Awaab’s Law Explained: What Social Housing Tenants Need to Know

Awaab’s Law represents one of the most significant changes to the rights of social housing tenants in England in recent years.

The law introduces legally enforceable timeframes requiring social landlords to investigate and deal with serious hazards in tenants’ homes. It means landlords cannot simply leave potentially dangerous problems unresolved indefinitely.

For tenants living with serious damp, mould or other hazardous conditions, Awaab’s Law can provide an important route for holding their landlord to account.

Housing Disrepair Helpline helps tenants understand their options and appoints tenants with leading housing disrepair solicitors who specialise in Awaab’s Law and housing conditions claims.

Over the last 11 years, Housing Disrepair Helpline has helped more than 25,000 tenants get problems in their homes repaired and obtain compensation.

What is Awaab’s Law?

Awaab’s Law is named in memory of Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old boy who tragically died in 2020 following prolonged exposure to mould in his home.

Awaab lived with his family in social housing. His parents had repeatedly raised concerns about mould in their home before his death.

The tragedy highlighted the potentially serious consequences of damp and mould and the importance of landlords responding promptly when dangerous housing conditions are reported.

Awaab’s Law was introduced through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, which amended the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The detailed requirements are contained in the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025.

The first phase of Awaab’s Law came into force on 27 October 2025.

Importantly, the requirements are not simply recommendations or good practice. A term requiring compliance with the regulations is effectively incorporated into relevant social housing tenancy agreements. A failure to comply can therefore potentially amount to a breach of contract which a tenant can enforce through the courts.

Who does Awaab’s Law apply to?

Awaab’s Law applies to almost all social housing in England occupied under a tenancy and let by a registered provider.

This includes homes provided by:

• local authorities and councils; and
• registered housing associations and other registered providers of social housing.

It can also apply to temporary and supported accommodation provided as social housing by a registered provider where the property is occupied under a tenancy agreement.

However, the social housing provisions do not currently apply to long leaseholders, owner-occupiers or low-cost home ownership arrangements such as shared ownership, and the current social housing rules do not apply to accommodation occupied under a licence.

Different legal rights may still apply to people in those categories.

What does Awaab’s Law currently cover?

Awaab’s Law is being introduced in phases.

Phase 1 came into force on 27 October 2025 and requires social landlords to respond within specified timeframes to:

• all emergency hazards; and
• damp and mould hazards that present a significant risk of harm.

This means that not every minor patch of condensation automatically becomes an Awaab’s Law case. The circumstances and seriousness of the hazard have to be considered.

However, landlords are expected to investigate rather than simply make assumptions about the cause of damp or mould. Government guidance specifically warns landlords against dismissing damp and mould problems as being caused by a tenant’s “lifestyle”. Normal activities such as cooking, bathing, washing and drying clothes inevitably create moisture and are unlikely, by themselves, to amount to a breach of the tenancy.

What is an emergency hazard?

An emergency hazard is a hazard presenting an imminent and significant risk of harm to the health or safety of an occupier.

These are situations where waiting days or weeks for action could expose somebody to serious harm.

Importantly, whether something amounts to an emergency can depend upon the people living in the property.

For example, serious mould affecting the bedroom of a child whose asthma is being affected could require a much faster response than a less serious problem in different circumstances.

Government guidance gives examples including severe damp and mould affecting vulnerable occupants, an unsafe window creating a serious fall risk to young children, and an insecure external door where the circumstances create an immediate safety risk.

The 24-hour rule for emergency hazards

Where a landlord has reasonable grounds to believe there may be an emergency hazard, it must act extremely quickly.

The landlord must investigate the potential emergency hazard and, where an emergency hazard is identified, undertake the relevant safety work as soon as reasonably practicable.

Both the investigation and the necessary safety work must take place within 24 hours of the landlord becoming aware of the hazard.

The 24-hour period is therefore a maximum rather than a target. Some situations may require action considerably sooner.

What is a significant hazard?

A significant hazard is different from an emergency hazard.

Broadly, it is a hazard presenting a sufficiently serious risk to an occupant’s health or safety that it requires prompt action, although it does not necessarily require the immediate 24-hour emergency response.

The landlord must consider the actual circumstances of the household rather than simply looking at the physical defect in isolation.

That can include relevant information about the age, health and circumstances of the people living in the property.

The 10-working-day investigation deadline

When a landlord becomes aware of a potential significant hazard, it must investigate the problem within 10 working days.

The investigation should establish whether there is a significant or emergency hazard and, where possible, identify the work necessary to make the property safe and prevent the problem from returning.

This is important because Awaab’s Law is intended to prevent serious complaints simply remaining on a repairs system for weeks or months without proper investigation.

The landlord must provide its findings in writing

Following an investigation, the landlord will generally have to provide the tenant with a written summary within three working days.

The written summary should explain whether the investigation identified a significant or emergency hazard.

Where action is required, it should identify what action is required and provide target timescales for beginning and completing it.

Where the landlord concludes that no action is required under Awaab’s Law, it should explain that conclusion and the reasons for it.

This requirement can be particularly important for tenants because it creates a written record of what the landlord has found and what it proposes to do.

The five-working-day rule

Investigation alone is not enough.

Where an investigation identifies a significant hazard, relevant safety work must normally be completed within five working days of the investigation concluding.

The landlord must also begin, or take steps to begin, supplementary preventative work required to stop a significant or emergency hazard from recurring within five working days of the investigation concluding.

For example, simply washing mould from a wall may deal temporarily with visible mould but may not address the reason that the mould developed.

If the underlying problem is a leaking roof, defective ventilation, inadequate insulation or another building defect, further work may be required to prevent the problem from returning.

Landlords may have to address the underlying cause

This is an important part of Awaab’s Law.

Government guidance makes clear that where a hazard results from a structural defect or deficiency for which the landlord is responsible, the landlord may need to address the root cause.

For example, where damp and mould results from inadequate ventilation or poor insulation, appropriate remedial action could include improving ventilation or insulation.

A temporary mould wash should not automatically be treated as the end of the problem if the underlying defect remains and the hazardous conditions are likely to return.

What happens if permanent repairs cannot start immediately?

There will sometimes be legitimate practical reasons why substantial permanent work cannot begin within five working days.

Specialist contractors might be required. Scaffolding may have to be erected. Materials may need to be ordered or regulatory approval obtained.

Awaab’s Law takes account of these situations.

Where supplementary preventative work cannot begin within five working days, the landlord must take steps within that period to ensure that the work begins as soon as reasonably practicable.

The work must physically begin within 12 weeks of the investigation concluding, although the requirement remains to begin it as soon as reasonably practicable rather than automatically waiting 12 weeks.

The supplementary work must then be satisfactorily completed within a reasonable period.

What if the home cannot be made safe?

One of the strongest protections under Awaab’s Law concerns alternative accommodation.

If the landlord cannot make the property safe within the applicable legal timeframe, it must secure suitable alternative accommodation for the household at the landlord’s expense until the relevant safety work has been completed or the requirement otherwise comes to an end.

This can be particularly important where remaining in the property would expose a tenant or a member of their family to a serious health or safety risk.

When does the clock start?

The legal deadlines are important, so the question of when the landlord becomes aware of a problem can matter considerably.

A landlord can become aware of a potential hazard in a number of ways.

It might happen because the tenant reports it directly, but awareness can also arise through an inspection, a housing officer, maintenance staff, information from a contractor or notification from another organisation.

Government guidance specifically recognises that a tenant can also report a problem through a representative, including a solicitor, advice or support worker, friend or neighbour.

Keeping evidence of when a problem was first reported can therefore be extremely important.

Keep evidence of your reports

Tenants experiencing serious disrepair should consider keeping records showing both the condition of their home and their attempts to get the landlord to deal with it.

Useful evidence can include photographs and videos, emails, repair reference numbers, text messages, complaint correspondence, dates and times of telephone calls, inspection reports and records of contractor visits.

Where appropriate, tenants may also wish to keep evidence showing how conditions have affected members of their household.

A clear chronology can help establish when the landlord first became aware of the problem and what happened afterwards.

Awaab’s Law is expanding in November 2026

A major expansion of Awaab’s Law is due to take effect on 30 November 2026.

At present, Phase 1 covers all emergency hazards and significant damp and mould hazards.

From 30 November 2026, Phase 2 is due to extend the significant-hazard requirements to:

• damp and mould;
• excess cold;
• excess heat;
• falls, including falls on stairs and between levels;
• structural collapse;
• fire and explosions;
• electrical hazards; and
• domestic hygiene hazards, including personal hygiene and food safety.

All emergency hazards, other than overcrowding, remain within scope.

A further Phase 3 is intended to extend the requirements to the remaining Housing Health and Safety Rating System hazards, apart from overcrowding.

Awaab’s Law does not replace existing housing law

Another important point is that Awaab’s Law does not mean landlords can ignore other hazards simply because they have not yet been brought within a particular phase of the legislation.

Social landlords continue to have existing legal obligations concerning repairs and housing conditions, including duties relating to fitness for human habitation and dangerous Category 1 hazards.

The Government’s Phase 2 guidance expressly states that the phased implementation of Awaab’s Law does not give landlords leeway to leave other dangerous conditions unresolved.

Depending on the circumstances, tenants may therefore have rights under other housing legislation even where their particular problem does not fall within the current phase of Awaab’s Law.

What happens if a landlord breaches Awaab’s Law?

Awaab’s Law is incorporated into relevant social housing tenancy agreements as a legal obligation on the landlord.

This means that where a social landlord fails to comply with the applicable requirements, a tenant may potentially take legal action against the landlord for breach of contract.

Tenants may also have other routes available, including using the landlord’s complaints procedure and referring appropriate complaints to the Housing Ombudsman.

Whether there has been a breach and what remedy may be available will depend upon the individual circumstances.

Can tenants claim compensation?

Potentially.

A tenant may have a housing conditions or disrepair claim where their landlord has failed to comply with its legal obligations.

Depending upon the circumstances, a claim may seek an order requiring appropriate work to be undertaken and/or compensation.

The existence and value of any compensation claim is fact-specific. Relevant issues can include the nature and seriousness of the conditions, how long they continued, the landlord’s knowledge and response, the effect on the tenant’s use and enjoyment of their home, damage to belongings and other legally recoverable losses.

Awaab’s Law also gives tenants an additional legal framework through which failures to comply with the prescribed requirements can potentially be enforced through the courts.

Does Awaab’s Law only apply when a tenant complains?

No.

The landlord’s responsibilities can be triggered when it becomes aware of a potential hazard.

That awareness does not necessarily have to come from a formal complaint by the tenant.

For example, a member of the landlord’s staff may notice a potentially serious problem during an unrelated visit to the property. Information could also be provided by a contractor or another relevant organisation.

Once the landlord has the relevant awareness, the statutory timeframes can begin to apply.

Landlords should consider the individual tenant

Awaab’s Law is not simply a checklist based upon the physical size of a defect.

The potential risk to the people actually living in the property matters.

A hazard that may be significant in one household could potentially amount to an emergency in another because of the occupants’ circumstances.

Children, older people and people whose health or circumstances make them particularly susceptible to a particular hazard may face greater risks.

Landlords should therefore take reasonable steps to understand relevant circumstances when deciding how urgently a problem needs to be dealt with.

Has your landlord failed to deal with damp, mould or another serious hazard?

If you live in social housing and your landlord has failed to deal with serious damp, mould or another hazardous condition, you may have legal rights under Awaab’s Law and other housing legislation.

Housing Disrepair Helpline can help tenants understand their options and appoints tenants with leading housing disrepair solicitors who specialise in Awaab’s Law and housing disrepair claims.

The solicitors can consider the circumstances of the case, the condition of the property, when the landlord became aware of the problem and whether the landlord has complied with the legal timeframes and its wider repairing obligations.

Over 25,000 tenants helped

Housing Disrepair Helpline has helped more than 25,000 tenants get their homes fixed and obtain compensation over the last 11 years.

If your council or housing association has been told about serious problems in your home but has failed to take appropriate action, you do not necessarily have to accept living with the problem.

Awaab’s Law has strengthened the legal framework surrounding hazardous conditions in social housing and introduced clear deadlines within which landlords must act.

Getting specialist advice can help you understand whether Awaab’s Law applies to your circumstances and what steps may be available to get your home repaired and hold your landlord to account.

This article provides general information about Awaab’s Law in England and is not a substitute for legal advice about an individual case.