On 21st December 2020, Awaab Ishak tragically lost his life as a result of chronic exposure to mould in the property he occupied, leading to calls for change to law governing social housing spearheaded by the family of Awaab, with the support of the media and politicians.

Soon after, the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 was given Royal Assent and became law, requiring landlords to investigate and remedy damp, mould and other prescribed hazards, as defined in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), in their properties ‘within strict new time limits’.

It is important that tenants continue to report these issues to their landlord at any given opportunity. Establishing that your landlord has knowledge of these defects will give rise to the landlord’s duties under Awaab’s Law. It is however interesting to note that the tenant will not be required to take a complaint through a landlord’s formal complaints procedure to initiate the timescales under Awaab’s Law, which has become a separate issue in itself as a result of Churchill v. Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council [2023] EWCA Civ 1416.

Protection for tenants and reinforced law to compel landlords to address issues of damp and mould in their properties has been a necessity for quite some time. Richard Blakeway of the Housing Ombudsman’s assessment of landlord attitude toward damp and mould being that of “outdated, ineffective and sometimes dismissive”, often blaming tenant lifestyle.

Here at SJS Legal we encounter claims involving damp and mould daily and a dismissive attitude toward these issues remains. However, given that Awaab’s Law intends to impose fixed time limits upon the landlord, we are hopeful of a positive change in attitude toward completing repairs and ensuring tenant health & safety remains a priority.

Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, stated that “Awaab’s Law will set clear and stronger laws to ensure that tenants are living in safe homes”. It is hard to disagree with this statement given the obligation upon social landlords to adhere to strict, fixed timeframes for repairs and the potential accountability social landlords will face if they fail to do so.

Awaab’s Law seeks to impose upon social landlords an obligation to investigate the cause of a hazard within 14 days of being notified by their tenant. A physical inspection of the property will not always be necessary; however, the landlord will remain under an obligation to investigate the hazard within 14 days either way.

Upon completion of the investigation, social landlords will be required to provide a written summary to their tenants of the hazards identified, if any, next steps and a timeline for repairs. This is to be provided to their tenant within 48 hours of conclusion of the investigation. This will ensure that the tenant receives an immediate update as to the status of the property, without being required to continually chase their landlord.

Following the above, social landlords will then be required to commence repair works within 7 days of the written summary being issued to their tenant. The repair works must be completed within a reasonable time period, which is unfortunately vague and left to the devices of the landlord as to what they deem to be reasonable. However, any work deemed to be ‘urgent’, such as gas leaks, broken boilers or prevalent damp and mould, must be repaired within 24 hours, or tenants must be offered a temporary decant at the landlord’s expense.

In theory, investigation and repair works should be completed within 23 days. This is far greater than the current circumstances, in which tenants can be ignored for months and in some cases, years. It remains to be seen whether social landlords will have the capacity to adhere to the same.

The Government has confirmed that Awaab’s Law will be introduced in a phased approach to ensure effective implementation.

From October 2025, landlords will be required to investigate and remedy damp and mould within specific, set time periods, ensuring all emergency hazards are remedied within 24 hours of notification by their tenant.

From 2026, these duties will extend to further prescribed hazards, such as excess cold and structural collapse and from 2027, the landlord will be under a duty to investigate and remedy all prescribed hazards.

The introduction and implementation of Awaab’s Law indicates that social landlords need to deal with problems within their properties quickly. It is clear that social landlords must have robust measures in place to prevent damp, mould or any other prescribed hazard from impacting the health and safety of their tenants.

Overall, this is a step in the right direction for tenants. Attempts are clearly being made to afford greater protection to tenants in social housing, with health and safety at the forefront. This is a most welcome development in light of the events of recent years and we now await the impact.