Room for All: Mould as Power and the Ongoing Research into Housing Distress
- Christabelle Quaynor
- 11 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Last October, we hosted our housing launch event, Room for All, as part of our series on housing reform. Dedicated to Awaab Ishak’s memory, the two-year-old boy who died of a mould infestation in his social housing flat in Rochdale, the event focused on lived experiences to illustrate what safe housing should look like and how stories can be translated into meaningful recommendations for policymakers.
A group of researchers, Dr Nikita Simpson, Dr Liz Storer and Dr Suad Dale, attended our event and examined how the UK’s hostile environment and housing policies disproportionately affect Somali families in Birmingham through precarious accommodation, showing how overcrowding, mould and damp become sources of ill-health, racialised blame and state neglect. We also shared their research film, Hooyo’s Walls, which centred Somali women and their personal stories of how finding a home evokes historic experiences of multiple displacements. Their stories explored themes of children spending their formative years in unstable accommodation, the effects of damp and unsafe housing on health, and the wider impacts on bodily distress and mental wellbeing – which was met with a round of applause from our audience.
Using this research and Awaab’s story, Voice4Change England explored the distress of mould, one of the most revealing symbols of the housing crisis. On the surface, mould is a maintenance issue. A problem for the landlord, something you report and wait to get fixed. But when you look at who is living with mould and damp, it is disproportionately Black and Minoritised Ethnic households, often in overcrowded, poorly maintained private rentals or social housing. The New Economics Foundation frames mould as a symbol of broader race and housing inequalities. This is due to a combination of factors: Black and Minoritised Ethnic groups are more likely to live in older, poorer-quality housing, temporary accommodation, or deprived inner-city areas; a higher proportion live in social or rented accommodation, which often suffers from disrepair and poor ventilation; and lower-income households are more likely to struggle to heat their homes adequately, directly leading to increased condensation and mould growth.
Mould materialises. It is in the air people breathe, it harms physical and mental health, and it is a source of chronic stress: the worry, the repairs that never come, the feeling that your complaints don’t matter. This stress is deeply embedded within the UK’s housing crisis, especially when you consider over 31% of UK residents report mould as an ongoing issue in their homes. Research also suggests a strong association between exposure to dampness/mould in the home and poorer mental and emotional health.
Mould also has a political dimension, linked to the UK’s hostile environment. Policies are intentionally designed to make life difficult for migrants and people with insecure immigration status, meaning people are less likely to complain, less likely to report disrepair, more likely to endure dangerous conditions in silence out of fear.
It is the housing crisis, experienced in the body.
Dr Nikita Simpson, Dr Liz Storer and Dr Suad Dale have continued their research into housing distress, including the psychological harms of temporary accommodation and how kinship, housing, labour, migration, race, technology and care shape people’s everyday experiences across different societies:
Listening to Housing Distress: A methodology for understanding housing and mental health in context which explores the conceptual and methodological approach for understanding the mental health impacts of the UK’s housing crisis: https://soas-repository.worktribe.com/output/373075/listening-to-housing-distress-a-methodology-for-understanding-housing-and-mental-health-in-context?__cf_chl_tk=oJbznGG1o0lctBLNEi61XowR.z.SG6mAWTk3rCorQIM-1786709060-1.0.1.1-gRqXNyFBVVghLaUMgc.2YUlEK6lZttRrarPFxC3NtRs
Social Science and Medicine, explores the multiple forms of distress generated through temporary accommodation: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953625009128
Society and Space, examines mould in relation to health impacts and claims-making: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02637758251386715
Cultural Anthropology, explores what homelessness means for marginalised people resident in Temporary Accommodation in Britain: Cultural Anthropology
Hooya’s Walls documentary which spotlights the experiences of housing disrepair and instability, and their emotional, psychological and political effects of Somali women in Birmingham: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy96nLqnW2I
Further resources:
If you live in social housing, your landlord will be required to address mould infestations in your property within a strict timeframe under Awaab’s Law (2025). Read more here: Awaab’s Law: Guidance for social landlords - Timeframes for repairs in the social rented sector - GOV.UK
The Renter’s Rights Act 2026 introduces obligations that bring damp and mould from the margins of property management to its legal centre. Read more here: What is the Renter’s Rights Act 2026? | Guide to Mould in UK Homes | Ideal Response
Here is a free online training designed to help you confidently and professionally support your local community with advice on social housing complaints and Awaab’s Law: Student Registration – Make Things Right
To read more about Voice4Change England’s housing advocacy, please click here.
Here is a guidance by The Guardian to help prevent mould in housing: Mouldy Britain: a foolproof guide to rescuing your home from damp | Homes | The Guardian
To get involved in our housing advocacy and policy influence, which is under our Horizons London Programme, please contact our Policy Manager, Christabelle Quaynor at christabelle@voice4change-england.co.uk.
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