Awaab's Law arrived on 27 October 2025. Six months on, social tenants are telling us how landlords actually respond: where things improved, and where the
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Awaab's Law arrived on 27 October 2025. Six months on, social tenants are telling us how landlords actually respond: where things improved, and where the stubborn problems sit.
What the law requires, briefly
Awaab's Law, brought in through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, binds social landlords to legal timescales on damp, mould and other hazards. The core rules:
- 24 hours to investigate and make safe an emergency hazard: one posing immediate risk
- 10 working days to investigate a significant hazard after the report
- 3 working days to send a written summary of the findings
- 5 working days to complete the repair works after the investigation
The deadlines bind councils and housing associations in England. Private landlords sit outside them for now.
Three things tenants are telling us
Some landlords respond faster. Several housing associations have clearly sharpened their acknowledgement and inspection times since October, and the 10-working-day window gets taken more seriously. Progress.
The investigation is not the repair. The most common pattern: inspection inside 10 working days, a report, then the 5-working-day works window missed, with the real repair drifting for weeks or months. Deliberately or not, finishing the investigation gets treated as the end of the legal duty rather than its start.
Many tenants have never heard of the law. We regularly speak to social tenants months into a repair wait who have no idea Awaab's Law exists. The gap between the law on paper and daily housing management stays wide.
What to do if your landlord is missing the deadlines
Keep a written record of your first report date. That is when the clock starts.
Ten working days with no inspection? Write to the landlord, naming your original report date. Investigation done, but no works in fair time? Same again. Follow the formal complaints procedure, and escalate unresolved complaints to the Housing Ombudsman.
A copy of every letter and email, with dates, is essential evidence.
What about private tenants?
Awaab's Law skips private tenancies for now. Private tenants in England can still ask the council's environmental health team to inspect under the HHSRS, and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 covers rented homes in England. Wales uses separate repair and fitness duties under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
Pressure to extend Awaab's Law-style deadlines to private renting keeps building. It has not happened yet.
How we can help
A social tenant whose landlord misses the Awaab's Law deadlines? Call 0800 030 4669 for free advice. We check whether a disrepair claim stands, at no cost to you.
No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.
Support For Tenants is a trading name of Cyntex Group Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a Claims Management Company. FRN 1020217. Registered in England and Wales.
Reviewed against current housing law for England and Wales as at 1 January 2026. Checked by our SRA-regulated panel solicitors. This is general information, not legal advice for your specific case. Any compensation figures or ranges shown are illustrative only, not a promise; every case is different.
Renting with damp, mould or leaks your landlord won't fix?
No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.