Introducing Awaab’s Law

Awaab’s Law is here to help make sure problems in social housing homes are dealt with quickly and safely. It came into effect on 27 October 2025 and sets clear deadlines for landlords to look into and fix serious hazards, including damp and mould.

The law is named in memory of Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old boy who died after prolonged exposure to mould in his home. It’s an important reminder of why we must take these issues seriously and act quickly when customers raise concerns.

More hazards will be added in future phases, including things like excess cold, excess heat, falls, fire, electrical hazards, hygiene concerns and food safety. For now, the first phase focuses on emergency hazards and serious damp and mould.

What Awaab’s Law means for you

If there’s an emergency hazard in your home, such as a dangerous electrical fault, a major leak, or damage that makes your home unsafe, we must investigate it and make it safe within 24 hours.

If you report serious damp or mould, we’ll investigate it within the required timescales and explain what happens next.

After we’ve looked into the issue, we’ll give you a written summary of what we found and what we’ll do to help make your home safe.

If more work is needed to stop the problem coming back, we’ll plan that work and keep you updated. We’ll also let you know how to stay safe while repairs are being arranged or carried out.

If your home can’t be made safe in time, we’ll talk to you about somewhere else you can stay while the work is completed.

What’s changed

We’ve made our approach clearer, quicker and more consistent. That means when you report a problem, you’ll have a better idea of what we’ll do, when we’ll do it, and how we’ll keep you updated.

If you’re worried about damp, mould or any other hazard in your home, please get in touch with us as soon as you can. The sooner we know, the sooner we can help.