Awaab's Law
Provisions extending to the private rented sector under the Renters Rights Act 2025 that set strict timescales for landlords to investigate and remedy hazards such as damp and mould. Named after Awaab Ishak. Breach can lead to tenant compensation and enforcement by the local housing authority.
At a glance
- Named after
- Awaab Ishak
- Applies to
- PRS (extended by RRA 2025)
- Core duty
- Strict timescales to investigate + remedy hazards
- Enforcement
- Local housing authority + tenant compensation
Full guide
Read the complete landlord guide on Awaab's Law
Deadlines, fines and step-by-step compliance in our in-depth resource.
Open full guideWhy Awaab's Law matters for landlords
Awaab’s Law was originally written for social housing after the preventable death of Awaab Ishak from mould exposure. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 extended the timescale-based duties to the private rented sector, so a damp-and-mould complaint can no longer sit in a landlord’s inbox for weeks. Missing a statutory investigation or repair window is not just a reputational risk — it generates a live enforcement and compensation exposure, and the paper trail of when a tenant reported the hazard becomes legally decisive.
Worked example
A tenant in a converted Edwardian flat in Manchester reports black mould in the bathroom on 3 March 2026 and emails photos. Under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 timetable extended from Awaab’s Law, the landlord must investigate within the statutory window and produce a written response with a remedy plan. They miss the email for 17 days because it was filtered as spam. The tenant complains to the council, which serves an Improvement Notice; the landlord ends up paying for emergency mould treatment, redecoration and £1,400 statutory compensation — and the council retains an open enforcement file that flags every future possession claim.
Illustrative scenario based on real UK landlord casework patterns. Names and addresses are fictitious.
Common Awaab's Law mistakes UK landlords make
- Treating an email or SMS report as informal — the statutory clock starts the moment the tenant first communicates the hazard, regardless of channel.
- Sending a contractor without a written acknowledgement to the tenant; the documented response is what stops the timeline penalty, not the visit itself.
- Failing to log when the report came in, so the landlord cannot prove they responded within the statutory window if challenged.
- Assuming Awaab’s Law only covers mould — it covers any HHSRS Category 1 hazard, including excess cold and dangerous wiring.
What to do this week
- Set up a single dated inbox or log for hazard reports so any tenant complaint is timestamped on receipt.
- Draft a one-page written response template that acknowledges the report, outlines the investigation step and gives a target remedy date.
- Diary a 14-day investigation deadline and a remedy-plan deadline for every hazard report this week.
- Audit your last 12 months of repair tickets to identify any unresolved damp, mould or Category 1 risk that would now fail the timetable.
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Official sources
LetCompliance editorial reviews this entry every quarter against the sources above. Always confirm specific duties with a qualified solicitor or your local council.
Related terms
Additional Licensing
A discretionary HMO licensing scheme a council can introduce under section 56 of the Housing Act 2004 to cover smaller HMOs that fall below the mandatory five-person, three-storey threshold. It is separate from selective licensing (which covers all rented homes in a designated area, not just HMOs). Operating an unlicensed HMO where additional licensing applies is a criminal offence with civil penalties up to £30,000 and exposure to a Rent Repayment Order of up to 24 months’ rent.
Article 4 Direction
A planning tool councils use under article 4 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 to remove permitted-development rights, most commonly the right to convert a single-family home (Use Class C3) into a small HMO (Use Class C4) without planning permission. In an Article 4 area, every C3 → C4 conversion needs a full planning application, and operating without it can trigger an enforcement notice, a planning contravention notice or a refusal of HMO licence.
Banning Order
A court order under Part 2 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 banning a person convicted of certain housing offences from letting property, engaging in lettings agency work or holding an HMO licence. Triggered by a banning-order offence (Schedule 1 of the Act): includes serious housing-condition offences, illegal eviction and unlawful HMO operation. A banned landlord is added to the national database of rogue landlords and breach of the order is itself a criminal offence with up to 51 weeks’ imprisonment.
Civil Penalty Notice
A financial penalty up to £30,000 a local housing authority can impose as an alternative to criminal prosecution under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, the Housing Act 2004 (HMO offences) and various tenancy offences. Common triggers: failure to comply with an Improvement Notice, breach of HMO licensing, unlawful eviction, breach of selective licensing or letting an unsafe property. The landlord can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal within 28 days; unpaid penalties are recoverable in the County Court.
Council Tax
The tax charged on residential property by the local authority. Tenants are usually liable while the property is let as their main residence. Landlords become liable during void periods and for most HMOs (where each tenant has their own AST).
Decent Homes Standard (DHS)
A government standard for minimum housing quality, extended to the private rented sector by the Renters Rights Act 2025. Properties must be free of Category 1 HHSRS hazards, in a reasonable state of repair, have reasonably modern facilities and provide reasonable thermal comfort.