Awaab's Law: What Social Housing Residents Need to Know
A simple guide to Awaab's Law for social housing residents in England, including current repair timeframes, damp and mould rules and what changes from 30 November 2026.
If you live in social housing in England, Awaab's Law sets legal timeframes for social landlords to investigate and deal with certain serious hazards in the home.
The law was introduced following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in 2020 after prolonged exposure to mould in his home. It is intended to make sure serious hazards are investigated and acted on within clear timeframes.
Awaab's Law is being introduced in phases. Some protections are already in force, while further hazards will come within the rules from 30 November 2026.
So what does Awaab's Law mean for residents, what does it cover, and what should you do if you are concerned about a hazard in your home?
What is Awaab's Law?
Awaab's Law is the name commonly given to legal requirements that set timeframes for social landlords to investigate and make safe certain hazards in their homes.
The first phase came into force on 27 October 2025.
It currently covers:
- all emergency hazards that fall within the rules
- damp and mould hazards that present a significant risk of harm
The law is not simply about whether something needs repairing. The seriousness of the hazard and the risk it creates for the people living in the home are important when deciding whether Awaab's Law applies.
Who does Awaab's Law apply to?
Awaab's Law currently applies to the social rented sector in England.
That includes homes rented from local authorities and registered social housing providers such as housing associations, where the relevant legal requirements apply. Shared ownership accommodation is excluded from the definition of a social home under these regulations.
It is therefore important not to assume that the specific Awaab's Law timeframes apply to every rented home in the UK.
Private landlords have other legal responsibilities relating to repairs and the condition of rented homes, but those should not be confused with the specific Awaab's Law requirements discussed here.
What does Awaab's Law cover now?
At the moment, there are two particularly important areas residents should understand.
Emergency hazards
An emergency hazard is one that creates an imminent and significant risk of harm and needs to be made safe very quickly.
Under the current rules, when a social landlord becomes aware of a potential emergency hazard, it must investigate and take action to make the home safe within 24 hours.
What counts as an emergency will depend on the hazard and the circumstances.
Significant damp and mould hazards
Awaab's Law also covers damp and mould where it presents a significant risk of harm. If you are dealing with this in your home, see our damp and mould guide for practical information on reporting and recording the problem.
For a significant damp and mould hazard, the landlord must investigate within 10 working days.
If the investigation identifies a significant hazard, the home must then be made safe within 5 working days after the investigation concludes.
These are maximum legal timeframes. They do not mean a landlord should wait until the deadline where the circumstances require quicker action.
What happens after your landlord investigates?
Awaab's Law isn't only about carrying out an inspection.
For a significant damp and mould hazard, the current tenant guidance explains that the landlord must generally provide a written summary within 3 working days after the investigation, unless all the necessary work has already been started and completed within that period.
Where further preventative work is required, the landlord must take steps to get that work underway within the prescribed timescales. Under the current framework, additional work should be progressing within 5 working days after the investigation, and the necessary work must physically begin within 12 weeks at the latest.
The landlord should also keep the resident updated and provide information about staying safe while the work is being dealt with.
What changes to Awaab's Law on 30 November 2026?
This is an important upcoming change.
From 30 November 2026, Phase 2 of Awaab's Law will extend the significant-hazard requirements beyond damp and mould.
The additional categories are:
- excess cold
- excess heat
- falls
- structural collapse
- fire and explosions
- electrical hazards
- domestic hygiene, including personal hygiene and food safety
Damp and mould will remain within the rules, and emergency hazards will continue to be covered.
This does not mean that every instance of one of these problems will automatically be classed as a significant hazard under Awaab's Law.
The level of risk and the circumstances of the household still matter.
What is a significant hazard?
From 30 November 2026, the amended framework uses what government guidance describes as a "reasonable landlord" test when assessing significant and emergency hazards.
Broadly, the question is how quickly a reasonable landlord with the relevant information would need to make the hazard safe.
The Phase 2 guidance defines a significant risk as one that a reasonable landlord would make safe within 15 working days, while an emergency involves an imminent and significant risk that a reasonable landlord would make safe within 24 hours.
This is about the risk created by the problem, not simply the name of the repair.
For example, two apparently similar problems could create different levels of risk depending on where they are, how serious they are and who is living in the home.
Why do your household circumstances matter?
One particularly important part of Awaab's Law is that hazards should not be considered without looking at the people who actually live in the home.
Government Phase 2 guidance tells landlords to take residents' and households' circumstances into account when triaging hazards, including information the landlord already has about those circumstances.
This means that when you report a problem, it can be useful to explain not only what is wrong, but also how it is affecting the people living there.
Clear information can help the landlord understand the situation and assess the appropriate response.
What should you do if you notice a serious problem in your home?
Report the problem to your landlord as soon as possible.
Try to provide enough information for them to understand what is happening.
That might include photographs, where the problem is located, when you first noticed it, whether it has changed or become worse, whether it has happened before and how it is affecting your household. If you are unsure how to start, our guide to reporting a repair explains what information can be useful.
If something changes after you've reported it, report that change too.
A small amount of clear information can often be much more useful than simply saying that something is "bad" or "getting worse".
What information should you keep?
Keeping a simple record can help both you and your landlord understand what has happened over time. Our guide to keeping evidence for housing repairs has more practical examples.
Useful information can include:
- the date you first reported the problem
- photographs or videos
- copies of emails, messages or repair reports
- dates of inspections and appointments
- what you were told
- any written summary provided after an investigation
- work that has been carried out
- photographs or notes if the problem returns
- changes in the condition of the home
This isn't about building a case against your landlord.
A clear record can help everyone involved understand the history of the issue, what has already been tried and what still needs attention.
What if your home cannot be made safe in time?
Awaab's Law also provides protection where relevant safety work cannot be completed within the required timeframe.
Under the current rules, if the landlord cannot make the home safe within the required period, it must offer to provide suitable alternative accommodation for the household while the necessary work is completed. The accommodation is provided at the social landlord's expense.
The landlord should consider the needs of the household, including accessibility requirements, children and relevant connections to work, school and the local area when considering suitable accommodation.
What if you are unhappy with how a hazard is being handled?
Start by making sure your landlord has the most accurate and up-to-date information about the problem.
If you believe the issue has not been dealt with appropriately, you can use your landlord's complaints process.
Depending on the circumstances, residents may also be able to take a complaint to the Housing Ombudsman or seek independent advice about other options available to them.
Not every unresolved repair will automatically be an Awaab's Law issue, so it is useful to distinguish between a repair, a hazard and a hazard that meets the relevant threshold under the law.
Why keeping a clear record of your home matters
Awaab's Law highlights something that matters beyond this particular legislation: good information about a home can make a real difference.
A landlord may hold repair records, inspection information and other property data.
Residents have another important part of the picture because they experience what is happening inside the home every day.
Dates, photographs, recurring problems, changes in the condition of a room and information about how an issue is affecting the household can all add useful context.
House Krowd helps residents keep clearer information about their homes so that important details aren't spread across old emails, photographs, messages and individual conversations.
When residents capture clear, structured information about their homes, it can help remove some of the guesswork for residents, landlords, contractors and others involved in resolving the problem.
Awaab's Law is changing, but the principle is simple
Residents should be able to report serious hazards and have them investigated and acted on appropriately.
Awaab's Law introduces clearer legal timeframes for the most serious situations in social housing, with the protections expanding further from 30 November 2026.
For residents, one of the most useful things you can do is report problems early, explain clearly what is happening and keep an accurate record as things change.
For the official government guidance, see Awaab's Law guidance for tenants in social housing. For the forthcoming changes, see the official Phase 2 guidance.
Frequently asked questions
Does Awaab's Law apply to private renters?
The Awaab's Law regulations discussed in this guide apply to the social rented sector in England. Private landlords have other legal responsibilities for the safety, condition and repair of rented homes, but the specific Awaab's Law framework should not be assumed to apply to every private tenancy.
Is Awaab's Law only about damp and mould?
No. Phase 1 covers significant damp and mould hazards as well as emergency hazards. From 30 November 2026, the significant-hazard requirements expand to include excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards and domestic hygiene hazards.
Does every repair have to be completed within 24 hours?
No. The 24-hour requirement relates to emergency hazards. Different requirements apply to significant hazards and other repair issues.
Do I need photographs before reporting a hazard?
Don't delay reporting a potentially serious hazard because you haven't taken photographs. Report the issue promptly. Photos and other records can provide useful additional information where it is safe and practical to collect them.
What happens if the same problem comes back?
Report it again and explain that it has happened before. Previous dates, photographs, repairs and communications can provide useful context and help show the history of the problem.