Awaab’s Law timer

No. Awaab’s Law currently applies to social landlords only. The government has said it will consult on how to apply it to private renting and has not set a date. A private landlord’s duties on damp, mould and other hazards today come from the fitness for human habitation and repairing obligations in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and from council enforcement under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

For social landlords, emergency hazards are the most serious hazards that need urgent action, such as a gas leak, dangerous electrics or sewage in the home. The landlord must investigate and make the home safe within 24 hours. The timer applies the same 24-hour window as a benchmark for private lets.

Under Awaab’s Law a social landlord must investigate a significant damp and mould hazard within 10 working days of becoming aware of it, give the tenant a written summary within 3 working days of the investigation ending, and make the home safe within 5 working days of the investigation ending. Further work to stop it recurring must start within 5 working days and physically begin within 12 weeks. Private landlords are not yet bound by these timescales, but they are a sound benchmark.

A dated record of each step: the tenant’s report, your reply, the inspection with photographs, any specialist report, the quotes, the work booked and completed, and the tenant’s confirmation. Disrepair and fitness claims are decided in the county court, and a council deciding whether to take action looks at the same history, so a gap in the record is hard to explain later.

For a private landlord there is no Awaab’s Law penalty, because it does not apply to private renting yet. What does apply is council enforcement under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System: failing to comply with an improvement notice is an offence, and the council can impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000 instead of prosecuting, with a Rent Repayment Order of up to two years’ rent also possible. The tenant can bring a claim for disrepair or unfitness. For a social landlord, the requirements are implied terms of the tenancy, so tenants can enforce them in court.

Not as a first answer. A landlord is not responsible for putting right damage caused by a tenant failing to use the home in a tenant-like manner, but damp and mould often have building causes too, such as leaks, poor ventilation or cold walls. Inspect, record what you find, and fix the building-related causes before attributing the problem to how the home is used.

Under section 11(6) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 you can enter at reasonable times to view the condition of the property after giving 24 hours’ notice in writing. If the tenant refuses, keep a dated record of each request and reply and offer other times. Repeated, documented attempts put you in a far stronger position than a single missed visit.

For social landlords, the first phase has covered damp and mould and emergency hazards since 27 October 2025. From 30 November 2026 the second phase adds further hazards, such as excess cold and heat, falls, fire and electrical hazards. It still does not apply to private landlords.