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Sources opened and read on 12 November 2026
What is Awaab's Law, and what does it mean for damp and mould in rented homes?
Awaab's Law sets deadlines for social landlords in England to investigate and fix serious damp and mould. This guide explains who it covers, the timescales, where private renting stands, and who to contact around Stafford. It is for tenants, landlords and housing providers, and summarises official guidance rather than giving legal advice.
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Why is it called Awaab's Law?
It is named after Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old who died after exposure to mould in his family's rented home. The coroner's report records that he died on 21 December 2020 at the Royal Oldham Hospital, and gives the cause of death as acute airway oedema with severe granulomatous tracheobronchitis due to environmental mould exposure. The landlord was Rochdale Boroughwide Housing.
The inquest concluded on 15 November 2022. Among her concerns, the Senior Coroner for Manchester North, Joanne Kearsley, noted that the 2006 Decent Homes guidance did not address damp, mould or ventilation, and that the housing hazard data on damp and mould did not reflect current knowledge of the health risks.
Who does Awaab's Law cover?
Tenants of social landlords in England, from 27 October 2025. The government guidance for social landlords says the rules, formally the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025, apply to registered providers of social housing: councils and housing associations. They do not cover owner-occupied homes, long leaseholds, shared ownership or licence-based occupation.
The first phase covers all emergency hazards, and damp and mould hazards that pose a significant risk of harm. The guidance for tenants, updated in December 2025, describes it as applying to most people living in social housing with a tenancy agreement.
What deadlines must social landlords meet?
The guidance sets a clock for each stage, starting when the landlord becomes aware of the hazard.
| Stage | Deadline in the guidance |
|---|---|
| Emergency hazard | Investigate and make safe within 24 hours |
| Significant hazard: investigation | Within 10 working days of becoming aware |
| Written summary to the tenant | Within 3 working days of the investigation ending |
| Safety work on a significant hazard | Within 5 working days of the investigation ending |
| Supplementary preventative work | Started, or steps taken to start it, within 5 working days; if that is not practical, as soon as reasonably practicable and within 12 weeks |
| Safety work not possible in time | Suitable alternative accommodation at the landlord's cost until the work is done |
The social landlord guidance says damp or mould that materially affects someone's health can be an emergency hazard, with examples involving pregnancy, breathing symptoms and a child's asthma. It also says landlords must not assume the damp is caused by tenants' lifestyle and use that to delay action.
What changes in Phase 2 and Phase 3?
More hazards come into scope; the guidance lists no change to the rules for damp and mould. The government announcement of 8 October 2026 says Phase 2 is due on 30 November 2026 "subject to parliamentary approval", with Phase 3 in 2027.
The Phase 2 guidance adds significant hazards of excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards, and domestic and personal hygiene and food safety. Its summary of changes lists nothing new for damp and mould, which keeps the timescales already in force. Phase 3 will cover the remaining hazards in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, except overcrowding.
Does Awaab's Law apply to private renting?
Not yet. On 8 October 2026 the government opened a consultation on extending it to private landlords, temporary accommodation, care-leaver housing and supported housing, closing on 18 December 2026; Trowers & Hamlins summarises what it proposes, and no start date has been announced. The government says the extension could take protected households from about 4 million to around 9 million. Section 60 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which would extend the hazard duties to some private tenancies, is shown on legislation.gov.uk as not yet in force; the Act itself received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, according to the government roadmap.
Private landlords already have duties. Damp and mould is one of 29 hazards in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, and government guidance on the private rented sector says councils must act on the most serious, Category 1, hazards and may act on Category 2, using improvement notices and other tools. The UKHSA and DHSC guidance also points to the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, under which tenants can take landlords to court. In the English Housing Survey's surveyor-assessed figures for 2024, 10% of private rented homes had a damp problem, against 7% of social rented and 4% of owner-occupied homes.
Further ahead, the new Decent Homes Standard adds a criterion that a home should be free of damp and mould. It applies to social landlords from 1 April 2035 and to private renting by 2035, and the government says landlords should not wait until then to act.
Who are the social landlords around Stafford and Cannock?
In Stafford borough that includes Homes Plus; in Cannock Chase, the council itself is a landlord. Stafford Borough Council transferred all its homes in 2007 to Stafford and Rural Homes, now known as Homes Plus. The Homes Plus damp and mould policy says it will call to book an inspection within 2 working days of a report and complete it within 7 working days, followed by a tailored action plan; the policy was adopted in May 2023 and last reviewed in August 2024, its next review date of April 2025 has passed, and the page does not mention Awaab's Law.
Cannock Chase Council still owns its stock: 5,015 homes at 31 March 2025. In October 2025 the council said it was preparing to comply fully with Awaab's Law and setting up a team to work with tenants on damp, mould and condensation.
For private tenants, Stafford Borough Council's Housing Standards Team can give advice or serve a legal notice requiring repairs; the council's number is 01785 619000. In September 2025 the council reported a landlord found guilty of eight counts of failing to comply with abatement notices over a house in Walton, Stone, let with damp and mould, a faulty boiler and poor ventilation. In Cannock Chase, the council's housing standards team ran a campaign on damp and mould in private homes in 2024.
What should tenants and landlords do next?
Tenants should report damp and mould to the landlord first, in writing and with photos, and keep a record of dates. If a private landlord does not act, the council is the next step.
Landlords and housing providers need to find the cause quickly, not just treat the surface. The Awaab's Law guidance allows mould washes and dehumidifiers as part of making a home safe, but says the underlying cause must also be dealt with, and the UKHSA guidance asks landlords to inspect again at least six weeks after remedial work.
That is where Stafford Damp Proofing fits. Landlords and housing providers can ask us for damp investigations and repairs, from condensation and mould work to penetrating damp repairs, across our area of damp surveys in Stafford and Cannock. Our guide to black mould on walls explains the usual causes. This page summarises what the guidance says; it is not legal advice.
Questions we get asked
I own my home. Does Awaab's Law apply to me?
No. The guidance says it does not cover owner-occupied homes, long leaseholds or shared ownership.
I rent privately in Stafford. Who can help with damp?
Report it to your landlord first. If nothing happens, Stafford Borough Council's Housing Standards Team can advise and can serve a notice requiring repairs; the council's number is 01785 619000.
Does Phase 2 change the damp and mould deadlines?
The Phase 2 guidance lists no change for damp and mould; what it adds is other hazards, under the same kind of deadlines.
Can a landlord blame damp on drying washing indoors?
The Awaab's Law guidance says landlords must not assume tenant lifestyle is the cause and use that to delay action, and UKHSA guidance calls blaming damp on lifestyle choices unreasonable.
Where these facts come from
- Courts and Tribunals Judiciary: the coroner's report on the death of Awaab Ishak (November 2022)
- GOV.UK: Awaab's Law: guidance for social landlords: timeframes for repairs in the social rented sector (17 Oct 2025, updated 16 Jul 2026)
- GOV.UK: Awaab's Law: guidance for tenants in social housing (27 Oct 2025, updated 4 Dec 2025)
- GOV.UK: clampdown on dangerous homes to protect more tenants and families (8 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Awaab's Law Phase 2: guidance for social landlords (31 Jul 2026)
- Trowers & Hamlins: Awaab's Law in the private rented sector: the government's consultation (26 Oct 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Renters' Rights Act 2025, section 60 (not yet in force)
- GOV.UK: Implementing the Renters' Rights Act 2025: roadmap (Nov 2025)
- GOV.UK: Damp and mould in the private rented sector (first published 7 Sep 2023)
- GOV.UK: Understanding and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home (first published 7 Sep 2023, updated 1 Apr 2026)
- GOV.UK: English Housing Survey 2024 to 2025, housing quality (29 January 2026)
- GOV.UK: The New Decent Homes Standard: policy statement (28 Jan 2026)
- Stafford Borough Council: council housing
- Homes Plus: damp and mould policy
- Cannock Chase Council: statement of accounts 2024 to 2025
- Cannock Chase Council: council commits to safer, healthier homes for tenants (22 October 2025)
- Stafford Borough Council: damp, condensation and mould
- Stafford Borough Council: landlord to be banned after a family let in Stone was left unsafe (17 September 2025)
- Cannock Chase Council: campaign on damp and mould in private homes (22 July 2024)
Useful to have ready
Answers to these let us tell you on the phone what kind of damp it probably is.
- The postcode and roughly when the house was built
- Where the damp shows and how high up the wall
- Whether it gets worse after rain, or in cold weather
- Any mould, and in which rooms
- Whether you own, rent or are buying, and any survey deadline
Ready to have someone look? Our damp proofing in Stafford page sets out what we survey, what we treat and where we go.
Where this guide leads
Damp surveys
A survey that works out where the water is coming from, outside and in, before anyone mentions treatment.
Condensation and mould
Black spots and streaming windows traced to humidity, cold surfaces and stale air, then cured with ventilation and heating rather than chemicals.
Penetrating damp repairs
Rain finding its way through walls, chimneys or tired pointing, traced back to the fault outside and repaired before plaster goes back.
More reading
What do damp surveys and damp proofing cost?
National price yardsticks for damp surveys, injection, ventilation, woodworm, dry rot and tanking, each credited and dated, with what pushes a job up or down.
Is it rising damp or condensation?
Where each kind of damp shows, when it gets worse, why meters mislead, and the drilled-sample test that separates rising damp from condensation.
Why is black mould growing on my walls, and how do I stop it?
Why black mould appears on cold walls and in bedrooms, who it harms most, and which fixes last longer than a bottle of mould wash.
Dry rot or wet rot: what is the difference?
The difference between dry rot and wet rot is how far it spreads, not how much harm it does. Signs, causes and treatment order.
Is rising damp a myth?
Rising damp is real but less common than often claimed. Both sides of the debate, the evidence, and the steps everyone agrees on.
Can cavity wall insulation cause damp?
When cavity wall insulation lets damp through, which walls should never have been filled, and how to complain if yours was.
Rather we phoned you?
Leave a name, a number and the postcode of the property. A line about what the damp is doing helps. Or phone 01785 335365.