Awaab's Law and private landlords: what applies now, and what's coming
Awaab's Law comes up constantly in landlord forums right now, and the details usually get garbled somewhere along the way. Here's what it actually requires, who it applies to today, and what's realistically coming for private portfolio landlords.
What Awaab's Law requires
Awaab's Law came into force on 27 October 2025, under the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. Its first phase sets strict, timetabled duties for investigating and fixing damp and mould hazards:
- Emergency hazards must be investigated and made safe within 24 hours.
- Significant damp and mould hazards must be investigated within 10 working days of the landlord becoming aware of them.
- A written summary of findings must go to the tenant within 3 working days of that investigation concluding.
- Safety works must be carried out within 5 working days where a significant hazard is confirmed.
From 30 November 2026, a second phase widens the same style of deadlines to a broader set of Housing Health and Safety Rating System hazards: excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire, electrical hazards, and hygiene hazards.
Who it applies to today
Social landlords only — councils and housing associations. As of today, Awaab's Law does not apply to the private rented sector.
What's coming for private landlords
The extension to private landlords is planned as part of the wider Renters' Rights Act reforms, alongside a new Decent Homes Standard for the private rented sector. It needs secondary legislation that hasn't been published yet, so there's no confirmed date. Most legal commentary points to 2027 at the earliest.
That doesn't mean private landlords are unregulated on damp and mould in the meantime. Two things already apply, separately from Awaab's Law: the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (under the Housing Act 2004) lets local authorities act against private landlords over serious hazards, damp and mould included, and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 gives tenants a direct right to act if a rented home isn't fit to live in. What Awaab's Law adds, once it reaches the private sector, is the timetabled version of that duty — fixed working-day deadlines instead of a general "reasonable time" standard.
Why this is worth doing before the deadlines apply
You don't need to wait for the regulations to land to see why this matters. Once fixed deadlines apply, a written summary within 3 working days means "we're looking into it" stops being an acceptable holding position — you need evidence you can act on immediately. A landlord who already has a dated record of conditions, not just a tenant's phone call, gets through that first 10-working-day investigation window a lot faster than one starting from zero.
And disputes over damp and mould don't wait for any deadline regime — they're happening now. Whether a case is condensation from poor ventilation or an unresolved leak is exactly the kind of disagreement a dated, independent weather record helps settle, today, not just once Phase 3 lands.
Damp/mould watch is built for exactly that gap: a free alert when sustained humidity data for a property crosses a threshold anchored to BS 5250, the UK's own condensation-control code of practice. It builds the dated record before you need it.
This isn't legal advice — for guidance on your specific obligations, talk to a housing solicitor or your local authority's private housing team.
Add your properties and start building that record today, before you need it.