Government launches consultation on Awaab’s Law

In December 2020, two-year-old Awaab Ishak died as a result of direct exposure to mould in his home in Rochdale. 

Awaab’s Law was introduced to ensure landlords investigate and fix reported health hazards within specified timeframes – a consultation for the proposed timeframes is currently open until 5 March.

The government want to hear views on their proposals to:

• Introduce new legal requirements for social landlords to address hazards in their homes, including damp and mould, within a specified timeframe. 
• Require social landlords to investigate hazards within 14 days, start necessary repairs within an additional 7 days and carry out emergency repairs within 24 hours. 
• Implement these new rules as part of a tenancy agreement, so tenants can hold landlords to account by law.

We are working with our Gateway Membership Team and our Customer Experience Committee to put together our response as an organisation. We take damp and mould very seriously and are supportive of the efforts to improve the repairs service for tenants across the UK. 

Find out how we deal with damp and mould here.

More information about the consultation can be found on the government website here.