlords of private accommodation improve and bring their homes up to a safe standards.