“I don’t want to ever see other people go through what I went through.”

The South Yorkshire Mayor must declare an emergency in unhealthy homes in the region and use strengthened powers to tackle a crisis of mouldy and damp living conditions, campaigners have said.

Renters and community groups in the Powerful South Yorkshire campaign are calling on Oliver Coppard to fund enforcement against the region’s worst landlords, and encourage councils in Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster to use new powers available to them.

49-year-old Iris Blackthorn, from Bentley in Doncaster, said: “I have been street homeless a very long time ago, but also found myself homeless with my children.

“I ended up going into a home with mould and damp and cold with children in tow… At one point my daughter had lived in more homes than she was years-old.

Iris Blackthorn (pictured) was once homeless with her children. | Powerful South Yorkshire

placeholder image — Iris Blackthorn (pictured) was once homeless with her children. | Powerful South Yorkshire

“The impact that has on your health. I really struggled and wasn’t able to work for a while. The impact on children’s health and education. How can you learn properly without a good home?”

She praised Mayor Coppard’s Beds For Babies campaign, but said the combined authority has to do more.

“Providing a cot or moses basket is all well and good, but what if that room has got damp and mould,” Iris said.

“It’s important to me to support this campaign because I don’t want to ever see other people go through what I went through, because who would want that for anybody? As a mother, who would want that for children?

“I’m coming to this from personal experience of homelessness and poor housing and that effect that that had on me and many people that I know.

Campaigners are calling on Oliver Coppard to fund enforcement on unhealthy homes. | 3rd party

“You’re never that far away from being in that situation. When I became homeless, with the children, I had been married, I had a mortgage, but it was a relationship breakdown that made that change.”

Powerful South Yorkshire is being supported by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), a progressive think tank based in London.

NEF organiser Heather Kennedy said South Yorkshire had some of the worst housing conditions she had seen in Little London, Maltby.

She said: “I’ve been working on that estate for three years and I have just seen people get sicker and sicker.

Campaigners said housing conditions in Little London were some of the worst they had seen. | Powerful South Yorkshire

“We have seen some awful conditions and if that’s not worst case scenario, I don’t know what is.”

In 2023, the Conservative Government under Rishi Sunak introduced Awaab’s Law, which required social landlords to investigate and fix severe health and safety hazards within a strict timeframe.

It was named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died in 2020 due to prolonged exposure to black mould in his family’s home.

The Renters Right Act, being introduced by the current Labour Government, will extend Awaab’s law to the private rented sector.

Powerful South Yorkshire is said to be campaigning for the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to provide “funding enforcement against the worst landlords, making clear that councils will use their new powers under the Renters Rights Act, and supporting a community right-to-buy so people – not speculators – have first claim on our homes”.

Andrew Bramidge, executive director of regeneration and environment at Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, said: “Rotherham Council takes the condition of housing in the borough very seriously and is committed to improving standards across all tenures.

“We operate a proportionate and risk-based enforcement policy, which means we work proactively with landlords to resolve issues at an early stage wherever possible. Formal enforcement action is taken where necessary, particularly where there is a risk to tenants’ health and safety or where landlords fail to engage.

“We are aware of the concerns raised about housing conditions in parts of the borough, including Little London, and we have been actively working in those areas. This includes targeted inspections, engagement with landlords and tenants, and the use of enforcement powers where standards fall below legal requirements.

“We welcome the focus on improving housing conditions across South Yorkshire and will continue to work with partners, including SYMCA, to ensure residents have access to safe, warm and decent homes.”

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands Mayor Coppard is meeting with Powerful South Yorkshire campaigners on June 19, 2026, to discuss their concerns.