A guide for housing teams
Awaab's Law: recording damp and mould evidence.
What Awaab's Law asks of social landlords, the timescales it sets, the hazards it covers from 30 November 2026, and what to record when you inspect damp and mould. With a record sheet for the visit.
Covers social housing in England. Checked against GOV.UK on 6 October 2026. Next review by 30 November 2026, when Phase 2 starts. Not legal advice.
What it is
Fixed timescales for dangerous homes.
Awaab's Law sets fixed timescales for social landlords in England to investigate and fix hazards in their tenants' homes. It came into force for the social rented sector on 27 October 2025.
It is named in memory of Awaab Ishak, who was two years old when he died in 2020 from a severe respiratory condition caused by long exposure to mould in his home. His parents had complained to their social landlord repeatedly in the three years before his death.
The law is set out in the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025. Through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, these requirements become a term of every social housing tenancy, so a tenant can take a landlord to court for breach of contract if they are not met. Tenants can also use the landlord's complaints procedure and the Housing Ombudsman.
Who it applies to
Registered providers of social housing: councils and housing associations registered with the Regulator of Social Housing. Private landlords are not covered yet (see the questions below).
Which hazards count
Two kinds, defined by what a reasonable landlord would do:
- A significant hazard is one that a reasonable landlord, knowing what it ought to know about the household, would make safe within 15 working days.
- An emergency hazard is one that a reasonable landlord would make safe within 24 hours.
What the landlord ought to know includes the people living there: their age, health and any other vulnerability can make the same hazard more serious. So landlords are expected to keep accurate, up to date information about their homes and their tenants.
The timescales
The clock starts when the landlord is told.
The government's guidance sets out what the regulations require:
- 24 hEmergency hazards: investigate and make safe within 24 hours.Both the investigation and the safety work, counted from the moment the landlord is made aware.
- 10 dSignificant hazards: investigate within 10 working days.Day 1 is the day after the landlord is made aware of the potential hazard.
- 3 dGive the tenant a written summary within 3 working daysof the investigation ending (see the written summary).
- 5 dMake a significant hazard safe within 5 working daysof the investigation ending.
- 12 wStart the work that stops it recurring within 5 working days,or, if that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable and within 12 weeks. Then finish it within a reasonable time.
If the home cannot be made safe in time, the landlord must arrange suitable alternative accommodation, at its own expense, until it is. The tenant must be kept updated throughout.
Investigations can be remote, using photos or videos the tenant sends, when that is enough to decide. If the tenant asks for an in-person inspection, the landlord must arrange one. If an investigation cannot find the cause (the guidance gives the example of damp that needs a structural survey), a further investigation follows as soon as reasonably practicable, and the safety work still goes ahead.
These are maximum timescales. Landlords have a defence if they used all reasonable endeavours to comply, which is one reason the guidance asks them to keep clear records of every attempt to get access.
Which hazards, and when
Three phases. The second starts on 30 November 2026.
- 1Since 27 October 2025All emergency hazards, and damp and mould hazards that present a significant risk of harm.
- 2From 30 November 2026Also excess cold, excess heat, falls (on the level, on stairs and between levels), structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards, and domestic hygiene, where they present a significant risk of harm.
- 3Later, no date yetAll remaining hazards in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, apart from overcrowding.
The phases do not give landlords leeway in the meantime. The guidance says landlords must still fix disrepair, keep homes fit to live in and free of serious ("category 1") hazards, and meet the Regulator of Social Housing's Safety and Quality Standard.
For a survey team, Phase 2 widens what an inspection may need to record: cold and heat in the home, the risk of falls, the structure, fire, electrics and hygiene, alongside damp and mould.
What to record
Evidence that holds up later.
The guidance asks landlords to keep clear records of every report, investigation and conversation with the tenant, and, before any work starts, to consider recording the issue causing the hazard, with photos where needed. Written summaries then serve as a record if a complaint later reaches the Housing Ombudsman or a court.
For damp and mould, a record that holds up later usually has these parts. This is good practice, not wording from the law:
- The place. The home, the room, the part of the building (wall, ceiling, window reveal, floor) and exactly where on it: "north wall, left of the window, at skirting height", not "bedroom".
- How much. The extent of the staining or growth, and whether it has spread since the last visit.
- Photos. One wide photo that shows where it is in the room, and close-ups of the damage, each linked to its place in the notes.
- Notes. What you saw, what the tenant reported and when, and the suspected cause: condensation, penetrating damp, rising damp or a plumbing leak. Suspected until it is confirmed.
- Meter readings, with the meter. The make and model, the scale or mode it was set to, the reading, and exactly where it was taken. Readings from different meters or scales cannot be compared, and a photo of a damp patch is not a reading.
- Ventilation. Extractor fans, trickle vents and windows: present, working, or not.
- Access. Every attempt to get in, with the date and the outcome.
The written summary
What the tenant must be told.
After an investigation, the landlord usually has 3 working days to give the tenant a written summary. The regulations say it must include:
- whether the investigation found a significant or emergency hazard, and what it is;
- if action is needed: what the action is, and a target timeframe for starting and finishing it;
- if no action is needed: that none is required under the regulations, and why;
- how to contact the landlord.
No summary is needed if all the work, both to make the home safe and to stop the problem recurring, is finished within those 3 working days, though the tenant must still be told the work is done. The government's guidance includes a template letter landlords may use.
A clear inspection record makes the summary quicker to write and easier to stand behind.
Damp, mould and moisture · when you need it
The reading and the room. Together.
A launch workflow preview for Lite, there when a survey calls for it: record the affected element, add photographs and notes, and keep the meter reading with its location.
This expanded workflow is being prepared for the mobile app release. Ask the team which controls are available in your build.
- 1
Choose what you are inspecting
Damp-proof course, rising damp, penetrating damp, condensation, mould growth, ventilation and extractor fans, or plumbing leaks.
- 2
Add the evidence
Record the condition, photograph the issue and note where it is. Add the meter make, model, scale and reading rather than inferring moisture from a photograph.
- 3
Carry it into the report
Bring findings, photographs and reading tables into the draft, then review the wording and recommendations.
SurveyNest records what your surveyor sees and measures. Deciding whether a hazard is significant or an emergency, and meeting the timescales, stays with the landlord. Using SurveyNest does not by itself meet Awaab's Law.
Questions
Awaab's Law, answered.
What is Awaab's Law?
Rules that set fixed timescales for social landlords in England to investigate and fix hazards in tenants' homes, starting with damp and mould and emergency hazards. It is named in memory of Awaab Ishak, who died in 2020 after long exposure to mould in his home.
When did Awaab's Law come into force?
On 27 October 2025 for social landlords, covering emergency hazards and significant damp and mould hazards. From 30 November 2026 it also covers excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards and domestic hygiene.
Does Awaab's Law apply to private landlords?
Not yet. The government has said it will extend Awaab's Law to privately rented homes under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. When we checked on 6 October 2026, its roadmap said the timing will be set after a consultation.
What are the timescales?
Emergency hazards: investigate and make safe within 24 hours. Significant hazards: investigate within 10 working days, make safe within 5 working days of the investigation ending, and start the work that stops it recurring within 5 working days, or at the latest within 12 weeks. A written summary goes to the tenant within 3 working days of the investigation.
Does the investigation have to be in person?
No. It can be done remotely, from photos or videos, if that is enough to decide. If the tenant asks for an in-person inspection, the landlord must arrange one.
Why record the meter's make, model and scale?
Because a reading means little without them. Different meters and scales give different numbers for the same wall, so the reading, the meter, the scale and the exact place belong together. A photo of a damp patch shows where to look, not how damp it is.
Sources
Where these facts come from.
Every fact about the law on this page comes from these GOV.UK pages, read on 6 October 2026. The recording advice is good practice, not law. This guide is not legal advice: the government asks landlords to read the regulations themselves and take legal advice if unsure.
- Awaab's Law Phase 2: Guidance for social landlords, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, updated 31 July 2026.
- The Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025, as they apply from 30 November 2026 (PDF).
- Awaab's Law in the social rented sector, the government's collection of guidance.
- Implementing the Renters' Rights Act 2025: our roadmap, 13 November 2025.
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