Awaab Ishak died of a severe respiratory condition resulting from prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s Rochdale flat
Progress on retrofitting social homes must accelerate if the sector is to hit new minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) by 2030, MPs have warned.
In a new report, published on 9 February, the Commons housing, communities and local government committee says it is ‘not acceptable’ that around 430,000 socially rented homes in England still fail the Decent Homes Standard, which was introduced by a Labour government more than 25 years ago.
The report says progress on retrofitting social homes ‘needs to accelerate’ if the sector is to upgrade the remaining homes to the required MEES by the government’s target of 2030. The government is not yet providing sufficient clarity to the sector on the funding available for retrofits over the course of the parliament, it adds.
The committee also backs the government’s phased implementation of Awaab’s Law to improve safety in social housing.
Named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died of a severe respiratory condition resulting from prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s Rochdale flat, the new law means social landlords must focus on tackling the most dangerous hazards first.
The committee says phased rollout of the law may help mitigate the risk that some landlords diverting resources from the services for more vulnerable tenants in order to comply with the regulations.
However, it says the government must urgently set and publish the timeline for extending Awaab’s Law to all remaining hazards to give tenants and social landlords clarity about when they can expect the new regulations to apply.
The report also recommends that the government should establish a new, modern Decent Homes Programme.
