Millions of tenants safe from black mould through Awaab’s Law

• New rules will protect tenants and force social landlords to urgently fix dangerous homes. 
• Emergency hazards to be addressed within 24 hours under landmark changes.
• Reforms are a legacy to two-year-old Awaab Ishak who tragically died from prolonged exposure to mould. 

Millions of tenants across the country will benefit from safer homes thanks to new rules coming into force today (Monday 27 October). 

The first phase of Awaab’s Law will force social landlords to take urgent action to fix dangerous homes or face the full force of the law, improving lives for tenants and families living in all four million of England’s social rented homes. 

The new legal duties will finally put tenants’ safety first with landlords forced to fix emergency health and safety hazards within 24 hours of reporting. They must also investigate significant damp and mould within 10 working days of being notified and then make properties safe in five working days. For both types of hazards, they must also write the findings to tenants within three working days of inspection.   

As part of the reforms, landlords now must also consider the circumstances of tenants which could put them at risk – including young children and those with disabilities or health conditions. Alternative accommodation must also be offered if homes cannot be made safe within the required timeframes. 

These vital reforms will not only keep tenants safer in their homes, but hold landlords to account. Those who fail to comply with the rules face being taken to court, where they could be issued enforcement orders, forced to pay compensation and legal costs – as well as loss of rent if homes were uninhabitable.

Awaab’s Law is a lasting legacy to two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who tragically died after being exposed to mould at his Rochdale home in December 2020. In the wake of this tragedy, Awaab’s family has fought to secure justice, not only for their son but for all those who live in social housing. 

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said:   

Everyone deserves a safe and decent home to live in and Awaab Ishak is a powerful reminder of how this can sadly be a matter of life or death. 

Awaab’s family has fought hard for change and their work to protect millions of tenants’ lives will live on as a legacy to their son.  

Our changes will give tenants a stronger voice and force landlords to act urgently when lives are at risk, ensuring such tragedies are never repeated.

More of Awaab’s Law will be phased in next year and in 2027 to make homes safer from more hazards, alongside work to build 1.5 million new homes, including the biggest boost of social and affordable housing in a generation. 

To bring further transformative and lasting change in the safety and quality of social housing and give tenants a stronger voice, a new £1 million fund has been launched by the government today to create new ways of helping tenants engage with their landlords and have more influence over decisions that affect them. 

Up to £100,000 will be granted to successful bidders who propose strong ideas for improving communication between landlords and tenants and help tenants have more of a say in how their homes are managed.

Examples of innovative ideas could include online platforms, marketing campaigns or recruiting specialist personnel who can support tenants to improve their experiences in social housing. 

This will help replace the outdated, inefficient ways of communicating that leave tenants feeling unheard and waiting too long to get issues resolved by their landlord. 

ENDS  

Notes to editors

Gavin Smart, Chief Executive at the Chartered Institute of Housing said:

“We welcome Awaab’s Law as a significant step in ensuring that all social housing tenants live in safe and decent homes.

“It is the culmination of committed efforts by Awaab Ishak’s family and provides an important new framework for addressing serious health and safety concerns, beginning with damp and mould.

“Social landlords have been preparing for this change and have new processes in place to respond to these new requirements.

“We also welcome the new funding to enhance tenant engagement, a vital investment to help build cultures of trust, accountability, and safety in social housing.”

Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, said:

“The quality and safety of residents’ homes is housing associations’ top priority, and today represents an important milestone in our sector’s drive to ensure all our homes are the standard residents deserve.

“Since 2020 housing associations have increased spending on repairs and maintenance by 55%, with plans to spend a further £50bn over the next five years. This is why 90% of our homes meet the decent homes standard, more than all other tenures.

“But as landlords rooted in social purpose, we want all of our residents to enjoy the highest standards of comfort, safety and quality. This is why, following the tragic death of Awaab Ishak, we have supported this law from the beginning and have worked closely with the government to ensure its introduction will provide the most positive outcomes for residents. 

“These reforms, alongside the government’s 10-year funding settlement and commitment to a decade of renewal for social and affordable housing, put housing associations on the sure footing needed to both continue investing in existing homes while having the confidence to build new ones. This will ease overcrowding pressures, which are a major contributor to damp and mould, and get to the root of addressing the housing crisis once and for all.”

More background:

• More details on the £1 million Social Housing Innovation Fund will be available on gov.uk from Monday 27 October.
• Phase two of Awaab’s Law next year will expand tenant protections to cover more hazards like excess cold and heat, fire and electrical risks and hygiene hazards – and phase 3 in 2027 will extend it to all remaining hazards covered by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, except overcrowding.    
• The government has also committed to extending Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector to ensure all renters in England are empowered to challenge dangerous conditions. This will be made law through the Renters’ Rights Bill which completed its passage through Parliament on 22 October.  
• Landlord failure to comply with Awaab’s Law could result in legal action, empowering tenants to hold landlords accountable for unsafe living conditions. New guidance on gov.uk from Monday 27 October will help tenants understand and implement their new rights under Awaab’s Law.
•  A refreshed guidance for landlords on Awaab’s Law is now also available on gov.uk, to help them understand their new legal duties: Awaab’s Law: Guidance for social landlords – Timeframes for repairs in the social rented sector – GOV.UK  
• The Make Things Right campaign helps social housing tenants understand their rights and escalate when they have an issue with their home or landlord. The campaign will now feature new information on Awaab’s Law to reach social housing residents and ensure they understand their landlord’s new legal duties to them.   
• Awaab’s Law forms part of wider social housing reforms introduced through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, which aims to rebalance the relationship between tenants and landlords and improve housing standards in England.  
• New regulations ensuring all landlords meet robust standards of electrical safety will also come into force on 1 November 2025 for new tenancies and then in 2026 for all existing tenancies.   
• To help tenants feel safe in their homes, these new laws will require social landlords to carry out electrical safety checks at least every five years, as well as mandatory appliance inspections on all electrical appliances that are provided by the landlord.   
• The electrical safety regulations also increase the maximum fine for non-compliance – for all landlords, private and social – from £30k to £40k.