Awaab Ishak: Bullying, intimidating and dismissive attitude towards tenants from landlord - report

A report into the Rochdale housing agency responsible for the flat where two-year-old Awaab Ishak was living before he died as a result of respiratory problems caused by mould has been blasted in a damning new report which claims staff there had a "bullying", "intimidating", and "dismissive" attitude towards tenants.

It also says staff assumed problems with some tenant's houses were based on assumptions of their behaviour due to their ethnicity which led to a "culture of ‘othering’" and a "pattern of exclusion and marginalisation" at the housing association.

Awaab Ishak, two, died just after his second birthday in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by mould in the one-bedroom housing association flat where he lived with his parents, Faisal Abdullah and Aisha Amin, in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

A new thirty-one-page report into Rochdale Boroughwide Housing which has been published by the UK Housing Ombudsman found a culture of blaming residents for damp and mould problems and staff who "held prejudices, lazy assumptions and an attitude towards asylum seekers and refugees that is wholly unacceptable."

The report says there was an "inappropriate tone" where "a resident’s lifestyle was often used as a reason to dismiss their concerns and apportion blame." This meant the landlord failed to act to improve dangerous housing conditions that were no fault of the residents.

"A pattern of exclusion and marginalisation"

It also adds it found "a culture of ‘othering’ of the residents lies at the heart of the issues in Rochdale Boroughwide Housing" adding that there was a "pattern of exclusion and marginalisation" at the housing association.

Several examples of this behaviour are given including staff at RBH suggesting, without evidence, the problems in the Ishak's flat were caused by "ritual bathing", and "boiling food in pans on the stove."

Staff from the housing association also passed comments on families in their houses such as "it is likely they feel the cold of an English winter."

The report says: "In the case of Awaab’s family... the landlord focused entirely on the way his parents were using their home without considering if there was anything about the home that was contributing to the problems.

"This assumption was based entirely on a member of staff’s previous, irrelevant, interactions with other people in the same block of flats."

It adds "This assumption appears to have been based entirely on the presence of a bucket, some water damage to the bath panel and that Awaab’s family had ethnic similarities to the other people the member of staff had encountered who did ritual bathe."

"Most of the residents were refugees and they are lucky they have a roof over their head."

Other comments made by staff about the family included:

'When people come to this country and go through the asylum process...everything is done for them in terms of cleaning and so they expect it when they are moving into accommodation and that they can call housing services to come and clean the place for them.'

A former staff member also told the investigation when she raised the issue of the mould with her manager she was told: 'most of the residents were refugees and they are lucky they have a roof over their head'.

As well as assumptions about ethnicity, the report goes on to describe other instances where residents experienced "disrespect or a dismissive attitude when trying to engage with the landlord."

In one instance a man who identifies as Black Asian was told he couldn't have work done to his garden because "RBH don't do gardens" without further explanation despite his white neighbour "was having fences erected, paving put down and a garden gate hung."

He also said RBH staff visited unannounced on several occasions despite asking them to stop, including one during Eid.

In another case a woman who'd suffered a brain injury told the investigation she felt "bullied and intimidated" by the landlord and that after submitting a noise complaint about an upstairs flat they told her "she must be hearing things because of her brain injury."

The report says widespread change across the organisation is needed citing that only "culture change, from top to bottom" will "rectify the situation".

Review failed to find damp and mould in hundreds of homes after toddler's death

The report found that during an independent review in 2021, which was launched after the death of Awaab, RBH failed to find damp and mould in hundreds of homes. Another survey conducted in 2022 went on to find 80% of homes on the estate on which Awaab's family lived suffered from damp and mould. Of the 380 properties 12 were found to pose a serious risk of harm to their occupants.

The report says this was partly down to the fact that those reviewing the properties never actually visited the homes and conducted the reviews by telephone due to the pandemic.

Residents dehumanised because of deadlines targets and waiting lists

In conclusion, the report found RBH had a " propensity to dismiss residents and their concerns out of hand, with staff believing that they knew better and that the expectations of their residents were unreasonable."

It also says there was "a prevailing culture – a process-orientated culture that has completely lost sight of the people at the heart of the service it provides" and that residents were dehumanised "because of deadlines, targets and waiting lists."

It adds there were "databases that did not share information, extremely poor record keeping and the use of incorrect methods (email) to manage the service response."

Finally, the report raises concerns that other housing organisations could suffer from the same issues: "Our investigation into Rochdale Boroughwide Housing has found reoccurring instances of residents being treated in dismissive, inappropriate or unsympathetic ways.

"In some instances the language used was derogatory. It is highly unlikely that this endemic behaviour of ‘othering’ is isolated to a single landlord and the social housing sector as a whole should consider whether they also need to turn over the stone and do a deep dive into their culture and whether they are living their social purpose."

The report sets out a number of recommendations that should be completed by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing within three months including the publication of a 'lessons learned review' and the creation of a dedicated strategy for dealing with damp and mould.

It also says staff should be re-educated and regular refresher sessions should be introduced on how "courtesy" and "respect" as well as updated systems and guidance on how to handle residents' complaints.

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing Response

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing said:

"We would like to thank the Ombudsman service for its very thorough and balanced report. The findings in the report are sobering but not unexpected. There has been significant learning from the tragic death of Awaab Ishak, which highlighted key areas of concern within RBH.

"We have recognised that too often damp and mould was not seen as a serious issue and was attributed to a resident’s lifestyle.

At RBH we have taken significant steps since December 2022 to tackle this across our homes. But it is fair to say that this work should have started much sooner and that the scale of the issue in our homes means it will take us time to complete.

"The report also highlights concerns with the way in which residents were treated. Our residents have the right to be treated with respect and listened to and too often this wasn’t happening. We will put this right and have begun a culture shift programme across the organisation.

"There are wider lessons that we need to act upon, around the investment in our existing homes, and how this is balanced against the desperate need for more homes.

"Issues of overcrowding in homes have a detrimental effect in a lot of areas and is a significant issue within Rochdale but also across the country, with insufficient family homes to move people into. However, this should not excuse us from trying to find solutions, investigating the root cause of the damp and mould and taking action to treat it."

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