Awaab’s Law: What UK Landlords Need to Know About Mould

In December 2020, Awaab Ishak was two years old. He died from prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s flat in Rochdale. His housing association had been told about the mould. They didn’t act quickly enough. A toddler paid the price.

The law that bears his name now sets strict, legally binding timescales for how fast landlords must respond to damp and mould. If you’re a landlord or property manager, you need to know this inside out.

What Is Awaab’s Law?

Awaab’s Law is part of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. It was introduced as a direct response to Awaab Ishak’s death and the systemic failures it exposed.

The law gives the Secretary of State power to set specific timescales within which social housing landlords must investigate and fix hazards reported by tenants. Damp and mould are the primary targets, but the framework covers all serious housing hazards.

Initially it applies to registered social housing providers. But the direction of travel is clear. The government has signalled that similar obligations will extend to private landlords. Several councils, including Bristol City Council, are already applying the same standards informally when assessing private rented properties.

If you’re a private landlord thinking “this doesn’t apply to me,” think again. It will. And even now, the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) already gives councils enforcement powers over damp and mould in private rentals.

Key Timescales You Must Meet

These are the timescales set under the regulations. They’re not guidelines. They’re legal requirements.

14 days to investigate. From the date a tenant reports a potential hazard, you have 14 calendar days to carry out a full investigation and provide a written response. Not “we’ll look into it.” A proper investigation with findings.

7 days to start repair work. Once a hazard is confirmed, repair or remediation work must begin within 7 calendar days. Not be completed. Started. But “started” means actual work, not just booking a contractor for next month.

24 hours for emergencies. If the hazard poses an immediate risk to health or safety, you must begin emergency action within 24 hours. Severe mould in a home with children, elderly residents, or immunocompromised people qualifies.

These timescales are tight. That’s deliberate. The old approach of “we’ve logged it and someone will be in touch” doesn’t cut it any more.

What Counts as a Hazard?

Under the HHSRS, damp and mould growth are category 1 hazards when they pose a serious risk to health. In practice, this means:

• Visible mould growth on walls, ceilings, or around windows
• Persistent condensation that doesn’t respond to reasonable tenant ventilation
• Penetrating or rising damp causing mould conditions
• Any mould in a property where vulnerable people live (children under 14, elderly, those with respiratory conditions)

The word “reasonable” is important. Landlords used to blame tenants for not ventilating properly. Courts and tribunals have made it clear: if normal living (cooking, showering, drying clothes) causes condensation and mould, the property’s ventilation is inadequate. That’s a building problem, not a tenant problem.

Consequences of Non-Compliance

The Regulator of Social Housing can now issue unlimited fines for non-compliance. They can also issue performance improvement notices and, in serious cases, take control of housing management away from the provider entirely.

For private landlords, councils can issue improvement notices under the Housing Act 2004, impose civil penalties of up to £30,000, and prosecute for the most serious failures. Rent repayment orders are also available to tenants.

And then there’s the reputational and legal liability. If a tenant’s health is damaged by mould you failed to address, you’re exposed to personal injury claims. Honestly, the legal costs alone can dwarf the remediation costs many times over.

A landlord we work with in Stokes Croft learned this the hard way. Ignored tenant complaints for five months. Council served an improvement notice. Total cost including remediation, fines, and legal fees came to around twelve thousand pounds. The original mould job would have been about £800.

Building a Proactive Response

Waiting for tenant complaints is the wrong approach. Here’s what we advise our landlord and property manager clients:

Inspect regularly. Every six months at minimum. Check behind furniture, inside wardrobes, under sinks. Use a moisture meter. They cost about £25 and take the guesswork out.

Fix moisture sources immediately. Leaking gutters, failed pointing, broken extractor fans, blocked airbricks. These are cheap fixes that prevent expensive mould jobs.

Respond to reports within 48 hours. Not because the law requires it that fast (except emergencies), but because it demonstrates good faith and stops problems growing. Document everything.

Keep records. Every report, every inspection, every action taken. Dated, detailed, stored properly. If a dispute arises, your records are your defence.

Budget for it. Set aside £500 to £1,000 per property per year for damp and mould prevention. It sounds a lot until you compare it to the alternative.

Why a Regular Cleaner Isn’t Enough

We need to be blunt about this. Sending a domestic cleaner to “wipe the mould off” is not remediation. It doesn’t meet your legal obligations, and it doesn’t fix the problem.

Mould remediation requires:

• Proper assessment of the cause and extent
• Containment to prevent cross-contamination
• HEPA-filtered air scrubbing
• Removal of contaminated materials where necessary
• Professional-grade antimicrobial treatment
• Clearance testing to verify the job’s done
• A written report documenting everything

A regular cleaner doesn’t have the training, equipment, or products for this. And if something goes wrong (tenant health claim, council investigation), “we sent a cleaner” is not a defence. It’s evidence of negligence.

You need IICRC-certified specialists with proper insurance. That’s what we provide. Our mould removal service is designed specifically for the standards that Awaab’s Law demands.

The cost of professional remediation is a fraction of the cost of getting it wrong. We’ve seen landlords spend £300 on a proper small job and avoid thousands in potential liability. That’s not a sales pitch. It’s arithmetic.

If you’re a landlord or property manager who needs mould dealt with properly, call us on 07985 505061. For emergencies, use 0808 303 7072.

Bristol Cleaning Heroes | 290-294 Southmead Rd, Bristol BS10 5EN | £2M insured (AXA) | IICRC certified | 25 years’ experience