Awaab’s Law 2025: A Complete Guide for Landlords and Housing Providers
Legal obligations, timescales, reporting requirements and how to ensure compliance. Everything social housing providers need to know.
Awaab’s Law is now in force for social housing providers in England. Landlords who fail to meet the investigation and remediation timescales face Housing Ombudsman determinations, financial penalties and regulatory action by the Regulator of Social Housing.
What is Awaab’s Law?
Awaab’s Law, introduced through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, was named after Awaab Ishak. Full details are covered in our complete Awaab Law guide.
Key Obligations for Landlords
What Counts as a Valid Complaint?
A complaint is formally triggered when a tenant reports damp or mould in writing, via email, letter, online portal or formal complaint form. The 10-working-day investigation period runs from when the landlord is made aware of the hazard. Verbal reports are best practice to also confirm in writing.
What Does an Adequate Investigation Look Like?
The investigation must be carried out by a competent person (ideally an independent damp specialist) and must include:
- Physical inspection of all affected areas
- Moisture meter readings to quantify the extent of damp penetration
- Identification of mould type and health risk assessment
- Root cause analysis: identifying the moisture source
- Written report with findings and recommended remediation
Using an independent specialist like Damp Mould Leak rather than in-house maintenance staff adds credibility to the investigation and provides defensible evidence if the case is escalated to the Housing Ombudsman.
Consequences of Non-Compliance
- Housing Ombudsman determination of maladministration: published publicly and damaging to reputation
- Financial penalties: compensation orders payable to tenants
- Regulatory referral to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) for systemic failures
- Civil litigation from tenants, potentially including personal injury claims
- Reputational damage and media coverage
How to Ensure Compliance
- Implement a formal damp and mould complaint tracking system with date-stamped records
- Book independent professional surveys immediately upon receipt of a complaint
- Ask about report timing when you book, so it fits the investigation timescale
- Document all actions taken with dates and evidence
- Use in-house repair teams or contracted specialists who can start work promptly once a hazard is confirmed
Damp Mould Leak provides independent surveys with written reports, specifically formatted for Awaab’s Law compliance. See our damp survey service and mould inspection service.
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Last reviewed: 27 October 2026. Independent investigation and written reports. Repairs are quoted separately.