Awaab's Law: the repair deadlines social landlords now have to meet

If you rent from a council or a housing association in England and you have reported damp or mould, your landlord is now working to a legal clock. Since 27 October 2025 the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025, better known as Awaab's Law, have set out exactly how quickly they have to investigate and put things right.

This guide covers what the deadlines actually are, what counts as urgent enough to trigger them, and what your options are when a landlord lets them slide.

Where the law came from

Awaab Ishak was two years old when he died in December 2020. The coroner found the cause of death was prolonged exposure to mould in the flat his family rented in Rochdale, and issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report in November 2022 after hearing how long the family had been raising the problem.

The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 gave ministers the power to set binding repair timescales, and the 2025 Regulations are the result. The requirements are written into every social tenancy as an implied contract term, which is the part that gives them teeth: a tenant can take a landlord to court for breach of contract, and any clause in a tenancy agreement that tries to sidestep the law has no effect.

The deadlines

Everything hangs on how the hazard is classified. There are two categories and they run on very different clocks.

Emergency hazards

An emergency is anything posing an imminent and significant risk to health or safety. Damp and mould can qualify, particularly in a room someone sleeps in where the household includes a baby, an elderly person, or someone with a respiratory condition.

Investigate within 24 hours of becoming aware
Complete the safety work within 24 hours of the investigation confirming an emergency
Provide suitable alternative accommodation, at the landlord's cost, if the home cannot be made safe within that 24 hours
Give the tenant a written summary within 3 working days of the investigation finishing, unless all the work was done inside those 3 days

Significant hazards

This is where most damp and mould reports land: a real risk of harm, but not an immediate one.

Investigate within 10 working days of becoming aware
Send a written summary within 3 working days of the investigation concluding
Complete the work needed to make the home safe within 5 working days of the investigation concluding
Offer suitable alternative accommodation if that safety work cannot be finished in those 5 working days
Begin the further work that stops the problem returning within 5 working days, or if that genuinely is not possible, take steps to get it started as soon as practicable and no later than 12 weeks

The decant duty is wider than people think

Alternative accommodation is not only an emergency measure. If a significant hazard cannot be made safe inside the 5 working days, the duty to offer somewhere else to stay applies too.

Making safe is not the same as fixing it

The Regulations separate two jobs. "Relevant safety work" is whatever removes the immediate risk, so treating the mould and getting the room dry. "Supplementary preventative works" deal with why it happened: the failed extractor fan, the leaking gutter, the cold bridge, the missing insulation.

Both are required. A landlord who wipes the walls down, repaints, and leaves the cause alone has not complied, and the mould will be back by the following winter.

What your landlord cannot do

The government guidance is blunt about blaming tenants. Cooking, showering, and drying clothes indoors are normal parts of living in a home and are not a reason to refuse to act. If a property cannot cope with ordinary use without growing mould, that is a problem with the property.

Landlords are also expected to use what they know about the household. If your file records a child with asthma or a pregnancy, that information should feed into how the hazard is classified.

If you asked for a visit and got a phone call

Remote assessments are allowed, but if you ask for someone to come and look in person after a remote investigation, the landlord has to carry out a fresh in-person investigation. For significant hazards that means within 10 working days, and the clock restarts from your request.

What to do if the deadlines are missed

Put everything in writing. Report in writing, or follow up a phone call with an email, so the date the landlord "became aware" is not in dispute. Keep photos with dates.
Use the landlord's complaints process. You normally have to exhaust this before the Ombudsman will look at your case.
Go to the Housing Ombudsman. The Complaint Handling Code has been statutory since April 2024 and the Ombudsman can order compensation and remedial action.
Consider court action. Because Awaab's Law is an implied term of your tenancy, missing the deadlines is a breach of contract. Get advice from Shelter or Citizens Advice first.
Report the landlord to the Regulator of Social Housing if this looks like a pattern rather than a one-off.

A landlord does have a defence if it can show it took all reasonable steps to comply, which usually turns on records of appointments offered and access attempted. That cuts both ways: if you have been refusing access, expect it to be raised.

What changes on 30 November 2026

Phase 1 covers all emergency hazards plus damp and mould that poses a significant risk of harm. Phase 2 comes into force on 30 November 2026 and widens the same deadline structure to excess cold and excess heat, falls, structural collapse and explosions, fire and electrical hazards, and hygiene and food safety hazards. A third phase is expected to bring in the remaining hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

Private renters

Awaab's Law applies to the social rented sector in England. The government has said it intends to extend equivalent protections to private tenants through the Renters' Rights Bill, but the timing and the exact timescales for the private sector have not been settled.

That does not leave private tenants without options. Your landlord still owes you a home fit for human habitation under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, and your council's environmental health team can inspect and enforce against Category 1 hazards under the Housing Act 2004.

Common questions

Does Awaab's Law apply in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?

No. These Regulations cover England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own housing standards regimes.

My landlord fixed it in two days. Should I still get a written summary?

Not necessarily. If all the required work was finished inside the 3 working days, the written summary is not required, though the landlord should still tell you it is done and keep its own record.

What if the parts are on back order?

The landlord has to take steps within 5 working days to get the preventative work started as soon as reasonably practicable, and no later than 12 weeks. Orders, appointments and approvals all need documenting.

Who decides whether it is an emergency or significant?

The landlord does, based on the information it has or ought reasonably to have about the property and your household. If you disagree with the classification, say so in writing, because that judgement is exactly what the Ombudsman will examine later.

Where to read the source material

Reviewed on 15 August 2026 against the current GOV.UK guidance. Awaab's Law is being rolled out in phases, so check GOV.UK before relying on any date here.