Riverside tenants "terrified to return" to their homes after medical reports
According to Greater Manchester Tenants Union, Riverside Senior management are refusing to meet with them to discuss the cases
Last updated 24th Jun 2025
Greater Manchester Tenants Union report people living in Middleton are ‘terrified’ to return their children to their Riverside houses.
The union claims doctors have confirmed exposure to the living conditions are creating lifelong medical conditions in children.
According to the Union, Riverside Senior management are refusing to meet with them to discuss the cases and are instead directing tenants to the Housing Ombudsman instead.
The Union are worried for tenants living in the social housing: "One tenant has been living in ‘decant accommodation’ for over six months with her 12 year old son suffering from a sensory processing disorder and 10 year old daughter with extensive skin lesions.
"She has been complaining to Riverside about living conditions at the property since 2019 when the chimney breast collapsed twice in one year.
"When the kitchen in her home was in danger of collapsing into a sinkhole that opened into the sewers below, Riverside attempted to fix the issue, but managed to seal a nest of rats inside the house. The children were terrified as they heard the rats gnawing through the walls.
"The family have been diagnosed with chronic asthma, rhinitis and severe dermatitis, and the daughter has suffered from bronchitis since birth. Damaged asbestos discovered in the property has now been added to the list of dangerous exposures the family has faced."
Riverside tenants will be protesting outside the Housing 2025 event at Manchester Central today (24 June).
A spokesperson for Riverside said:
“We remain committed to delivering good services to our customers, however we know we don’t always get things right and are sorry if there are occasions when we have let customers down, we always ensure we put things right and learn from any failures.
“We remain open to having transparent and constructive dialogue with GMTU and have met with them a number of times over the last two years. We have invited our customers to meet one on one, or with GMTU as a tenant advocate.
“In response to the challenges presented by damp and mould, we have made a number of service improvements at Riverside, including a dedicated team which prioritise cases and ensure we act quickly and decisively.
“Recently we invested over £3m on new kitchens, boilers, window and roof replacements on the Langley estate alongside £1.3m to improve insulation and ventilation in over 200 homes.
“But we know there is much more to be done to help our customers and will continue to prioritise investment in our homes and communities.
“We continue to encourage customers who have concerns about their home to get in touch with us through their local housing officer, our customer contact centre or My Riverside App.”