Awaab's Law: what landlords and letting agents need to know

Awaab’s Law is named after Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old who died in 2020 from a severe respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s home in Rochdale. The law turns a vague duty to “deal with” hazards into a clock: a landlord who becomes aware of a dangerous hazard has fixed timescales to investigate it, tell the tenant what was found and make the home safe. It already binds social landlords. For private landlords it has been written into law but not yet switched on. This guide sets out exactly where each stands today, and the record that lets a landlord or letting agent show what happened, and when.

Where Awaab’s Law stands on 26 September 2026

• Social landlords: in force. The Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 came into force on 27 October 2025. Phase 1 covers all emergency hazards and significant damp and mould hazards.
• Social landlords, next phase. The government says Phase 2 will come into force on 30 November 2026, adding excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards and domestic hygiene. Its regulations page notes that date is subject to Parliamentary approval. A Phase 3 will cover the remaining hazards in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), except overcrowding.
• Private landlords: enacted, not in force. Section 60 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 widens the Awaab’s Law provision in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 from social housing to leases of homes in England for less than seven years, which covers ordinary private tenancies. It was not in force when the Act was passed and none of the commencement regulations made so far brings it into force. The government’s implementation roadmap says it will consult on the details, including implementation timescales, and the HHSRS landlord and agent guide, updated in September 2026, says that consultation will come “in the coming months”.

So no Awaab’s Law timescale binds a private landlord today, and no start date has been confirmed. A private-sector date quoted elsewhere is a forecast, not law.

The timescales social landlords work to

The GOV.UK guidance for social landlords sets out the duties. The clock starts on the day the landlord becomes aware of a potential hazard, which counts as day zero, and day one is the next working day.

• Emergency hazards: investigate and carry out the safety work as soon as reasonably practicable, with both done within 24 hours of becoming aware.
• Significant hazards: investigate within 10 working days.
• Findings in writing: usually, send the tenant a written summary within 3 working days of the investigation ending, saying whether a hazard was found, what action will follow and a target timeframe for it, or why no action is needed.
• Make it safe: complete the safety work for a significant hazard within 5 working days of the investigation ending.
• Stop it coming back: begin, or take steps to begin, any preventative work within 5 working days; if that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable and within 12 weeks.
• If the home cannot be made safe in time: arrange suitable alternative accommodation at the landlord’s expense, and keep the tenant updated throughout.

An emergency hazard is one a reasonable landlord with the relevant knowledge would make safe within 24 hours; a significant one is a risk they would act on as a matter of urgency. Both are judged against the actual household, including young children and anyone with a health condition. Social landlords have a defence if they took all reasonable steps to comply, which is why the guidance keeps returning to records of every contact, investigation and access attempt.

Why damp and mould came first

Damp and mould is the hazard that killed Awaab Ishak, so it is where the law starts. The government’s damp and mould guidance for rented housing providers, written for private landlords and managing agents as well as social landlords, is blunt that it is “totally unreasonable to blame damp and mould in the home on ‘lifestyle choices’”. It also advises photographing mould before it is removed, to preserve a record. That guidance applies in spirit to every rented home now, whatever happens to the private-sector timetable.

What private landlords and letting agents should do now

Awaab’s Law is not the only route to a damp complaint. A private landlord already has the repairing duty in section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the duty to keep the home fit for human habitation, and councils assess hazards under the HHSRS, which since its 2026 review lists 21 hazards. Since 22 June 2026, a council can impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000 on the person responsible where a rented home has a Category 1 hazard it would have been reasonably practicable to remove, under the third Renters’ Rights Act commencement regulations. The penalties page puts that beside every other figure.

Preparing for Awaab’s Law therefore means tightening what already matters:

• One way in for reports. Reports that arrive by text, phone and a word to the inventory clerk are hard to date. In the social guidance, a tenant’s report to a managing agent is likely to count as the landlord becoming aware. The private rules are not written yet, but agents should assume their inbox is where the clock would start.
• Agree who triages. Between landlord and agent, decide who judges whether a report is urgent and who instructs the contractor, and write it into the management agreement.
• Look for damp at every visit. Inspections and check-outs are the moment to spot it, alongside the alarm checks you already record.
• Build the file before you need it. The landlord compliance checklist covers the certificates; repairs need the same discipline.

The record that answers an Awaab’s Law question

Every timescale above runs from one dated event to the next, so the evidence is the sequence of dates. For each hazard report, keep:

1. The report: the date and time you became aware, who reported it, their words and any photos.
2. The acknowledgement and triage: when you replied, and whether you treated it as an emergency, a significant hazard or outside scope, with the reason.
3. The investigation: when it happened, who carried it out and what they found.
4. The findings sent to the tenant: the written summary and the date it was sent.
5. Access: every appointment offered, agreed or missed.
6. The work: who was instructed, when the visit was booked, and when the home was made safe.
7. Completion and evidence: before and after photos, the invoice, and who checked the work and signed it off.

The property records guide covers how long to keep it and where it should live.

Where this lives in Verixad

Verixad’s repair workflow produces that sequence as the work happens, for a letting agency and the landlords it acts for. A tenant reports through the agency’s repair link without an account, and says how urgent it is; the report is dated on arrival. The agency turns it into a job with a priority, assigns a contractor and records one visit window. The before and after photos and the invoice are attached to the job, and the agency reviews that evidence before the job is marked completed. The job’s activity log keeps the dated trail. The job holds the dates; judging each hazard, and counting working days from the day you became aware, stays with you.

For the day-to-day side, the maintenance workflow guide shows how a small team runs repairs from report to sign-off.

England-specific, and general information rather than legal advice, checked against GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk on 26 September 2026. The private-sector position will change when the government consults and sets a date, and this page will be updated when it does.