Awaab’s Law – New responsibilities for social landlords from October 2025
From 27 October 2025, Awaab’s Law will come into effect, introducing important new legal requirements for social landlords to keep residents safe from hazardous housing conditions such as damp and mould.
This legislation follows the tragic death of Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old boy from Rochdale who died in 2020 after prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s home. Despite repeated complaints, the necessary action was not taken by the housing provider. This case highlighted serious risks in social housing and the urgent need for stronger protections for tenants.
What Awaab’s Law requires
From October 2025, social landlords must follow strict deadlines to investigate and resolve safety concerns. Key requirements include:
- Investigations must begin within 10 working days of a complaint being received.
- Written findings must be shared within 3 days of the investigation being completed.
- If a serious risk is identified, landlords must act to make the home safe within 5 days.
- Emergency situations must be investigated and repairs carried out within 24 hours, or as soon as reasonably practicable.
- If a property cannot be made safe in time, suitable alternative accommodation must be offered at the landlord’s expense.
Residents will also have new legal rights to take action if landlords fail to comply, and housing providers must keep detailed records of all complaints and the steps taken to resolve them.
Once a resident has reported any issue relating to damp or mould, to any council officer, this triggers the start of the clock, and response times as set out by legislation. It is important that any issues with damp or mould in residents’ homes are reported immediately by calling 0191 278 7878 or by using Tenant Hub on the NCC Portal.
To prepare for the changes, NCC have developed a new team structure to enable timely responses in relation to Awaab’s Law and new duties relating to electrical testing and inspection legislation.
An Access Team will incorporate the current Damp and Mould Team as well as Housing Officers, Housing Assistants and Legal Officers to progress cases to court where necessary. The team’s focus will be to support customers with gaining access to their properties, ensuring that essential repairs and requirements can be carried out effectively, initially concentrating on Damp and Mould cases and Electrical testing.
If you’d like to find out more about the Access Team and the work that they do, contact Laura Hall, Access Team Housing Manager by email: laura.hall@newcastle.gov.uk.
