Residential landlords may be forced to fix problems with homes within a set time frame, under new proposed legislation.
Social landlords would be obliged to investigate hazards within 14 days, start fixing within a further seven days, and make emergency repairs within 24 hours.
Those who fail to meet the proposed legal requirements could end up in court, under proposals which were published for consultation from Tuesday.
The rules were released as part of a consultation on planned legislation named after Awaab Ishak, the three-year-old boy who died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his housing association home in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
Levelling up secretary Michael Gove said: “Today is about stronger and more robust action against social landlords who have refused to take their basic responsibilities seriously for far too long. We will force them to fix their homes within strict new time limits and take immediate action to tackle dangerous damp and mould to help prevent future tragedies.”
In a separate development, Clarion Housing, the UK’s largest housing association, was ordered to pay £10,800 to households in London and Kent, after being found guilty of “severe maladministration” in three separate cases by the Housing Ombudsman.
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