The housing association criticised over the death of toddler Awaab Ishak treated residents in ‘dismissive, inappropriate or unsympathetic’ ways, Ombudsman says.

The Housing Ombudsman’s special investigation into Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) has uncovered what it describes as a culture of ‘othering’ of the residents.

It found that the social landlord would often blame tenants for housing issues such as damp and mould, and would cite lifestyle and cultural barriers as key reasons for problems arising.

RBH’s ‘dismissive and discriminatory attitude’ was not limited to its dealings with Awaab Ishak’s family nor to damp and mould issues, according to the Ombudsman. It was also evident in cases involving general repairs, the ending of tenancies and anti-social behaviour.

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: ‘Our investigation found reoccurring instances of residents being treated in dismissive, inappropriate or unsympathetic ways. In some instances, the language used was derogatory.

‘It is highly unlikely that this endemic behaviour of ‘othering’ is isolated to a single landlord and the social housing sector should consider whether they also need to turn over the stone and do a deep dive into their culture and whether they are living their social purpose.’

The Ombudsman’s investigation also found that communications by the landlord with residents about damp and mould was ‘at times scant’ and that RBH’s record keeping faced a number of problems including missing repairs records.

Responding to the report, a Rochdale Boroughwide Housing spokesperson said: ‘The findings in the report are sobering but not unexpected. There has been significant learning from the tragic death of Awaab Ishak, which highlighted key areas of concern within RBH.

‘We have recognised that too often damp and mould was not seen as a serious issue and was attributed to a resident’s lifestyle.

‘At RBH we have taken significant steps since December 2022 to tackle this across our homes. But it is fair to say that this work should have started much sooner and that the scale of the issue in our homes means it will take us time to complete.

‘The report also highlights concerns with the way in which residents were treated. Our residents have the right to be treated with respect and listened to and too often this wasn’t happening. We will put this right and have begun a culture shift programme across the organisation.’