What is Awaab's Law? The Complete Guide for 2026

The Tragedy That Changed Housing Law

On 21 December 2020, two-year-old Awaab Ishak died at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport. The cause of death, as determined by the coroner, was acute respiratory failure brought on by prolonged exposure to mould in the family's one-bedroom flat at Freehold Estate in Rochdale. The flat was managed by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), a registered social housing provider responsible for approximately 12,000 homes across the borough.

Awaab's parents, Faisal Abdullah and Aisha Amin, had repeatedly reported the mould to RBH over a period of more than two years. Despite multiple complaints, inspections, and even involvement from health visitors who flagged the dangerous conditions, the mould was never adequately addressed. Internal RBH communications later revealed that some staff attributed the mould to the family's "lifestyle" — a deeply troubling response that the coroner described as having "clear echoes of racial stereotyping."

The inquest, concluded in November 2022, found that Awaab's death was directly caused by the mould in his home and that RBH had failed to act on the reports with appropriate urgency. The coroner, Joanne Kearsley, issued a Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths, directing it at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) and calling for systemic reform. The case attracted widespread media attention and prompted an immediate political response.

The Political Response & Legislative Journey

Within weeks of the inquest's conclusion, the then Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Michael Gove, announced that the government would introduce "Awaab's Law" as an amendment to the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill, which was already progressing through Parliament. The amendment was tabled in January 2023 and received cross-party support. The Social Housing (Regulation) Act received Royal Assent on 20 July 2023.

The provisions commonly referred to as Awaab's Law are contained in Section 42 of the Act. This section amends the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 by inserting new sections 9A, 9B, and 9C, which impose specific time-limited obligations on social housing landlords to investigate and remediate prescribed hazards in their properties. The accompanying regulations — the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Hazard Prescribed Timescales) (England) Regulations — set out the detailed deadlines that landlords must follow.

The Three Key Deadlines Explained

At the heart of Awaab's Law are three mandatory deadlines that apply once a social housing landlord has been made aware of a qualifying hazard in one of their properties. These deadlines are absolute obligations — not aspirational targets — and failure to meet them constitutes a breach of the landlord's statutory duty.

1. Emergency Hazards: 24 Hours

Where a reported hazard poses an imminent risk to the health or safety of the tenant or any member of their household, the landlord must begin emergency remediation within 24 hours of becoming aware of the hazard. This is measured from the point at which the landlord receives the report, not from when a surveyor or inspector visits the property.

An "imminent risk" includes situations such as severe mould growth in a bedroom occupied by a child or vulnerable person, complete heating failure during winter months, or structural damp that has caused visible deterioration of electrical fittings. The 24-hour clock begins the moment the landlord's repairs team, housing officer, or call centre receives the report — whether by telephone, email, online portal, or in person.

Emergency remediation does not necessarily mean that all works must be finished within 24 hours. Rather, the landlord must take immediate steps to mitigate the risk — for example, by providing temporary dehumidifiers, arranging emergency decanting to alternative accommodation, or deploying a contractor to begin urgent works.

2. Investigation & Action Plan: 10 Working Days

For all qualifying hazard reports — whether or not they trigger the 24-hour emergency response — the landlord must complete a thorough investigation within 10 working days and provide the tenant with a written Remediation Action Plan. This plan must set out the nature of the hazard identified, the root cause (where this can be determined), the specific works that will be carried out, and a realistic timeline for completion.

The 10-working-day period is calculated from the date on which the landlord first becomes aware of the hazard. Weekends and bank holidays are excluded from the count. The investigation must involve a physical inspection of the property by a suitably qualified person — a desktop assessment alone will not satisfy the statutory requirement. If specialist surveys are needed (for example, a damp survey involving moisture mapping or a ventilation assessment), these must be arranged and completed within the same 10-day window.

The written action plan must be communicated to the tenant in a clear, accessible format. If the tenant has identified language or communication needs, the landlord should ensure the plan is provided in an appropriate language or format. The plan should include contact details for the person responsible for overseeing the works, the expected start and completion dates, and information about the tenant's right to escalate if they are dissatisfied.

3. All Remediation Works Completed: 12 Weeks

All remediation works identified in the action plan must be completed within 12 weeks of the date on which the landlord first became aware of the hazard. This is the outer limit — not a target to aim for. Landlords are expected to complete works as quickly as reasonably practicable, and many hazards should be resolved well within 12 weeks.

In limited circumstances, the 12-week deadline may be extended. The regulations allow for an extension where the works genuinely cannot be completed within 12 weeks due to factors outside the landlord's reasonable control — for example, the need for planning permission, specialist conservation work in a listed building, or major structural remediation that requires the property to be vacated. Any extension must be agreed in writing with the tenant and must include a revised completion date. Landlords cannot unilaterally declare an extension; the tenant must be consulted and their agreement sought.

Who Does Awaab's Law Apply To?

As of April 2026, Awaab's Law applies to all registered providers of social housing in England. This includes:

• Housing associations — also known as registered social landlords or private registered providers. These are not-for-profit organisations (and some for-profit entities) registered with the Regulator of Social Housing. They manage approximately 2.7 million homes across England.
• Local authority landlords — councils that have retained their housing stock rather than transferring it to a housing association. Around 1.6 million council homes remain under direct local authority management.
• Arms-length management organisations (ALMOs)— where a local authority has delegated day-to-day management of its housing stock to an ALMO, the obligations under Awaab's Law still apply. The local authority remains the registered provider and retains ultimate legal responsibility.

The law does not currently apply to private landlords, owner-occupiers, or shared ownership properties where the occupier owns 100% of the equity. However, shared ownership tenants who are still in the rental phase of their lease are covered.

What Hazards Are Covered Under Phase 1?

Phase 1 of Awaab's Law, which came into force on 1 October 2025, covers the following prescribed hazard categories:

• Damp — including rising damp, penetrating damp, and damp caused by defective building fabric such as failed damp-proof courses, leaking roofs, or defective pointing.
• Mould— all forms of mould growth, whether caused by building defects, inadequate ventilation, or a combination of factors. The regulations explicitly reject the historic practice of attributing mould solely to "tenant lifestyle" without proper investigation.
• Condensation — persistent condensation that contributes to damp or mould growth, particularly where it results from inadequate heating, insulation, or ventilation provision by the landlord.
• Excess cold — including defective or inadequate heating systems, poor insulation, draughty windows and doors, and any condition that results in indoor temperatures falling below safe levels (generally considered to be 18°C in living rooms and 21°C in rooms occupied by vulnerable people).
• Excess heat — particularly relevant in modern flats with extensive glazing and inadequate ventilation, where indoor temperatures can reach dangerously high levels during summer months.

Tenant Rights Under Awaab's Law

Awaab's Law significantly strengthens the rights of social housing tenants when it comes to hazards in their homes. Key tenant rights include:

• The right to report hazards through any reasonable channel — by phone, email, letter, online portal, or in person. The landlord cannot insist on a specific reporting method, and the clock starts as soon as the report is received through any channel.
• The right to a written action plan within 10 working days— this must be in clear, plain language and must set out the works to be carried out, the timeline, and the tenant's options if they disagree.
• The right to escalate to the Housing Ombudsman — if the landlord fails to meet any of the three deadlines, or if the tenant is dissatisfied with the quality of the remediation, they can refer their complaint to the Housing Ombudsman Service without needing to exhaust all internal complaint stages first in cases involving health and safety risks.
• Protection against retaliatory action — landlords are prohibited from taking any adverse action against a tenant in response to a hazard report. This includes issuing notice to quit, reducing services, or treating the tenant less favourably.

The Role of the Housing Ombudsman

The Housing Ombudsman Service plays a central role in the enforcement of Awaab's Law. While the Ombudsman has long handled complaints from social housing tenants, the new legislation gives added weight and urgency to its work.

When a tenant refers a case involving a breach of Awaab's Law deadlines, the Ombudsman can order the landlord to carry out specific remediation works within a defined timeframe, award compensation to the tenant (which has in recent years ranged from hundreds to tens of thousands of pounds in the most serious cases), issue findings of maladministration or severe maladministration, and refer the case to the Regulator of Social Housing for further enforcement action.

In addition, the Regulator of Social Housing now has enhanced powers under the Act to take proactive enforcement action against landlords who show systemic failures in meeting Awaab's Law deadlines. This can include issuing regulatory notices, performance improvement plans, and — in the most serious cases — arranging for the transfer of housing management to another provider.

Phase 2: October 2026

Phase 2 of Awaab's Law is scheduled to commence in October 2026. While the final regulations have not yet been published, the government's consultation documents indicate that Phase 2 will expand the list of prescribed hazards beyond damp, mould, condensation, and temperature extremes. The hazard categories under consideration for inclusion align closely with the 29 hazard categories in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), which is used by local authorities to assess conditions in private rented housing.

Potential additions under Phase 2 include hazards related to structural collapse and falling elements, fire safety deficiencies, electrical hazards, asbestos and other hazardous substances, falls on stairs and between levels, and domestic gas safety. The government has indicated that the same three-deadline structure (24 hours, 10 working days, 12 weeks) will apply to Phase 2 hazards, though there may be some variation in the specific timescales for particular hazard types.

Social housing providers should begin preparing for Phase 2 now by reviewing their stock condition data, ensuring their hazard reporting and tracking systems can accommodate additional hazard categories, and training frontline staff on the expanded scope of the legislation.

The Private Sector Extension: Renters' Rights Act 2025

One of the most significant future developments is the extension of Awaab's Law principles to the private rented sector. The Renters' Rights Act 2025, which received Royal Assent in late 2025, contains enabling provisions that will allow the Secretary of State to introduce equivalent hazard remediation deadlines for private landlords through secondary legislation.

The government has indicated that the private sector extension will be implemented in phases, with the first set of regulations expected to be laid before Parliament between 2028 and 2030. The exact timeline will depend on the outcome of the ongoing consultation process and the capacity of local authority environmental health teams — who will be the primary enforcement body for the private sector — to take on the additional workload.

Private landlords should not wait for the legislation to take effect. The principles underlying Awaab's Law — prompt investigation, clear communication, and timely remediation of hazards — represent good practice that all responsible landlords should already be following. Moreover, private sector tenants already have rights under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 and can bring claims in the county court if their home is unfit. Adopting Awaab's Law timescales voluntarily provides a clear, defensible framework for demonstrating compliance with existing duties.

Key Takeaways

Awaab's Law represents the most significant reform of social housing safety standards in a generation. Born from an avoidable tragedy, it imposes clear, enforceable deadlines on landlords to act when hazards are reported. The three-deadline framework — 24 hours for emergencies, 10 working days for investigation and action planning, 12 weeks for completion — leaves no room for the kind of delays and indifference that cost Awaab Ishak his life.

For landlords and housing organisations, the message is clear: compliance is not optional, the deadlines are legally binding, and enforcement mechanisms have real teeth. Investing in robust hazard reporting systems, well-trained staff, and proactive stock maintenance is not just a legal obligation — it is a moral one.