Awaab’s Law: new rules to make homes safer 

Awaab’s Law is a new law (27 October 2025) that sets clear deadlines for landlords to investigate and fix serious issues in residents’ homes. It’s named in memory of Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old who died tragically in 2020 as a result of a severe respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s flat. 

What the new law means 

Under the government’s latest guidance, social landlords will be required to:

  • Investigate serious hazards within 10 working days of finding out about them
  • Start safety repairs within 5 working days of the inspection if a serious hazard is confirmed
  • For emergencies, such as a dangerous electrical fault or severe leak, investigate and make the home safe within 24 hours of the inspection
  • Complete all other repairs as soon as possible, and within 12 weeks if more extensive work is needed
  • Give residents a written summary of what was found and what’s being done within 3 working days after an inspection (currently for damp and mould growth only)
  • Keep residents informed about progress and timescales until the issue is resolved 

These new rules are designed to make sure urgent problems are dealt with quickly, and that residents always know what’s happening. 

What’s a hazard? 

Hazards are housing issues that put the resident health or safety at risk. You can read the full list of the 29 hazards on the government website. 

Awaab’s Law covers hazards that pose an emergency and significant risk of harm to the resident. These are significant or emergency hazards, such as:

  • Damp and mould growth that is having a material impact on your health, like difficulty breathing
  • Gas or carbon monoxide leak
  • A broken boiler
  • Total loss of water
  • Electrical, such as exposed wiring
  • Flooding
  • Major leak (water or sewerage)
  • Damage to doors or windows that makes your home unsecured 

What we’re doing at Housing Solutions? 

We fully support Awaab’s Law and have already strengthened our approach to repairs and safety. This includes:

  • Prioritising any reports that could affect your health or safety
  • Giving our teams extra training to spot and escalate serious issues
  • Improving how we track and communicate repair updates
  • Making sure residents are kept informed every step of the way 

How you can help 

If you notice anything in your home that could be a risk to your health or safety – such as damp, mould, faulty electrics, leaks, or broken windows – please report it straight away. 

You can do this by:

What should you say when you call? 

Simply say, “I’d like to report a hazard in my home” and we will ask you some questions to start building a report. So that we can triage your report properly, we might ask questions like:

  • Are there any special circumstances, or changes in circumstances, in your household?
  • Are there any children, older adults, or people with health conditions in your household?
  • Does anyone in your household have mobility needs, or require adaptations?
  • Are you currently receiving any support or treatment from health or social care services? 

If the issue reported isn’t covered under Awaab's Law, we will deal with it through our standard repairs process. 

We have always encouraged Housing Solutions residents to report problems in their homes to us as soon as possible, and have worked hard to deal with these when they have been reported to us. Awaab’s Law rightly requires us to act – and to act fast – if these issues are serious. 

Our residents can and should expect us to meet the standards set out in the regulations, but if you have a concern you want to raise, you can make a complaint to us – find out how here.  

How to report an issue with damp or mould? 

If you're a Housing Solutions tenant, please make sure you tell us as soon as possible if you're concerned about any damp, mould or condensation in your home, especially if you think it might be having an impact on your health or the health of members of your household. 

You’ll need to provide us with some details and then we’ll get back to you with some next steps. You can complete our online form here or alternatively we can take you through the questions over the phone – call 01628 543 101.