Regulation
Awaab's Law, explained
Part of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, Awaab's Law sets legally binding timescales for social landlords to investigate and fix hazards in tenants' homes, particularly damp and mould. Applies in phases from 2025 to 2027.
Applies to
- Social landlords in England: housing associations, ALMOs, local authority housing departments
- Not yet applied to private rented sector but expected in future extensions
Key dates
- October 2025: Phase 1: statutory timescales for damp and mould.
- 2026: Phase 2 expected: expansion to other significant hazards (structural, electrical, security).
- 2027: Phase 3 expected: full HHSRS hazard coverage.
Why the law exists
Awaab Ishak was a two-year-old who died in December 2020 as a result of prolonged exposure to mould in the Rochdale flat his family rented from a housing association. The coroner ruled the mould directly contributed to his death and criticised the landlord for treating the complaints as a lifestyle issue rather than a repair issue.
The law is named after him and imposes strict timescales on landlords so that hazards are investigated on evidence, not on a landlord's assumption about the tenant.
Phase 1 timescales (October 2025)
Once a report of damp or mould has been made, social landlords must investigate within a statutory window and act on the findings within a further window. Emergency hazards must be made safe within 24 hours.
- Investigate reported hazards within 14 days.
- Provide a written summary of findings to the resident within 48 hours of the investigation.
- Begin repair work within 7 days of the investigation confirming a hazard.
- Emergency hazards: attend and make safe within 24 hours.
What landlords need in place
A single log of every damp or mould report, timestamped, with the property address, resident contact and initial description. A workflow that assigns an investigator within the statutory window. A photographic and written record of the investigation findings. Automatic escalation if the timescales are at risk of breach.
The 24-hour emergency clock is the operational challenge. If a report comes in at 6pm on a Friday, the timer keeps running. Landlords need a rota and an out-of-hours workflow that can dispatch, not just log.
Evidence a resident can request
Residents (and their representatives) can require a landlord to produce the investigation record, the written summary, the repair schedule and the completion evidence. Failure to comply is itself a breach and can be actioned through the Housing Ombudsman.
Common questions
Does Awaab's Law apply to new-build handovers?
It applies once the resident is in occupation and the property is being rented socially. New builds handed over to a social landlord fall into scope as soon as the tenancy begins. Housebuilders handing over to housing associations should expect the landlord to require evidence of no pre-existing damp risk.
What happens when Phase 2 arrives?
Phase 2 (expected 2026) extends the same statutory timescales to a wider set of hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. That includes structural risks, electrical hazards and security. The clock model stays the same; only the scope broadens.
How does Ubrix help with Awaab's Law?
Ubrix logs every resident report with a timestamp, dispatches to the right contractor via Auto-Assign, and tracks SLA countdown against each statutory window. If a report is at risk of breaching timescale, it is surfaced before the deadline, not after.
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Full guide as a PDF
The long-form guide includes worked examples, evidence templates and a per-plot checklist. Free, no signup.
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See how Ubrix captures the evidence you need.
Ubrix stores compliance evidence against the plot, not on shared drives. Timestamps, sign-offs and documents come out as an audit trail on demand.