Awaab's Law: What Landlords Must Do About Damp, Mould and Hazards in 2026

In December 2020, two-year-old Awaab Ishak died in Rochdale from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in a social housing property. His death prompted a national outcry and, eventually, a new law bearing his name that now applies to every private landlord in England.

Awaab's Law is not optional. It sets statutory deadlines for investigating and repairing hazards - and failing to meet them can result in fines of up to £7,000, enforcement action by local councils, and compensation claims from tenants.

What does Awaab's Law actually require?

The law creates a tiered response system based on the severity of the hazard:

Emergency hazards (gas leaks, structural collapse, major flooding)

• You must take action immediately - within 24 hours
• If you cannot make the property safe within 24 hours, you must provide alternative accommodation
• Emergency works must begin within 24 hours

Category 1 hazards (damp and mould, electrical faults, fire hazards, cold)

Category 1 hazards are those defined under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) as posing a serious risk to health or safety. These are the most common hazards landlords face.

• You must investigate within 5 working days of the tenant's report
• You must begin remediation works within 7 working days of completing your investigation
• You must complete the works within a reasonable timeframe
• If you cannot complete within these timescales, you must provide written reasons and a revised timeline

Category 2 hazards and general repairs

For less serious hazards, you must respond within a "reasonable time" - which in practice means within 28 days for most routine repairs. However, if a Category 2 hazard is left unaddressed and worsens into a Category 1 hazard, the stricter timelines kick in retrospectively from the original report date.

What counts as a Category 1 hazard?

The most common Category 1 hazards in residential properties are:

• Damp and mould: Visible mould growth (not just minor surface mould), condensation causing structural dampness, rising or penetrating damp
• Cold: Inability to maintain 18°C in living areas - poor insulation, broken boiler, inadequate heating
• Electrical: Exposed wiring, malfunctioning sockets, outdated fuse board, signs of burning or sparking
• Fire: Blocked escape routes, absent/broken smoke alarms, fire hazards in communal areas
• Falls: Broken stairs, missing bannisters, unsafe flooring in high-traffic areas
• Carbon monoxide: Malfunctioning gas appliances

PropReady's AI maintenance classifier automatically assesses each tenant report and flags whether it is likely to be a Category 1 hazard, starting your 5-day investigation timer automatically.

What happens if I miss the deadlines?

Local councils can issue a Civil Penalty Notice of up to £7,000 for failure to comply with Awaab's Law timescales. This is per incident - if you have multiple outstanding hazards, the fines are cumulative.

Tenants can also apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for a Rent Repayment Order - meaning they can recover up to 12 months of rent they've paid while living with an unaddressed hazard.

From late 2026, tenants will also be able to bring complaints to the new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman, who can award compensation without the need for court proceedings.

The key practical challenge: proving you responded in time

The letter of the law matters less than the evidence you can produce. When a tenant claims you failed to respond to a hazard report, your defence depends entirely on your documentation:

• When did you receive the report? (WhatsApp timestamp? Email? In-person verbal report - do you have a note?)
• When did you investigate? (Did you visit the property? Who did you bring?)
• What did your investigation find? (Written note, photos)
• When did you instruct a contractor? (Email or text to contractor)
• When did the works begin and complete?

If you cannot produce this evidence, a council inspector or tribunal is unlikely to rule in your favour, even if you did act reasonably.

How PropReady helps with Awaab's Law compliance

PropReady's maintenance module:

• Gives your tenants a portal link to log maintenance reports - every report is timestamped automatically
• Classifies each report using AI (emergency / Category 1 / routine)
• Starts the appropriate countdown timer the moment a report is received
• Sends you SMS alerts when a timer is approaching deadline
• Allows you to log contractor instructions, visits, and completion - all timestamped
• Creates an ombudsman-ready audit trail for every property

Damp and mould: the most common Category 1 hazard

Damp and mould is by far the most common Category 1 hazard in the private rented sector. The causes range from condensation (a tenant behaviour issue) to penetrating damp (a building defect) - and the distinction matters for how you respond.

Condensation mould

Even if the root cause is tenant lifestyle (inadequate ventilation, drying laundry indoors), you cannot simply tell the tenant to open windows and close the matter. You must investigate and, if the property has poor ventilation or inadequate heating, address those deficiencies. Courts have consistently held that where a property is structurally inadequate to resist condensation mould, the landlord is responsible.

Penetrating or rising damp

These are building defects requiring professional remediation. You have 5 days to investigate, and remediation should begin within 7 days of identifying the cause. In practice, damp remediation can take weeks - that's acceptable, provided you begin works and communicate with the tenant about timescales.

Checklist: Awaab's Law compliance

• ☐ Set up a formal, documented maintenance reporting channel for all tenants
• ☐ Ensure every report is timestamped when received
• ☐ Respond to all Category 1 hazard reports with a physical inspection within 5 working days
• ☐ Log the outcome of your investigation in writing
• ☐ Instruct contractors within 7 working days of completing your investigation
• ☐ Log when works begin and complete
• ☐ Address any outstanding damp/mould reports immediately - these are the highest risk