A two-year-old’s death was caused by mould in the social housing property he lived in with his parents, a coroner has ruled.

Awaab Ishak died in 2020 after his father, Faisal Abdullah, repeatedly raised concerns about the presence of mould in the property with social landlord Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH).

Senior coroner Joanne Kearsley said: “Awaab Ishak died as a result of a severe respiratory condition caused due to prolonged exposure to mould in his home environment.

“Action to treat and prevent the mould was not taken. His respiratory condition led to respiratory arrest. I’m sure I’m not alone in having thought: how does this happen? How, in the UK in 2020, does a two-year-old child die from exposure to mould in his home?

“The tragic death of Awaab will, and should, be a defining moment for the housing sector in terms of increasing knowledge, increasing awareness and a deepening of understanding surrounding the issue of damp and mould.”

Faisal Abdullah first raised concerns with RBH about the mould in 2017 and was told to paint over it, which he did on several occasions.

Housing secretary Michael Gove has called the toddler’s death an “unacceptable tragedy”.

In a statement, RBH’s Chief Executive Gareth Swarbrick said: “I am truly devastated about Awaab’s death and the things we got wrong. We know that nothing we can say will bring Awaab back or be of any consolation to his family. We have and will continue to learn hard lessons from this.

“We didn’t recognise the level of risk to a little boy’s life from the mould in the family’s home. We allowed a legal disrepair process to get in the way of promptly tackling the mould. We must make sure this can never happen again. Awaab’s death needs to be a wake-up call for everyone in housing, social care and health.

“We will take responsibility for sharing what we have learnt about the impact to health of damp, condensation and mould with the social housing sector and beyond.”