Mayor calls for tougher housing regulations after toddler's death
Andy Burnham's backed calls for "Awaab's Law" but says it should go further
Last updated 22nd Nov 2022
The Mayor of Greater Manchester has backed calls for tougher regulations on housing standards in the wake of the death of Awaab Ishak.
Last week a coroner ruled the two-year-old died as a result of mould in the flat he was living in.
Since then, there has been increased scrutiny of the housing sector. The Chief Executive of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, who were responsible for the flat, was sacked just days after vowing he wouldn't resign.
In the latest intervention, Andy Burnham has backed calls for "Awaab's Law" and said it should go further.
In a press conference warning of an expected increase in rough sleeping this week due to the cost of living crisis, the Mayor called for a 'Greater Manchester Good Landlords Charter.'
"40% of homes in the private rented sector in Greater Manchester are beneath the decent homes standard"
He said: "We are meeting today with the shadow of Awaab's death and all of the issues around it hanging over us. No child should ever be living or growing up in conditions like those.
"I think good safe housing should be a human right in UK law, you can't have anything without a good home.
"I think the Secretary of State deserves credit for taking quite a strong stance on some of these issues. There appears to be some drive now to raise standards in social housing but there's the private rented sector too.
"We estimate that around 40% of homes in the private rented sector in Greater Manchester are beneath the decent homes standard, that can't possibly be allowed to continue.
"We are in discussions with the government about a devolution deal, greater powers over housing is very much part of our ask.
"We want to agree with the Secretary of State powers to underpin a Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter in the same way we've got a Good Employment charter to make this a moment of real change."