Awaab's Law Compliance Checklist for Landlords — Free Download

Introduction: Why You Need a Compliance Checklist

Awaab's Law, formally enacted through Section 42 of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, imposes strict time-bound obligations on registered social housing providers whenever a hazard — particularly damp and mould — is reported by a tenant. Failure to comply can result in enforcement action by the Housing Ombudsman, Regulator of Social Housing intervention, and significant reputational damage.

A structured compliance checklist is the single most practical tool your organisation can adopt to ensure no report falls through the cracks. It transforms the statutory requirements into a repeatable, auditable process that frontline staff can follow every time a hazard report is received. Whether you manage fifty properties or fifty thousand, the checklist keeps your response consistent, defensible, and within the law.

This guide walks you through the checklist section by section. It mirrors the downloadable PDF version included in our Compliance Pack but is presented here as web content so you can familiarise yourself with the structure before adopting it across your organisation.

Section 1: Initial Report & Triage

The moment a tenant reports a hazard, the clock starts. Your checklist should capture the following information immediately:

Date & time the report was received. This is the official starting point for every statutory deadline. Record it to the minute, not just the day.
Channel of report. Was it received by telephone, email, online portal, in-person visit, or via a third party such as a councillor or MP? Document the channel so you can demonstrate you acted on the earliest notification.
Tenant details. Full name, address, tenancy reference, and preferred contact method. Confirm the property address matches your records.
Nature of the hazard.Obtain a clear description: what has the tenant observed? Damp patches, visible mould, condensation on windows, musty odour, peeling wallpaper, respiratory symptoms? Record the tenant's own words wherever possible.
Severity triage. Does the hazard pose an imminent risk to the health or safety of the occupant? If yes, the 24-hour emergency response deadline applies. If no, the 10-working-day investigation deadline applies. This triage decision must be documented and justified.
Vulnerable occupants. Are there children under five, elderly residents, or anyone with a respiratory condition, suppressed immune system, or other relevant health need? The presence of vulnerable occupants may elevate severity and should influence your risk assessment.

Triage is the most important step. An incorrect triage that downgrades a genuine emergency could expose your organisation to the most serious enforcement consequences under the Act. When in doubt, treat the report as an emergency and escalate.

Section 2: Emergency Response (24-Hour Deadline)

If your triage identifies the hazard as an emergency — meaning it poses an imminent risk to the life or health of the occupant — you must begin remediation within 24 hours of becoming aware of the hazard. Your checklist should confirm:

Emergency works instructed. Record the contractor or in-house team assigned, the time the instruction was issued, and the scope of the emergency works.
Tenant contacted. Confirm you have spoken to or written to the tenant to explain what emergency action is being taken and when they can expect attendance.
Temporary measures.If the hazard cannot be fully resolved within 24 hours, document what interim measures have been put in place — for example, temporary dehumidifiers, emergency decant to alternative accommodation, or mould treatment applied to reduce exposure.
Attendance confirmation. Record the date and time that a contractor or officer physically attended the property and what was done on site.

Even where the emergency is stabilised quickly, the investigation and remediation obligations under the 10-day and 12-week deadlines still apply. The emergency response does not replace the longer-term process — it runs in parallel.

Section 3: Investigation & Inspection (10 Working Days)

Within 10 working days of the initial report, you must complete a full investigation and provide the tenant with a written Remediation Action Plan. The investigation section of your checklist should cover:

Inspection date & inspector details. Name, qualification, and organisation of the person who carried out the inspection. If you use a specialist damp surveyor, record their accreditation.
Moisture readings. Take and record moisture meter readings from all affected walls, floors, and ceilings. Note the instrument used and the reading locations on a sketch plan or photograph.
Photographic evidence. Photograph every area of damp, mould, or damage. Include wide shots showing the extent and close-up shots showing the severity. Ensure photographs are date-stamped.
Root cause analysis. Identify whether the issue is caused by rising damp, penetrating damp, condensation, a plumbing leak, a building defect (such as failed pointing, missing roof tiles, or defective guttering), or a combination of factors.
Ventilation assessment. Check all extractor fans, trickle vents, and passive ventilation. Record whether each is present, operational, and adequate for the room size. Note any blocked or sealed-over vents.
Heating assessment. Confirm the heating system is operational and that the tenant has access to affordable heating in all habitable rooms. Record boiler type, age, and last service date.
Insulation check. Where accessible, assess loft insulation depth, cavity wall insulation status, and window glazing type. Poor insulation is a common contributing factor to condensation damp.
External inspection. Walk the perimeter of the property. Check gutters, downpipes, render, pointing, airbricks, ground levels, and drainage. Record any external defects that could contribute to damp ingress.

Section 4: Remediation Action Plan

The Remediation Action Plan is the written document you must provide to the tenant within the 10-working-day window. Your checklist should ensure the plan includes:

Summary of findings. A plain-English explanation of what was found during the investigation, avoiding jargon where possible.
Root cause identified. Clearly state the diagnosed cause or causes of the damp and mould.
Proposed remediation works. List every item of work that will be carried out, from mould treatment and redecoration through to structural repairs, ventilation installation, or insulation upgrades.
Timeline for each item. Assign a target completion date to each line of work. All works must be completed within 12 weeks of the original report date unless an extension has been formally agreed with the tenant.
Contractor details. Name the contractor or team responsible for each item of work, along with contact details the tenant can use for queries.
Tenant responsibilities.If there are actions the tenant can take to reduce condensation — such as using extractor fans when cooking or drying clothes outdoors — these may be noted, but you must be careful not to shift blame. The plan must make clear that the landlord's obligations are unconditional and do not depend on tenant behaviour.
Tenant signature or acknowledgement. Record that the plan was issued to the tenant, the date it was issued, and the method of delivery (hand-delivered, posted, or emailed).

Section 5: Works Completion & Sign-Off (12-Week Deadline)

All remediation works must be completed within 12 weeks of the date the hazard was first reported. Your checklist should track:

Works progress log. For each item in the Remediation Action Plan, record the date work started, the date work was completed, and the name of the operative or contractor who carried out the work.
Post-works inspection. Once all works are complete, carry out a follow-up inspection to verify the damp and mould have been resolved. Take fresh photographs and moisture readings to compare against the originals.
Tenant confirmation. Ask the tenant to confirm in writing (or by recorded call) that the works have been completed to their satisfaction. If the tenant is not satisfied, record their concerns and take further action.
Final completion date. Record the date on which all works were fully completed. Confirm this falls within the 12-week deadline from the original report date.
Extension requests.If an extension was needed beyond 12 weeks, record the reason, the date the extension was agreed with the tenant, and the revised completion date. Extensions must be genuinely justified — contractor availability alone may not be sufficient.

Section 6: When to Use This Checklist

This checklist should be initiated every time your organisation receives a report that could fall within the scope of Awaab's Law. That includes, but is not limited to:

Any report of damp, mould, or condensation from a tenant, regardless of how minor it may initially appear.
Reports from a tenant's representative, a councillor, an MP, or a support worker acting on the tenant's behalf.
Observations made by your own staff during routine property inspections, gas safety checks, or tenancy visits.
Complaints escalated to the Housing Ombudsman or identified through disrepair claims.
From October 2026, when Phase 2 commences, additional hazard categories beyond damp and mould will be covered. At that point, the checklist should be adapted to include those categories. See our Phase 2 guide for details on what is changing.

Do not wait until a formal complaint is lodged. The statutory clock starts when the landlord becomes "aware" of the hazard, and awareness can arise from any source — including your own employees noticing damp during an unrelated visit.

Section 7: Documenting Your Findings Effectively

Good documentation is your strongest defence in the event of a challenge, complaint, or enforcement action. Every entry on the checklist should follow these principles:

Be specific, not vague.Write "black mould covering approximately 1m² on the north-facing bedroom wall behind the wardrobe" rather than "mould found in bedroom."
Record dates and times precisely."Reported at 14:32 on Monday 6 January 2026" is far more defensible than "reported early January."
Attribute actions to named individuals.Record who did what. "Surveyor Jane Smith attended at 10:00 on 10 January 2026" is preferable to "inspection completed."
Use photographs liberally. A date-stamped photograph is worth a thousand words in an Ombudsman investigation. Photograph before, during, and after works.
Keep copies of all tenant correspondence. Every letter, email, text message, and record of telephone calls should be saved and linked to the case file.
Record negative findings too.If the inspection found no damp, record that fact along with the moisture readings that support it. A blank checklist is not evidence of compliance — a completed checklist with "no defect found" entries is.

Your documentation will be scrutinised if the Housing Ombudsman investigates. Organisations that can produce a clear, contemporaneous record of every step they took — and when they took it — are in a far stronger position than those relying on memory or fragmented notes.

Section 8: Storage, Retention & Data Management

Completed checklists and supporting evidence should be stored securely and retained for an appropriate period. Consider the following guidance:

Digital storage. Store completed checklists in your housing management system, document management system, or a dedicated compliance folder. Ensure files are backed up and access-controlled so that only authorised staff can view or edit them.
Retention period.There is no single statutory retention period specified by Awaab's Law itself, but best practice is to retain all hazard-related documentation for at least six years from the date the case was closed. This aligns with the Limitation Act 1980 period for civil claims and provides coverage for potential disrepair claims or Ombudsman investigations that may arise long after the works were completed.
Photographs & moisture readings.Store these alongside the checklist record, not in a separate location. If photographs are saved on a contractor's phone or in an email attachment, copy them into the central case file immediately.
GDPR considerations.Checklists will contain personal data (tenant names, addresses, health information relating to vulnerable occupants). Ensure your processing is lawful under Article 6 of the UK GDPR — the legal obligation basis is typically the most appropriate ground. Include hazard records in your data protection impact assessment and privacy notice.
Audit readiness. Structure your records so they can be produced quickly if requested by the Regulator of Social Housing, the Housing Ombudsman, or your own internal auditors. A well-organised digital filing system with consistent naming conventions will save significant time compared to hunting through email inboxes and paper files.
Version control. If the Remediation Action Plan is updated (for example, because additional works are identified), retain the original version as well as the updated version. Do not overwrite historical records.

Organisations that invest in a disciplined approach to records management will find compliance with Awaab's Law significantly easier to demonstrate. The checklist is only as valuable as the system you use to store and retrieve it.

Section 9: Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Having reviewed the checklist structure, it is worth highlighting the most frequent mistakes landlords make when responding to damp and mould reports:

Blaming the tenant.Attributing mould solely to "lifestyle choices" such as drying clothes indoors or not opening windows is no longer an acceptable response. Awaab's Law places the obligation squarely on the landlord to investigate the root cause and carry out remediation regardless of tenant behaviour.
Treating mould wash as a permanent fix. Applying a mould wash or anti-fungal paint without addressing the underlying cause is a temporary measure, not a completed remediation. The 12-week deadline requires that the root cause is resolved, not merely masked.
Missing the 10-day investigation window. Contractor delays, staff absence, or poor scheduling can easily push the investigation beyond 10 working days. Build buffer time into your process and have contingency arrangements for peak reporting periods (typically autumn and winter).
Failing to issue a written Remediation Action Plan. A verbal explanation to the tenant is not sufficient. The plan must be in writing and issued within the 10-working-day window.
Incomplete records. If you carried out an inspection but did not record the findings on the checklist, it may as well not have happened from an evidence perspective. Contemporaneous documentation is essential.

Section 10: Adapting the Checklist for Your Organisation

The checklist provided here and in our downloadable PDF is designed as a universal starting point. You should adapt it to reflect your organisation's specific workflows, IT systems, and team structures. Consider the following adaptations:

Add fields that link to your housing management system case reference numbers so each checklist can be cross-referenced with the digital record.
Include sign-off boxes for line managers or compliance officers so that completed checklists are reviewed before the case is closed.
Build the checklist into your existing repairs reporting workflow so that staff do not need to operate a parallel process.
Create a digital version using your preferred platform — Microsoft Forms, Google Forms, or a bespoke module within your housing management system — so that data can be aggregated and reported on at board level.
Train all frontline staff on how to complete the checklist. A checklist that sits in a drawer unused offers no compliance benefit whatsoever.

The key principle is that every hazard report triggers the checklist, every section is completed in full, and every completed checklist is stored securely. If your organisation can demonstrate that discipline consistently, you will be well placed to satisfy any scrutiny from the Regulator or Ombudsman.