The tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak casts a long shadow over the housing sector and is sure to do so for a very long time – and rightly so. The coroner’s mid-November 2022 report concluded that the child’s death was due to a severe respiratory condition caused by “prolonged exposure” to mould in his home. Consequently, landlords are now obliged to submit evidence to the Regulator of Public Housing “to show that they have systems in place to identify and deal with damp and mould in homes” by the 19th December 2022.
Morally speaking, of course, there’s no excuse for landlords failing to take such measures to protect all tenants – especially vulnerable ones, such as the very young and the very old. But as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities of the United Kingdom Michael Gove implores landlords to “absorb lessons” from Awaab Ishak’s death, new, far more stringent sanctions are in force. These include the removal of funding from Housing Associations and to failures under the Decent Homes Standard and the Home Standard. In her recent letters to large and small social housing providers, Fiona MacGregor, the Chief Executive of the Regulator of Social Housing emphasised then importance of listening to tenants’ concerns and responding quickly and effectively.
All of which may sound very daunting to the lone landlord with single property for rent or perhaps a modest portfolio. After all, without conducting expensive surveys on a regular basis, who can be 100% sure their properties are totally damp-free and mould-free? After all, if new sanctions on property owners who fail to provide the requisite proof of ‘systems in place’ aren’t enough of a worry, the idea that hidden flaws in your tenants’ homes might cause serious illness or even death certainly is.
With that in mind, the concept of Guaranteed Rent for Landlords might start looking very attractive indeed. The fact that providers like us at Abel Living give you guaranteed rental income every month without fail for a fixed period of 3 – 5 years isn’t the only reason. Even more importantly for your own peace of mind, it means you hand over responsibility for all legislative compliance along with the keys when you sign up – including the requirement to have a damp and mould system in place! Better still, you have added peace of mind in the knowledge that you’re helping to ease the nation’s severe shortage of social housing.