Awaab's Law summary
Since 27 October 2025, social landlords in England must investigate and fix hazards to fixed deadlines. The law is named after Awaab Ishak.
- Emergencies
- Investigate and make safe within 24 hours.
- Damp and mould
- Investigate within 10 working days, then make safe within 5 working days of the investigation ending.
- Phase 2, from 30 November 2026
- The same deadlines for more hazards, including excess cold, falls, fire and electrics. Parliament approved the regulations in October 2026.
- Private landlords
- Not covered yet. A consultation runs until 18 December 2026, and no start date is set.
Jump to what to record on a damp report, or to one report's deadlines worked through.
Last checked 10 November 2026See the sources
On this page
Who has to follow Awaab's Law today
Social landlords in England: councils and housing associations letting social homes.
The rules are in the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025, and they apply to every social tenancy, whenever it started.
Does Awaab's Law apply to private landlords?
Not yet. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 lets the government apply it to private renting, but regulations are needed first, and no start date has been set.
The private renting consultation closes at 11.59pm on 18 December 2026. It asks whether private landlords should face the same deadlines as social housing, shorter ones or longer ones, and whether the rules should start in 2027, 2028 or 2029. The options are below.
Private landlords already have duties under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. These cover the structure, heating, hot water and water supply. The home must also be fit to live in. Our guide to repair response times covers those duties.
The government also expects to require private landlords to join the new private rented sector landlord ombudsman from 2028.
Awaab's Law timescales and guidance
For the working-day deadlines, the day the landlord becomes aware of a possible hazard is day zero, and day one is the next working day. Weekends, Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays don't count.
The 24-hour emergency deadline runs straight through weekends and bank holidays.
| What has to happen | Emergency hazard | Significant hazard |
|---|---|---|
| Investigate | Within 24 hours of becoming aware | Within 10 working days of becoming aware |
| Tell the tenant what was found | Written summary within 3 working days of the investigation ending, unless all the work is done by then | Written summary within 3 working days of the investigation ending |
| Make it safe | Within 24 hours of becoming aware | Within 5 working days of the investigation ending |
| Start any further work to stop it coming back | Within 5 working days, or as soon as reasonably practicable and within 12 weeks | Within 5 working days, or as soon as reasonably practicable and within 12 weeks |
| If it can't be made safe in time | Offer suitable alternative accommodation at the landlord's cost. The tenant decides whether to move | Same |
Social housing in England, from the 2025 Regulations and MHCLG's guidance. These are the longest the law allows. A landlord can and often should act sooner.
- Emergency hazard
- One a reasonable landlord, knowing what they know about the household, would make safe within 24 hours.
- Significant hazard
- One they would fix quickly, but not within 24 hours.
A landlord may have a defence if it used all reasonable endeavours. Keep dated evidence of failed access attempts or unavailable contractors.
One damp report, worked through
A tenant reports black mould spreading in their daughter's bedroom on Monday 7 December 2026. Under the social-housing rules, the deadlines fall like this.
- Mon 7 Dec
- The landlord becomes aware. Day zero.
- Mon 21 Dec
- Last day to finish the investigation (10 working days).
- Thu 24 Dec
- Last day for the written summary, if the investigation ended on the 21st.
- Wed 30 Dec
- Last day to make it safe. Christmas Day and Monday 28 December, the Boxing Day bank holiday, don't count.
Those five days run through the week most offices close. Finish the investigation on the 21st and you need a contractor booked for the 29th or 30th.
Awaab's Law phases 1, 2 and 3
- Phase 1, from 27 October 2025
- All emergency hazards, and damp and mould as a significant hazard.
- Phase 2, from 30 November 2026
- Excess cold, excess heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards, and domestic hygiene, as significant hazards too.
- Phase 3, planned for 2027
- The rest of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System hazards, except overcrowding.
Both Houses of Parliament approved the Phase 2 regulations in October 2026. The investigation and make-safe deadlines in the table stay the same.
The regulations also change how a significant hazard is defined: one a reasonable landlord would make safe within 15 working days (Phase 2 regulations). MHCLG has published Phase 2 guidance for social landlords.
What the private renting consultation asks
| Requirement | Social housing now | Options for private renting |
|---|---|---|
| Investigate | 10 working days | 5, 10 or 15 working days |
| Written summary | 3 working days | 1, 3 or 5 working days |
| Make safe | 5 working days | 3, 5 or 10 working days |
| Emergency | 24 hours | 12, 24 or 48 hours |
From MHCLG's consultation "Extending Awaab's Law to private rented tenancies and to licences", open until 11.59pm on 18 December 2026.
Under the proposals, tenants would enforce the rules in court, and councils would have no direct enforcement role. The consultation page explains how to respond.
What private landlords and agents should record now
MHCLG's guidance sets out the records social landlords should keep. It doesn't bind private landlords yet, but the list below works for any damp report: what came in, who it affects, every contact attempt and every repair action, each with its date.
- The date and time the report arrived, and how.
- Who lives there and anything that makes the hazard worse for them: a child, a pregnancy, a breathing condition, someone sleeping in the room.
- Photos before anything is cleaned or treated.
- Every attempt to get in: calls, messages and visits, with dates.
- What the inspection found, and when you told the tenant.
- Who owns the next step, and the date it's due.
- When it was made safe, and what was done to stop it coming back.