£15m damp repairs in 4,400 homes nearly finished

A £15m programme to fix damp and mould in some of the region's worst affected social housing is nearing completion.

More than 4,400 homes have been treated under the West Midland Combined Authority's (WMCA) Social Housing Decency Fund.

The work has been prompted by the forthcoming Awaab's Law, which will be introduced by the government later this year.

Social housing landlords such as councils and housing associations will have to investigate and fix black mould and damp within strict timelines.

Two-year-old Awaab Ishak died from mould exposure at his Rochdale home in 2020.

Abdikadar Ali and his family had experienced similar damp and mould issues in their council home in Bordesley Green, but have now seen the problems fixed.

Previously, the family saw damp on the walls and mould coming up from skirting boards in the bedrooms and they had to constantly ventilate rooms.

However, they struggled to solve the problem because of cold temperatures and the fact his wife's asthma was made worse by the conditions.

He and his wife live in the property with their three children, six-year-old son Zayd and daughter Sara, aged three, and two-month-old boy Zakariya.

"[We'd] open windows during the day time but it's very cold and you can't have kids sleeping in a cold room," Mr Ali said.

"We'd be painting, thinking that by painting we'd be getting rid of the issue, but it would be coming back constantly and [was] very problematic."

Since the work has been carried out however, he said there has been no return of the problems.

"I feel much better and I don't have to worry any more about how it's affecting our health. It's made a big difference," Mr Ali added.

English Housing Survey figures show there are around 90,000 homes in the West Midlands that fail to meet modern decency standards.

Around 60,000 of these are privately rented and 30,000 are social homes for rent, owned by councils or housing associations.

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker said "It can't be right that in 2025, in one of the world's richest countries, there are thousands of children living in cold, damp and mouldy homes.

"The tragic death of Awaab Ishak is a stark reminder of the dangers of mould, especially for young children.

"Unfortunately, too many people have to live in old, substandard homes because of the region's housing crisis.

"That's why my priority is to build thousands of new social and affordable homes."

But he said current social housing must be upgraded and a start had been made but more needed to be done.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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