Awaab's Law, damp and mould: what landlords must do and by when

Where Awaab's Law stands today

Social housing: in force. Since 27 October 2025 registered providers of social housing must act within fixed times on damp and mould and on every emergency hazard (phase 1). Phase 2, from 30 November 2026, adds excess cold and heat, falls, electrical hazards, fire, structural collapse and hygiene hazards. Phase 3, in 2027, adds the remaining hazards of the housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS), except overcrowding.

Private lets: not yet. Section 60 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 rewrites section 10A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 so that it can apply to a tenancy of a home in England of under seven years. That section is not in force yet, and the timescales come in regulations that have not been made. The government's consultation, Extending Awaab's Law to private rented tenancies and to licences, opened on 9 October 2026 and closes at 11:59pm on 18 December 2026. No start date has been set. It asks whether to bring it in by phases (damp, mould and emergency hazards first, as in social housing). Its impact assessment assumes three phases in 2028, 2029 and 2030; that is an analytical assumption, not a decision.

So: nothing new is required of a private landlord today, and no start date is set. What follows is what is proposed, so you can get ready, and what you already owe.

The timescales proposed for private lets

The consultation proposes the same clock as social housing, counted from the day you become aware of a potential hazard (that day is day zero):

The consultation also asks whether some of these should be shorter or longer (for example 12 or 48 hours for an emergency, 5 or 15 working days to investigate). Expect the final figures to be close to the table.

How it would be enforced

Awaab's Law works as an implied term of the tenancy. If a landlord misses a deadline the tenant can sue for breach of contract: a court can order the work, award compensation and some costs. The Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims applies first. Tenants would also be able to complain to the Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman, which is expected from 2028 and can order action, an apology or compensation. Councils do not police the timescales themselves, but keep their HHSRS powers (improvement notices and the penalties behind them).

A landlord who uses an agent stays liable: the consultation says agency contracts may need to say who does what within the deadlines.

What a private landlord already owes

Awaab's Law is new; the duty to deal with damp and mould is not.

• Fit for human habitation (Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 9A, from the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018): the home must be fit at the start of the tenancy and stay fit. Damp, mould, cold and ventilation problems can make it unfit. The tenant can go to court for an order and compensation.
• Repairs (section 11): the structure and exterior, and the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water, are yours to keep in repair. Leaks, failed extractor fans and broken heating are repair duties, whatever the cause of the mould.
• The council's HHSRS powers (Housing Act 2004): damp and mould is a hazard the council can inspect for and serve an improvement notice on; not complying is an offence with a civil penalty of up to £40,000 or prosecution, and a rent repayment order.
• The Decent Homes Standard for private lets is coming under the Renters' Rights Act, with its own timing set by regulations after consultation.

Getting ready

1. Answer every report in writing, with a date. Keep the tenant's message, your reply and photos on the home's record. The written summary within three working days is the step most landlords will miss.
2. Inspect within ten working days, even for a small patch: a damp meter, the extractor fans, the trickle vents, the heating, any leak, and whether the mould is on a cold outside wall.
3. Fix the cause, not only the stain. Condensation needs heating, ventilation and sometimes insulation; penetrating damp needs the gutter, roof or pointing; rising damp needs a survey. Advice to the tenant about drying clothes and opening windows can be part of the answer, never the whole of it.
4. Have someone who can attend within 24 hours for an emergency: a leak through a light fitting, no heating in winter for a vulnerable tenant, a collapsing ceiling.
5. Know when the home cannot be lived in and what you would offer: the social-housing rule is alternative accommodation, and the consultation asks whether private landlords should have the same duty.

LevelMoves keeps the report, your written reply, the inspection and the fix on the home's record, so the dates are there if anyone asks.

Scotland and Wales

This guide is about England. Scotland has made its own damp and mould regulations under its housing law; Wales has its own fitness standard. If you let there, check the rules that apply there.