This briefing examines why the social housing sector must be more proactive in tackling disrepair following the death of Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old boy who tragically passed away from a respiratory condition caused by “extensive” mould exposure in the Rochdale Boroughwide Housing-owned (RBH) property where he lived. The case highlighted existing inequalities as well as issues of discrimination and social exclusion within the sector generally. The government’s recent guidance on damp and mould is a direct response to the coroner’s report on the case.