Acutely unsafe: Social housing tenants are still waiting to see what better means

Plus: Why Kier Starmer should worry less about Farage and more about himself, the latest ReformWatch, The Lead Digest, and our View from the North all in The Lead's weekend edition

“We were crying out for help, but nobody hears.” Pic: 100RealPeople/Flickr

Social housing tenants in the UK are being failed at every level. Living conditions in many council houses and flats are not only squalid and inadequate, but some are acutely unsafe.

In 2020, two-year-old Awaab Ishak died from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his home. This appalling and preventable death of a defenceless toddler rightly sparked outrage and a new protective law. However, five years on, the government is yet to fully implement Awaab’s Law. The legislation – which would force social housing landlords to fix mould, damp, and other dangerous issues within a strict time frame – will begin to be phased in from October this year, but it will not be fully put into practice until 2027, despite Labour positioning the law as an urgent reform.

Now, another child has died in similar circumstances. The family of 15-week-old Akram Mohammed told ITV News that they believe the damp, mould-ridden conditions of their housing association flat in north London contributed to his death. 

The child’s desperate parents complained to the Housing Ombudsman in the months before Akram's death. Nothing was done. 

“We were crying out for help, but nobody hears,” said his mother Aita Mohammed.

How many more babies and children will die before the necessary protections for social housing tenants are put into place? When will Aita, and the thousands in similar living conditions, finally be listened to?    

This week, the Housing Ombudsman reported that there has been a 474% increase in complaints about substandard living conditions in social housing since 2019/20, with the watchdog warning of a “simmering anger” that could boil over at any point. The report, which reviewed hundreds of cases, featured examples of a child’s bedroom window being boarded up for four years rather than replaced, and collapsed ceilings containing asbestos left unrepaired for two years.

The report also found that some landlords were only doing repairs when “resources are available”, and others said they would deal with emergencies only. But being exposed to mould, damp and cold in your own home – the place where you are meant to feel safe and secure – is always an emergency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable. The only correct response is anger.

This is not just a London issue, the problems reverberate across the country. Back in April, we reported on the social housing tenants in Bristol trapped in mouldy homes or forced into long, disruptive stays in hotels. Bristol City Council, like many others, inherited a backlog of many thousands of repairs, and a £2.2bn black hole in councils’ housing budgets is expected by 2028 unless the funding system is reformed.

In the North, there’s a shortfall of over 70,000 social housing units, as we reported that tenants across Blackpool, Calderdale, Lancaster, Morecambe and beyond are facing worsening living conditions coupled with spiralling rents.

Since 2012, councils have had to cover their housing maintenance, management and debt servicing costs from their rent and service charge income, while limited government funding comes through ring-fenced grants. While it is welcome news that Labour have pledged £2 billion to deliver 18,000 new social and affordable homes by 2029, it is also crucial that this plan to “fix the housing crisis” also factors in the immediate needs of vulnerable people currently living in homes that are not fit for purpose.

Just like the parents of baby Akram, the residents of Grenfell Tower also complained – many times, over years – with safety concerns about their building. As we approach the eight-year anniversary of the tragic fire that killed 72 people, we must demand change. Social housing tenants deserve to live without fear for their families, their health, even their lives. But that is the lowest bar. More than simple safety, tenants must be afforded the right to live in dignity and comfort. At the very least, their concerns must be heard. 

The social housing sector exists to provide good and affordable homes to people in housing need. The current system is not working and it is not sustainable, and councils desperately need ring-fenced support to enable them to improve housing standards and keep their tenants safe. ■

About the author: Natalie Morris is our Senior Editor here at The Lead. Elsewhere, she is a freelance writer covering social justice, inequality, health and community, published in The Guardian, The Independent, The Telegraph, Grazia, Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and more. She is the author of Mixed/Other and co-author of Leigh-Anne Pinnock’s memoir Believe.

This week, Kier Starmer made it clear that Nigel Farage is his major opponent, in a speech in which he warned the Reform leader could crash crash the economy, just like Liz Truss. While the May by-election proved that Reform shouldn't be ignored, is the Prime Minister legitimising Farage’s nonsensical policies? Ella Glover explores:

The centre isn’t holding. As parties and policies drift further to the right, and radical talking points become manifesto pledges, The Lead is committed to keeping making sure the far right doesn’t go ignored. We plan to keep an eye on the movements of Reform UK – and we’ll be reporting back to you here, with our new ReformWatch section – appearing each week in our weekend edition.

• Reform UK finally made a promise that it might well keep. The party pledged to remove all low-traffic neighbourhoods from the council areas it controls, which will be pretty easy considering none of them have low-traffic neighbourhoods. As reported by The Guardian. 

• Two of Reform’s mayors, in Hull and East Yorkshire and in Greater Lincolnshire, went against their own anti-net-zero line and backed clean energy projects. Dame Andrea Jenkyns, of Greater Lincolnshire, has vocally opposed renewable energy projects, including new solar farms and electricity pylons in her county, but she recently promoted the Humber Freeport, a “leading offshore wind and renewables hub”. Meanwhile Luke Campbell in Hull and East Yorkshire, backed a local investment partnership called The Great North, an alliance of northern mayors which supports clean energy projects. How will they fund the tax breaks?!

• Also in Lincolnshire, one of the most flood-prone areas in the country, the new Reform council scrapped The Flood and Water Management Scrutiny Committee, which allowed councillors to hold bodies like Anglian Water, the Environment Agency and Internal Drainage Boards to account. The committee has now been merged with the wider Environment Committee, which will meet eight times a year instead of four. Despite this, the move was opposed by Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Independent councillors, in an unusual convergence of opinion. 

• Earlier this week, The Leicester Gazette revealed that Joseph Boam, deputy leader of Leicestershire County Council, has previously shared social media content that is homophobic, sexist, and Islamophobic. Boam didn’t comment, but recently told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I won’t be engaging with fake news or political smears. My focus remains on delivering for the people I was elected to serve.” He has denied any wrongdoing and claims the accounts in question do not belong to him.

• Meanwhile, a stunt by Reform activists in Hertfordshire depicted deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, chancellor Rachel Reeves and education secretary Bridget Phillipson as cows waiting to be slaughtered. Responding, Farage claimed it was par of the course in politics. “I can’t pretend we’re perfect. What I can tell you is that one of the ways in which we have professionalised this party is to put people through a vetting process. And I think we’ve come up with a slate of elected councillors and mayors and a new MP that we can genuinely be very proud of,” he said. “If there is the odd lapse in taste, then I regret it, but it’s kind of called politics.”

Get in touch on X, Bluesky and Instagram if you spot anything worth reporting. 

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The Lead Digest

• For The Source, Melissa Sigodo revealed exclusively that Ballet Black — the UK’s only Black ballet company  — has been forced to move into a church with no showers, and they now need to raise £50K for renovations. Read the full story here. You can also read our senior editor Natalie’s piece on Ballet Black here.

• This brilliant essay by an ex-doctor, which offers a glimpse into the reality of empathy burnout, was published in the most recent issue of The Fence. Once again, our engagement producer Ella says this one is best enjoyed in print with a hot beverage, but it is also available online for those less inclined.

• In an update to the lawsuit brought against Andrew and Tristan Tate by four UK women, as reported by The Lead last year — prosecutors have confirmed for the first time the full list of 21 charges Andrew and Tristan Tate will face when they are returned to the UK, including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking. Read more here.

• For anyone interested in the gory details of Farage’s nonsense budget, the Financial Times ran a great piece unpicking the costs of his promises and the savings of his proposed cuts. We repeat: of course they don’t add up.

At The Lead we’re dedicated to telling stories beyond the bright lights of London and Manchester (although sometimes we still will). We have dedicated journalists and titles in Blackpool, Lancashire, Calderdale, Teesside and Southport bringing in-depth news and features twice-a-week to those communities. Each weekend we’ll give you a snapshot of what’s making the headlines beyond the urbane comfort of North London types…

• Channel 4 was forced to apologise after using the Southport killer’s mugshot as part of an advertising campaign on Facebook. The broadcaster had been accused of making a “sick joke” with its inappropriate use of the Axel Rudakubana custody image. In response, it told The Southport Lead it had been used in error and taken down.

• Town hall bosses could force even more people out of their homes as part of ambitious plans to transform swathes of central Blackpool – one of the country’s poorest areas – to tackle poverty and dilapidation. Residents are at risk of being evicted if their properties are not sold voluntarily. The revelation comes months after the council was granted powers, following a two-week public inquiry, to push the last residents out of their homes close to the proposed Multiversity site beside Sainsbury’s in the town centre. This was particularly controversial after The Blackpool Lead's investigation uncovered details regarding the death of Alistair Taylor, who had been tied into a long dispute with the council over the prospect of moving out of his home.

Thank you for reading our weekend edition of The Lead, it’s great to have you with us.

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Natalie, Luke, Ella, Ed, Zoe, and The Lead team