Another child sick after living in squalor: When will the government wake up to Britain’s housing crisis?

The case of a four-year-old girl hospitalised after living in mould-ridden squalor, revealed today by The Independent, is the latest example of a UK housing crisis that gets less attention from our politicians and media than it deserves.

Zainab Hamid suffered breathing problems as a result of the black mould covering the walls and ceilings of a one-bedroomed housing association flat in Westminster – a reminder that rich and poor live cheek by jowl in some parts of this country. Thankfully, her family was told they will move into new accommodation – but only after we highlighted the issue.

Other families living in conditions that should shame Britain were not so fortunate. Two-year-old Awaab Ishak died in 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by mould at a one-bedroom housing association flat in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. His parents had repeatedly complained about the conditions.

It was not an isolated case. The Regulator of Social Housing estimates that about 8,000 homes in England have serious damp and mould problems that would fail the Decent Homes Standard.

The Independent has revealed how minority ethnic families are being hit hardest, with more than 80 per cent of Black and Asian renters forced to live in disrepair over the past 12 months.

Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary with responsibility for housing, grasped the seriousness of the tragedy in Rochdale. He has announced “Awaab’s law”, amending a bill implementing a long-awaited charter for social housing residents to require social landlords to fix hazards, such as damp and mould, in their homes within strict time limits. New government guidance will be issued to landlords this summer about the health risks from damp and mould.

While these moves are commendable, they are long overdue. It should not have taken such an unspeakable tragedy as Awaab’s to force the issue onto the government’s agenda. Mr Gove’s personal commitment to tackling such problems is not in doubt; since the Conservatives came to power in 2010 he has been one of the more effective performers in an often lacklustre, ever-changing cast of ministers. It is no wonder the Tories’ record on housing is patchy when we have had 15 housing ministers in the past 13 years.

However, there is a real doubt whether Mr Gove’s determination is shared across the government as a whole. The Treasury reined in his spending commitments, so that it now approves every capital project, after he pledged £30bn to improve substandard housing in the wake of Awaab’s death. Downing Street has delayed and diluted Mr Gove’s plan to abolish the antiquated, feudal system of leaseholds. It will now be reformed rather than scrapped.

Mr Gove has produced long overdue proposals to improve the rights of 11 million renters in England, including a ban on “no fault evictions”. That is to be welcomed. But private landlords will not be covered by “Awaab’s law”. They should be: according to Citizen’s Advice, more than half of England’s private renters, some 2.7 million households (with 1.6 million children) suffer problems with damp, mould or excessive cold – a problem exacerbated by soaring energy bills.

As well as improving conditions in public and private housing, the government should be doing much more to ensure more affordable homes are built. There are 1.4 million fewer households living in social housing than in 1980 and 1 million on waiting lists.

Many poor families live in private rented accommodation and the housing benefit bill is £23bn a year. It would be more efficient to invest some of that money into building more social homes. Pledges to replace those sold to tenants under the Right to Buy scheme have not achieved their targets.

Ministers are fixated on raising the declining rate of home ownership but there are estimates that the number of new homes in England will drop from 233,000 to 156,000 a year after Rishi Sunak bowed to pressure from his party’s “nimby tendency” by scrapping compulsory housebuilding targets for local authorities.

Mr Sunak wants to bring in a new “help to buy” scheme for first-time buyers but he should take note of the strong public support for more social housing, including among 71 per cent of 2019 Tory voters.

With a general election looming, the government appears to have belatedly woken up to the political implications of “generation rent”. It would be wise to remember that many voters want to see justice throughout the housing system, including for those who rely on social housing.