The first phase of Awaab’s Law came into effect on 27th October 2025 and provided the framework to formalise the process of reporting and dealing with housing disrepair issues. This is a very welcome development that seeks to protect social housing tenants faced with disrepair issues which can have significant impacts in terms of their standard of living and their health and wellbeing.  

The Background To Awaab’s Law

A coroner concluded that two-year-old Awaab Ishak died from prolonged exposure to damp and mould in December 2020, in the social housing he shared with his parents in Rochdale. This was after a disrepair issue had been reported to the family’s landlord but had not been dealt with. The UK Government promised reforms to change the law on disrepair issues in social housing, and we reported on this back in March 2025. Awaab’s Law is the result and this forms part of the 2023 Social Housing (Regulation) Act which gives far greater protection for tenants, but also formalises responsibilities for tenants.  

Phase One Of Awaab’s Law

The first phase of reforms provides a fixed timescale within which landlords must resolve certain disrepair issues. This means that landlords: 

• Must make emergency repairs the same day they are reported, and they must be left no longer than 24 hours. 

• Significant hazards including damp and mould issues have their own timescales, but are not classed as emergency repairs. However, the landlord must investigate, report on and start safety work within 15 working days of the issue being reported, and physical work to resolve the issue must be started within 12 weeks.  

These new rules apply to social housing, housing association tenancies and local authority tenancies.  

Other changes introduced in phase one of Awaab’s Law is the definition of ‘hazards’ and what a landlord has to do in acknowledging and dealing with them. A landlord is now responsible for a hazard where it is a direct result of a deficiency in the property, such as defects, disrepair and insufficient maintenance. This extends the landlord’s scope of responsibility further than the previous requirements in section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act. These hazards can include: 

• Emergency hazards – A disrepair issue which poses imminent and significant risk to the health and safety of the tenants. This could include gas leaks, broken boilers, losing water supply, electrical hazards, significant water leaks, broken external doors or windows where there is a risk to home security and structural defects. 

• Significant damp and mould hazards – Again, this can be classed as a damp and mould issue which poses a significant risk of harm to the health and safety of the tenant. In other words, where a reasonable landlord would react and deal with the matter urgently, although not necessarily within 24 hours.  

Phase one of Awaab’s Law only includes significant hazards caused by damp and mould. Future phases of the legislation will extend this coverage and include more significant hazards, such as excess cold, excess heat, falls, structural collapse, explosions, fire, electrical hazards, domestic and personal hygiene and food safety. These will be introduced in October 2026 and October 2027.  

It is also important to note that landlords now need to consider the risks posed to individual tenants when assessing the risks presented by a disrepair issue. This could mean that a two-year-old child such as Awaab Ishak, for example, or someone who was pregnant, could be considered more at risk from damp and mould, and hence a situation which otherwise wouldn’t be considered an emergency, must be dealt with as such. Under the new laws landlords must follow-up repair work by investigating and, if necessary, carrying out preventive work to stop a hazard returning. The final new responsibility of the landlord in the revised regulations is that the landlord has a duty to provide alternative accommodation to tenants, at the landlord’s expense, if the disrepair issue cannot be resolved with 24 hours (for an emergency hazard) or within five working days for a significant damp and mould hazard.   

Tenants’ Responsibilities Under Awaab’s Law

• Tenant actions – Hazards that have been caused by a tenant’s actions or negligence will not be considered the landlord’s responsibility, however, the landlord has a duty to assess any disrepair reported, and should not assume the issue has been caused by the tenant.  

• Reporting – The tenant also has the responsibility of reporting a disrepair issue as soon as possible. A landlord isn’t responsible for resolving a hazard until they know about it.  

• Access – Finally, a tenant must allow a landlord to have access to the property in order to carry out investigations and, subsequently, repairs. This access should be allowed at a reasonable time of day and where the landlord has given at least 24 hours’ notice.  

What Happens If The Landlord Doesn’t Comply With Awaab’s Law?

Where a landlord has not complied with their duties under Awaab’s Law, the tenant should make a formal complaint and should contact a housing disrepairs solicitors, such as Legal HD. We can represent you in discussions with your landlord, and have the skills and experience to resolve the issue in your best interests. This can include making a claim for housing disrepair and seeking suitable compensation for your discomfort and any financial loss in resolving the issue. If you are faced with a disrepair issue which could be considered an emergency or a significant damp and mould issue, and it is not being resolved by your landlord, this could be a violation of Awaab’s Law and at Legal HD we can provide expert help and support in resolving this issue, so contact our team today.