Landlords will be expected to abide by new health and safety regulations from October when Awaab’s Law comes into force.
The new legislation will force landlords to fix dangerous homes or face prosecution.
In a phased introduction, Awaab’s Law will require social landlords to investigate and fix dangerous damp and mould within a set period. They will also be expected to repair all emergency hazards within 24 hours.
The government will then take a “step-by-step” approach to strengthen the law and legally require landlords to fix all dangerous hazards from 2027.
Landlords who fail to comply face being taken to court, with social tenants able to hold them to account legally.
Awaab’s Law is named after Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old who passed away in December 2020 after being exposed to mould at his Rochdale home.
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said it was a “moral duty” to avoid similar tragedies.
“Landlords cannot be allowed to rent out dangerous homes and shamelessly put the lives of their tenants at risk,” said Rayner.
“Our new laws will force them to fix problems quickly, so that people are safe in their homes and can be proud to live in social housing.”
In the coming months the government plans to add to this, by consulting on a new Decent Homes Standard and minimum energy efficiency standards.
This will include plans to legislate the need for social landlords to carry out electrical safety checks at least every five years, as well as mandatory inspections on all electrical appliances they provide.
The Housing Ombudsman has welcomed the introduction of Awaab’s Law, highlighting progress from landlords two years after the inquest into Awaab’s death.
However, Ombudsman Richard Blakeway said much more was needed: “Despite this progress, we still repeatedly find significant and preventable failings in handling potential health hazards in homes. We find some landlords not taking full responsibility, communicating poorly and making basic errors. Around half of our casework still concerns damp and mould.”
He added that it was right for the government to prioritise action on mould but agreed that its remit should be widened.
“These hazards have been in statute for 20 years but our casework repeatedly shows that some landlords have been far too slow to remove potential hazards, with risks remaining for months or even years,” said Richard.
