16 Oct 2025
Awaab’s Law marks a turning point for safe and healthy homes
This October marks a watershed moment for the housing sector as Awaab’s Law comes into force, writes Tony Boyle, regional director at home-life safety specialist and CIH partner Aico.
Awaab’s Law will require social landlords to respond to hazards such as damp and mould within strict, legally defined timescales.
For landlords, this is more than a compliance exercise. It’s a cultural shift in how they manage their homes, engage with tenants, and uphold their responsibility to provide safe, healthy living conditions.
Awaab’s Law is named in memory of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who tragically died in 2020 after prolonged exposure to black mould in his Rochdale home. His death was preventable, and it exposed systemic failings that can no longer be ignored.
From 27 October 2025, landlords will be legally required to:
- Investigate and address emergency repairs, including damp and mould, within 24 hours of notification
- Provide a written summary of findings within 10 working days
- Begin repairs within five working days of investigation if a significant health or safety risk is identified
- Offer alternative accommodation if a property cannot be made safe within the set timescales
- Maintain detailed records of all actions taken.
The law has been designed not just to enforce accountability, but to drive lasting improvements in housing standards.
Necessary changes
Landlords are already under pressure — from resource constraints, competing priorities, and rising demand across housing stock. But the reality is stark: millions of households still live with damp, mould, or other hazards that directly harm their health and wellbeing.
The NHS spends more than £1.4 billion annually treating illnesses linked to poor housing, and the wider societal cost is estimated at £15.4 billion. Behind those numbers are real families facing respiratory illnesses, mental health challenges, and a diminished quality of life.
Meeting the requirements of Awaab’s Law will require not just faster repairs, but smarter, more proactive approaches to housing management.
At Aico, we work closely with landlords across the UK. The landlords best placed to meet Awaab’s Law are those who:
- Engage openly with tenants: building trust, listening to concerns, and making it easy to report issues
- Adopt data-driven tools: using real-time environmental monitoring to identify risks before they escalate
- Invest in prevention, not just repair: shifting from reactive fixes to long-term solutions that improve resilience
- Train and empower staff: ensuring teams understand both the legal obligations and the human impact of damp and mould.
We’ve already seen landlords preparing for Awaab’s Law by trialling new technologies, revising reporting systems and embedding resident engagement into their housing strategies. These organisations demonstrate that change is possible and beneficial.
To support this shift, Aico has developed tools such as our HomeLINK Environmental Sensors. These devices monitor factors like temperature and humidity, helping to identify the conditions that cause condensation, damp and mould. Paired with our case management system, landlords can track issues, allocate resources, and communicate directly with tenants through a secure portal and resident app.
This is the time to review systems, invest in tools, and, most importantly, engage with tenants
This type of proactive management does more than tick a compliance box. It enables landlords to pinpoint high-risk properties across their stock, reduce costs by preventing small issues from becoming major repairs, free up resources to focus on the most urgent cases, and provide tenants with transparency and reassurance.
In short, it moves the sector from a ‘repair and react’ model to a ‘predict and prevent’ approach — one that aligns with the spirit of Awaab’s Law.
Damp and Mould Action and Awareness Week
To help landlords prepare, Aico will once again host Damp and Mould Action and Awareness Week (20–26 October 2025). This year’s event coincides with the introduction of Awaab’s Law, offering a unique opportunity to align national legislation with practical housing sector action.
Through webinars, resources and case studies, the campaign will highlight real-world solutions and foster collaboration between landlords, policymakers, health professionals and tenants.
The campaign, which was launched last year, has already received strong support from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government; MPs; housing associations; local authorities; and tenant groups and charities, demonstrating widespread recognition of the importance of tackling damp and mould.
We encourage all housing professionals to take part and support the awareness week, helping to share knowledge, promote best practice, and raise the profile of this vital issue.
Awaab’s Law will set a new standard for accountability in social housing, but its success depends on collective action. Landlords, contractors, policymakers and tenants all have a role to play.
For landlords, the coming months are critical. This is the time to review systems, invest in tools, and, most importantly, engage with tenants.
Compliance will keep you on the right side of the law. But culture change — towards prevention, transparency and care — will deliver what truly matters: safe, healthy homes for every tenant.
Tony is the regional director at home-life safety specialist and CIH partner Aico.
