Awaab's Law

Awaab's Law already sets fixed deadlines for social landlords in England to investigate and fix damp, mould and other serious hazards. On 9 October 2026 the government opened a consultation on extending the same deadlines to private rented homes. The earliest start date it gives for private landlords is 2027, and damp and mould are proposed to come first.

The law is named after Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old who died in 2020 after prolonged exposure to mould in his family's flat in Rochdale.

Status

Awaab's Law does not apply to private landlords yet. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 gives the government the power to extend it to private tenancies (section 60) and to homes let under a licence (section 61). The detailed rules will be set in regulations, and the consultation on them runs until 18 December 2026.

For social housing the law is already in force. Phase 1 started on 27 October 2025 and covers damp and mould and all emergency hazards. Phase 2 is due on 30 November 2026 and adds hazards such as excess cold, excess heat, falls, fire and electrical hazards.

Deadlines

The consultation uses the social housing deadlines as its starting point and asks whether private landlords should have the same, shorter or longer ones.

The proposal covers all hazards in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System apart from overcrowding. As in social housing, the government proposes to start with damp and mould and emergency hazards and add the rest later.

Enforcement

Awaab's Law works as a term written into every tenancy. If a landlord misses a deadline, the tenant can take them to court for breach of contract, and the court can order repairs and compensation. A landlord who uses a letting or managing agent stays responsible. From 2028 tenants are also expected to be able to complain to the new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman.

Councils keep their existing powers over damp and mould under the Housing Act 2004, and tenants can already bring claims under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. The government says the repairs covered by Awaab's Law are already part of landlords' existing obligations. What changes is the deadline.

Records

Under the social housing rules, a landlord has a defence if it can show it used all reasonable endeavours to meet the deadlines. The government guidance asks social landlords to keep clear records of all contact, investigations and communication with tenants, because those records are what show when a landlord knew about a problem and what it did about it.

Private landlords can start keeping the same records now.

• Log every report of damp or mould with the date, whether it came by phone, email, text or in person.
• Record when you inspected, what you found and what you told the tenant, in writing.
• Keep dated photos before and after work, plus invoices and contractor reports.
• Go back at least six weeks after the work to check the problem has not returned.

Monitoring

No product makes a landlord compliant on its own. Compliance comes from investigating and acting within the deadlines.

CLIMAID adds a record of the home's indoor climate. The sensor measures temperature and humidity around the clock, and CLIMAID calculates the risk of mould from those readings. Every reading is timestamped and stored. When the risk rises you get an alert, and the history shows when conditions started to change and how the home responded after you acted. If a complaint or a claim comes in, you can ask Aida, the AI assistant in the dashboard, for a report and download it as a PDF.

Your tenant can scan the QR code on the sensor to see the readings for their own home and get a text when it is time to air the room. You and your tenant look at the same numbers.

Government guidance on damp and mould says sensors should support, not replace, inspections and repairs, and should not be used to blame tenants. It also says that a risk alert from a monitoring system does not on its own mean the landlord has been made aware of a hazard. Treat a rising risk as an early warning to look into.

See the indoor climate sensor or read our guide to damp and mould in rented homes.

Questions

Does Awaab's Law apply to private landlords?

Not yet. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 gives the government the power to extend it, and a consultation on the details is open until 18 December 2026. The earliest start date the government gives is 2027.

What will the deadlines be?

They have not been decided. The starting point is the social housing rules: investigate a significant hazard within 10 working days, send the tenant a written summary within 3 working days, start making the home safe within 5 working days, and deal with emergencies within 24 hours.

Will damp and mould be covered first?

That is the government's proposal, following the order used in social housing.

Does a sensor make me compliant?

No. A sensor gives you timestamped readings and a record of when a risk was detected and when it was dealt with. You still have to investigate and act within the deadlines.

Does a sensor alert start the clock?

The guidance for social landlords says a risk notification from a monitoring system does not on its own mean the landlord has been made aware of a hazard. It is a signal to look into.

Can I produce a report if a tenant complains?

Yes. Ask Aida in the dashboard to generate a report for the home and download it as a PDF.

Sources

• Extending Awaab's Law to private rented tenancies and to licences (GOV.UK, 2026)
• Damp and mould: understanding and addressing the health risks for rented housing providers (GOV.UK)
• Awaab's Law: guidance for social landlords (GOV.UK)