Last updated: 12th September 2025
As of 20th July 2023, the much-anticipated Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 (the Act) received Royal Assent and became law, paving the way for the most significant social housing reforms in over a decade. The Act brings positive change and transformation within the social housing sector by strengthening tenants’ rights and ensuring they live in safe, good quality homes devoid of health risks posed by building hazards.
Awaab’s Law introduces strict new legal duties for social landlords to identify, investigate and resolve hazards in tenants’ homes within set timeframes. The law will come into effect on 27th October 2025 and follows the government’s June 2025 implementation guidance.
The Act emerged from the Social Housing Green Paper, as a direct result of the Grenfell Tower disaster in 2017. It makes provision for increased regulator intervention, including powers to issue uncapped fines to landlords; and ‘performance improvement plan notices’ if landlords fail to meet repair standards. Most notably, the Act introduces Awaab’s Law, a legal obligation for landlords to act promptly on housing hazards, which plays a crucial role in the government's social housing reforms.
Since 2010, the quality of social housing has been consistently improving, with a reduction in the proportion of non-decent social rented homes from 20% in 2010 to 10% in 2021. The government’s Levelling Up White Paper pledged to reduce non-decency in rented homes by 50% by 2030. Awaab’s Law will help to achieve this goal by ensuring landlords are taking action on hazards within specified timeframes.
Confident with your responsibilities around damp and mould? Or perhaps you’d like a reminder?
Find out how you should be adapting to the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 and Awaab's Law with our free 'Landlord's Guide to Damp, Mould, and Condensation'.
Awaab's Law will come into force for the social housing sector on 27th October 2025, with a phased implementation approach:
Draft guidance has been published by the government to help landlords prepare here. Finalised guidance will be released in October, ahead of the law coming into force.
Despite these confirmed timelines, several legislative and practical questions remain unanswered, particularly around which specific hazards fall under each phase and what will be classed as an 'emergency hazard'.
A “significant hazard” is one that “presents a significant risk of harm to the health or safety of a tenant.”
Register for our next free live webinar, 'Damp, Mould, and Awaab's Law: How the sector is responding', on Tuesday 21st October at 12pm to discover the findings from our damp, mould, and condensation research with Housemark and benchmark your organisation against others across the sector.
Awaab's Law is an amendment to UK housing legislation, proposed in honour of the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in December 2020. Awaab suffered respiratory issues caused by prolonged exposure to black mould in his home. The family reported the mould as a severe health risk to their social housing provider who failed to deal with the issues and root cause of the mould, and they and campaigners highlighted the injustice that social housing tenants can face and the necessity for legal provisions to be implemented.
This landmark law will be the most significant change to how the sector operates in the past decade, as the first piece of legislation to introduce timescales that hazards must be addressed within and is an important step towards protecting tenants and preventing other tragedies from happening in the future.
For more expert insight on Awaab's Law, catch up on our on-demand webinar, 'Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) 101'. Our experts discussed the upcoming changes to damp and mould regulations and next steps for landlords to ensure compliance with the requirements of Awaab's Law.
Awaab's Law Timescales
Social landlords must:
Within 3 working days of any investigation concluding, landlords must issue a written summary (unless the hazard has already been fully resolved). This must state:
Failure to meet these obligations can leave a landlord in breach of the law unless they can show they used all reasonable endeavours.
Appointing a qualified, third-party damp and mould surveyor will ensure you can meet these new timeframes and stay complaint. Our experts are on hand to help you navigate your damp and mould hazards with our specialist Damp and Mould Surveys tailored to your building's needs. Don't just take it from us; discover how we helped Bolton at Home to undertake 800 urgent Damp and Mould Surveys here.
A hazard is in scope if it:
a) Is part of a building or land the landlord is responsible for
b) Falls within the landlord’s control to repair
c) Is not the result of tenant breach of contract
d) Arises from defects, disrepair or lack of maintenance
e) Is classed as a significant or emergency hazard
Unlike the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), hazards do not need to reach Category 1 level. Awaab’s Law requires a person-centred assessment: landlords must consider the tenant’s health, vulnerabilities and circumstances. For example, damp and mould could be a significant hazard for an elderly tenant with respiratory illness, even if it scores as Category 2 under HHSRS.
Once that threshold is met landlords must:
Discover more on the upcoming changes to damp and mould regulations, including HHSRS and Awaab's Law, in our webinar, 'Preparing for Change: HHSRS, Damp, Mould, and Condensation', on-demand now.
Whilst Awaab's Law primarily applies to social landlords, on 17th July 2024, the government announced a new Renters' Rights Bill which will extend Awaab's Law to the private rented sector.
Applying Awaab's Law to temporary accommodation is also being consulted on to achieve the best outcomes.
The Scottish Government has also announced its intention to amend the Housing (Scotland) Bill, expanding ministers' powers to set timeframes for social landlords to investigate disrepair and begin repairs.
Awaab’s Law will form part of the social housing tenancy agreement, meaning tenants will be able to hold their landlord to account if they fail to comply. Failure to adhere to the required timescales would make the landlord liable for breach of tenancy, resulting in fines or legal action, in addition to being responsible for putting their tenant’s safety at risk. The Act also makes provision for requiring the landlord to provide safe alternative accommodation for the tenant, at no cost to them.
Understanding your tenants’ rights regarding damp and mould is vital for ensuring a safe living environment. For more information about what your tenants' rights are, read our dedicated blog here.
Hazards, including damp and mould, must be repaired and monitored to ensure they have been eradicated from the property and the root cause addressed. It is important to note that while urgent repairs must be completed within the specified timeframe, given the recurring nature of damp and mould, it is important for landlords to return to the property in the following months to ensure the root cause remediation was effective. The underlying cause of damp and mould could also be linked to the building construction; therefore, to conduct a thorough investigation and treatment of the mould, the property may need further investigation and monitoring.
The “clock” begins the moment a landlord becomes aware of a potential hazard (Day 0). Awareness may come from:
Timeframes start the next working day (Day 1).
There are four types of investigation:
Investigations must be carried out by competent staff or specialists with the relevant knowledge and skills.
If a hazard is confirmed:
If supplementary preventative works cannot be started within 5 working days (due to specialist labour, materials, or regulatory approvals), steps must still be taken within 5 days to arrange them. Works must begin within 12 weeks.
Speaking at the Housing Community Summit during a panel on the roll-out of the new law, Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway warned delegates that bolting Awaab's Law on to existing policies will not work. He commented: "one of the things we really need to avoid with Awaab’s Law is the kind of Frankenstein procedures where [it] is just bolted on as an extra thing, or to an existing process or into an existing policy, because that will create a monster", highlighting the need for Awaab's Law to be carefully considered and integrated within your approach.
Here are some key next steps that you should be taking now: