An Introduction to Awaab’s Law
Ted Culley - 11 February 2026
In October last year, the first phase of the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) Regulations 2025 (or ‘Awaab’s Law’) was implemented into English law, altering the legal responsibilities for most social housing providers.
Currently, there are nearly 1,600 providers of social housing in England. These organisations are a mixture of local authorities, non-profit organisations, and for-profit companies, who provide accommodation to roughly 16% of England’s 25 million households.
The framework for Awaab’s Law was introduced within the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, which introduced a new section 10A to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Under this section, ‘The Secretary of State must make regulations which require the lessor under a lease to which this section applies to take action, in relation to prescribed hazards which affect or may affect the leased dwelling, within the period or periods specified in the regulations.’ In short, this clause allowed new social housing safety regulations relating to hazards to be introduced. The regulations that came into force in October 2025 were the first phase these new regulations.
The main purpose of Awaab’s Law is to ensure that landlords fix serious problems within social housing quickly. The 2025 regulations were named ‘Awaab’s Law’ in memory of Awaab Ishak; a 2-year-old boy who tragically passed away in December 2020 due to complications caused by exposure to mould in his parent’s social housing.
Public outcry surrounding Awaab’s death drew attention to issues of damp and mould across England, and a petition in his name gained 177,820 signatures. Published in 2022, the coroner’s report on Awaab’s death highlighted that the ‘impact on health from damp and mould is a widespread national issue’ and noted that it was ‘not simply a social housing issue’, but one where ‘the same concerns apply as much to the private landlords.’
Awaab’s Law sets out how landlords must address both ‘emergency hazards’ and ‘significant hazards relating to damp and mould’. Emergency hazards are defined as ‘hazards that pose an imminent and significant risk of harm’. The legislation lists broken boilers, gas or carbon monoxide leaks, and electrical hazards (such as exposed wiring), as some examples of emergency hazards. These must now be investigated and corrected within 24 hours of the landlord becoming aware of the issue.
Landlords must also respond to significant hazards relating to damp and mould, where they pose a ‘significant risk of harm to the health or safety’ of tenants. The hazard must be investigated by the landlord within 10 working days, and a written summary must then be produced by the landlord within 3 working days of the investigation’s conclusion. Following this, relevant safety work must begin within 5 working days of the investigation if it concluded it was necessary.
Official guidance on Awaab’s Law for social landlords warns against assuming that a tenant’s ‘lifestyle’ is the cause of growth of mould or damp. The guidance explicitly states that ‘‘It is unacceptable for social landlords to assume that the cause of a hazard, such as damp and mould, is due to the tenant’s ‘lifestyle’” and they must not “make assumptions and fail to take action or to investigate a damp and mould hazard.” Guidance also lists everyday activities such as cooking, bathing, washing and drying laundry as unavoidable and therefore unlikely to be a reason for a tenant’s breach of contract, meaning that the landlord is on the hook for the aforementioned hazards.
The full extent of the regulations covered under Awaab’s Law will not come into effect until 2027. In 2026, regulations will be extended to cover hazards relating to excess cold and heat, falls associated with baths, structural collapse, fire and electrical hazards, and domestic and personal hygiene food safety. By 2027, the act will aim to provide regulations and guidance on all hazards in the HHSRS (apart from overcrowding).
The 2025 renter’s rights act has also extended the obligations of landlords to the private rental sector, but currently, there are no available timeframes for when relevant guidance will be published.