The human rights of Grenfell Tower residents were breached by the council and central government before the disaster that killed 72 people, according to a hard-hitting report by the government’s own equalities watchdog.

Residents’ rights to life and adequate housing were contravened before the fire started on 14 June 2017, including by allowing the use of combustible cladding and allocating flats high in the building to elderly and disabled people, many of whom died.

After a 15-month investigation, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said “the state either knew, or ought to have known, of the real and immediate risk to life posed by the cladding on Grenfell Tower”, and that regulation had failed and that it had also failed to tell residents about the dangers they faced.

It also criticised official handling of the fire’s aftermath, citing witnesses who alleged that the response of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Home Office had been “overshadowed by racism”.

The body has a statutory duty to promote awareness of and protection of human rights in the UK, and its inquiry is the first into the disaster to conclude.

It came as frustration grows among some of the bereaved and survivors at what they consider to be the slow pace of the main public inquiry. Hearings for the second phase of the inquiry investigating the causes of the disaster won’t start this year and police said last week that any decision on possible manslaughter and corporate manslaughter charges is not expected before 2021.

“Everyone has the right to life and the right to safe adequate housing, but the residents of Grenfell Tower were tragically let down by the public bodies that had a duty to protect them,” said David Isaac, the chairman of the EHRC.

The EHRC pointed the finger at the central government and at Kensington and Chelsea, which owned the tower. It said the use of combustible cladding raised questions about “whether the UK has met its duty to protect life”. It warned that, with 354 high-rise residential and public buildings with ACM cladding yet to be fixed, “the failure to protect lives and violation of article 2 [of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to life)] continues”.

“Grenfell raises many questions about the suitability of the housing in the tower, for example, placing older, vulnerable and disabled people on upper floors,” it said. “Many of the people killed by the fire were older people who were housed at height.”

Firefighters have told the inquiry they did not know how to tackle the fire in the building’s cladding, and the watchdog said the government would be in breach of its duties under the European convention on human rights if it did not train firefighters to do so. It must also reconsider stay-put policies for buildings with similar cladding. Many Grenfell residents died after following advice to stay in their flats which was based on any fire remaining being contained.

Other issues that could amount to breaches of human rights include a lack of planning for what to do with evacuated residents, poor and sometimes non-existent consultation with residents and that “responsible authorities did not make reasonable adjustments for disabled people living in Grenfell Tower”.

It said: “The state has failed, and continues to fail, to meet its equality and non-discrimination obligations, in particular in relation to disabled people, older people, women and children and, in particular, ethnic minority groups.”

In response, officials at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government stressed that ministers are determined to ensure a tragedy like Grenfell can never happen again, that it is reforming building regulations and has has banned combustible cladding on high-rise residential buildings, as well as hospitals, residential care homes and student halls.

“There is nothing more important than ensuring people are safe in their homes and those affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy receive the support they need,” a spokesperson said. “The government is committed to supporting the community in the long term and ensuring those affected get the justice they deserve.”

Cllr Elizabeth Campbell, the leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, said it would learn from the report. “That is part of our commitment in making sure Grenfell never happens again, whatever it takes and whatever the consequences for the council.”