On 16 December 2020, two-year-old Awaab Ishak died from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his family's social housing flat in Rochdale. His death was not just a tragedy but a scandal that exposed systemic failures in how social housing providers respond to health hazards, particularly damp and mould.
Awaab's parents had repeatedly reported the severe mould problem to their landlord, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), but their concerns were ignored or dismissed for years. The mould was so extensive that it covered the walls, ceilings, and even Awaab's belongings. Despite multiple complaints and evidence of the family's deteriorating health, the housing association failed to take adequate action.
The coroner's inquest in November 2022 concluded that Awaab's death was entirely preventable and found that RBH had failed in its duty to provide safe housing. The coroner stated clearly,
“Awaab Ishak died as a result of a severe respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his home environment.”
This devastating case became a catalyst for urgent reform. Within weeks of the inquest, the UK government announced what would become known as "Awaab's Law," new legislation designed to ensure that no other child would die due to neglected housing conditions.
Key Takeaways:
Awaab's Law creates mandatory 14-day timeframes for investigating serious housing hazards
Landlords must remediate all structural causes before attributing problems to tenant behaviour
Enhanced regulatory powers include unlimited fines and intervention for non-compliance
The legislation applies to all social housing in England (approximately 4 million homes)
Early implementation shows significant improvement in response times and investment
Tenants have clear rights to rapid investigation, comprehensive repair
,and effective complaint mechanisms
The law represents fundamental cultural change towards accountability and tenant empowerment
Challenges remain around resources, capacity
,and extension beyond social housing
Awaab Ishak's preventable death has driven reform that will protect thousands of children
Full implementation and sustained commitment are essential to realise Awaab's legacy
Understanding the Context of Awaab's Law: The Housing Conditions Crisis
The Scale of the Problem
Awaab Ishak's death was not an isolated incident but rather the most tragic manifestation of a widespread problem affecting social housing across England.
According to the English Housing Survey and various housing organisations, approximately 1.6 million social housing homes in England contain serious hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
Around 157,000 social housing properties suffer from damp problems, and approximately 112,000 social homes have mould growth affecting the health and well-being of residents. Children are disproportionately affected, with respiratory conditions exacerbated by poor housing conditions being a leading cause of ill health among young people in social housing.
Example - The Typical Scenario:
The Johnson family live in a two-bedroom council flat in Birmingham. They first reported damp and mould in their daughter's bedroom in 2019. The housing association sent an inspector who stated that the problem was caused by "lifestyle factors," such as drying clothes indoors and not opening windows sufficiently.
Over the next three years, the mould spread to other rooms. The children developed persistent coughs, and the youngest was hospitalised twice with breathing difficulties. Despite repeated complaints, the housing association's response was limited to advice about ventilation and occasional painting over the mould, which would reappear within weeks.
The underlying structural issues, poor insulation, inadequate heating, ventilation problems and water ingress were never properly addressed. This pattern of blame, delay and inadequate response is repeated across thousands of social homes.
Why Problems Persist
Several systemic factors contribute to this persistence of serious problems. Years of constrained public spending have left social housing providers with enormous maintenance backlogs. The cost of bringing all social housing up to a decent standard is estimated at over £10 billion.
Housing providers frequently attribute damp and mould to "tenant lifestyle" rather than structural defects. While occupant behaviour can contribute to condensation, this response often becomes a way to avoid responsibility for underlying building problems.
Social housing tenants often feel powerless when challenging their landlords. Fear of eviction, lack of alternative housing options, language barriers and limited understanding of legal rights all contribute to a power imbalance that enables poor practice.
The Human Cost
Beyond statistics, the human cost of poor housing conditions is profound. Health impacts include respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, respiratory infections, cardiovascular problems, deterioration of mental health including conditions like anxiety, depression and stress, weakened immune systems, developmental problems in children, and increased mortality risk, particularly for vulnerable individuals.
Social and economic impacts are equally severe. Children miss school due to illness, parents miss work to care for sick children or attend medical appointments, educational attainment is affected by illness and unsuitable study environments, families experience social isolation as they feel ashamed of their housing conditions, and financial costs mount from heating inadequate properties, replacing damaged belongings, and covering medical expenses.
What Is Awaab's Law?
Awaab's Law is the common name for amendments to the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, specifically provisions that set strict time limits for social landlords to investigate and fix health hazards, particularly damp and mould.
The legislation was announced in the aftermath of Awaab Ishak's inquest and represents the government's response to the coroner's findings and wider concerns about conditions in social housing.
What Key Legislative Provisions Includes in Awaab's Law
Social landlords must investigate reported health hazards within strict time limits. For hazards like damp and mould, landlords must begin investigating within a specified period (proposed at 14 days for serious hazards). Once a hazard is identified, landlords must complete necessary repairs within specified time limits.
The proposed timeframes vary depending on the severity of the hazard: emergency hazards require action within 24 hours, serious hazards necessitate commencement within 14 days, with completion within a reasonable timeframe, and other hazards are addressed within specified timeframes based on a risk assessment.
The legislation establishes clear lines of accountability, making it explicit that landlords cannot attribute problems to tenant behaviour without first eliminating all structural and maintenance causes.
The Regulator of Social Housing gains enhanced powers to enforce compliance, including the authority to impose unlimited fines on landlords who breach the requirements, the ability to require specific actions, the publication of performance data and the power to appoint managers to take over failing landlords.
How Awaab's Law Differs from Previous legislation Requirements?
Before Awaab's Law, social landlords were subject to various obligations regarding housing conditions, including the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, the Housing Health and Safety Rating System requirements, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985's repair obligations, and the Decent Homes Standard.
However, these existing frameworks had critical weaknesses. Previous legislation required landlords to carry out repairs "within a reasonable time," but did not define what this meant. This vagueness allowed delays to stretch for months or years.
Before & After Awaab's Law Update
Before Awaab's Law, a tenant reports mould in January. The landlord inspects in March, identifies the problem in April, approves a repair plan in June, and schedules work for October. The work is then delayed until January the following year. Total time: 12 months. The landlord could argue this was "reasonable" given budget cycles, contractor availability, and work scheduling.
After Awaab's Law, the same mould report triggers investigation within 14 days (by mid-January), identification of cause and remedy within that investigation, commencement of repairs within 14 days of identification (by early February), and completion within a specified reasonable period (by March or April at the latest). Total time: 2 to 3 months maximum.
Awaab's Law addresses previous gaps by imposing specific enforceable timeframes that cannot be indefinitely extended, requiring landlords to prove they have eliminated all structural causes before attributing issues to tenant behaviour, giving the Regulator real teeth including unlimited fines and intervention powers, creating transparency through performance publication and tenant access to information, and establishing clear consequences for failure to comply.
Who Does Awaab's Law Affect?
Social Housing Landlords & Tenants
Awaab's Law applies to all registered providers of social housing in England, including local authority landlords (councils that directly manage approximately 1.6 million homes), housing associations (around 1,500 organisations managing approximately 2.5 million homes), arms-length management organisations and other registered providers.
The legislation primarily benefits approximately 4 million social housing tenants in England, including those with secure tenancies, assured tenancies, flexible or fixed-term tenancies, and residents in shared ownership schemes.
When the Williams family report a hazard under Awaab's Law, the housing association must investigate within 14 days regardless of budget cycles, conduct an objective assessment identifying all structural causes before considering occupant behaviour, begin repairs within 14 days once the cause is identified and complete them within a specified timeframe, allow the family to escalate to the Housing Ombudsman and the Regulator if requirements are not met, and faces potential unlimited fines for non-compliance.
Regulatory Bodies & Enforcement
The Regulator of Social Housing gains significantly enhanced powers, including unlimited fines to replace previous capped penalties, emergency intervention powers in cases of serious risk, ability to appoint managers to take control of failing landlords, authority to set detailed performance standards and monitor compliance, and power to require publication of performance data and name failing landlords.
Local authorities retain their housing standards enforcement role and must coordinate with Awaab's Law requirements by responding to tenant complaints where social landlords have failed, using HHSRS enforcement powers where necessary, coordinating with the Regulator on serious cases, and ensuring private landlords meet housing standards.
The Housing Ombudsman investigates complaints from tenants and gains enhanced powers to fast-track complaints where Awaab's Law timeframes are breached, order compensation for affected tenants, order specific works to be carried out, publish findings to highlight systemic failures, and coordinate with the Regulator on serious or repeated failures.
Detailed Requirements: What Social Landlords Must Do Under Awaabs Law?
Investigation & Repair Timeframes in the Social Rented Sector
When a tenant reports a potential health hazard, particularly damp and mould, the landlord must acknowledge the report within 1 to 2 working days and carry out an initial risk assessment to determine severity.
The landlord must then conduct a thorough inspection within 14 days for serious hazards to identify the extent of the hazard, all potential underlying causes, immediate risks to health, and necessary remedial actions.
The landlord's surveyor must examine water ingress by checking roof, gutters, walls, windows and pipes, check for rising damp by examining damp-proof course and ground levels, test all ventilation systems including trickle vents and extractor fans, assess heating system adequacy and functionality, evaluate wall, floor and roof insulation, use moisture meters to measure humidity and condensation levels, consider whether building design creates cold spots or ventilation issues, and photograph and map mould location to understand causes.
Based on investigation findings, the landlord must clearly identify all causes of the hazard, develop a comprehensive action plan to remedy all causes, communicate the plan to the tenant with clear timeframes, and only after exhausting all structural explanations consider whether any occupant behaviour is contributing.
Once hazards are identified, emergency hazards posing immediate serious risk require response within 24 hours. Serious hazards including Category 1 hazards under HHSRS require commencement of remedial works within 14 days, with completion within a reasonable period defined in the action plan. Less serious hazards have timeframes specified based on risk assessment, typically ranging from 28 days to 90 days.
Critically, timeframes cannot be extended due to budget constraints, contractor availability or workload. Landlords must plan resources and capacity to meet requirements, and financial or operational difficulties do not excuse compliance failures.
Learn More About Awaab's Law with Our Expert Resource: Comprehensive Guide Awaab’s Law
Tenant Behaviour & Documentation
Awaab's Law fundamentally changes how landlords can respond to tenant behaviour. Before considering tenant behaviour, landlords must prove they have investigated all potential sources of water ingress, verified that all ventilation systems function properly, confirmed that heating systems are adequate, checked that insulation meets standards, and ruled out design flaws that create cold spots or ventilation issues.
Any claim that tenant behaviour contributes must be supported by objective evidence such as moisture meter readings showing humidity levels consistent with excessive moisture generation beyond what structural factors explain, data from humidity monitors placed in the property over extended periods, building physics calculations demonstrating that moisture generation exceeds the capacity of properly functioning systems, and comparison with similar properties showing significantly different outcomes.
Even if some tenant behaviour is contributing, all structural factors must be remedied before requiring a change in tenant behaviour. The landlord must first address all structural issues, then monitor the property after the structural fixes are complete. Only after problems persist after structural remedies should the landlord address tenant behaviour. The landlord should also provide support, education, and resources to help tenants. Additionally, the landlord should consider whether the tenant's behaviour is influenced by factors such as fuel poverty or disabilities.
Awaab's Law requires comprehensive documentation, including date and details of all hazard reports, acknowledgement and initial risk assessment documentation, detailed inspection reports with photographs and findings, analysis of causation with supporting evidence, action plans with specific timeframes, records of all works carried out, communications with tenants throughout, and monitoring and follow-up after repairs.
Implementation & Impact Of Awaabs Law
Awaabs Law Current Status & Early Outcomes
The legislative framework was enacted through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, with secondary regulations published providing detailed requirements.
Regulatory guidance has been issued by the Regulator of Social Housing, and enforcement powers are operational, with early enforcement actions already taken. However, landlord compliance is variable, with larger, better-resourced landlords generally more advanced.
Early outcomes include a significant increase in damp and mould reporting as awareness increases and tenants feel empowered, faster investigation timeframes with averages dropping from 45 plus days to under 20 days, increased spending on repairs and improvements, a growing number of enforcement cases against non-compliant landlords, and heightened public and political attention to social housing conditions.
Social landlords are investing billions in stock condition surveys, backlog repairs, preventative maintenance, building improvements, including insulation, heating and ventilation, and quality assurance and monitoring systems. Major housing associations and councils have announced multi-billion-pound investment programs explicitly linked to Awaab's Law compliance.
Challenges & Future Directions of Awaabs Law
Despite progress, significant challenges remain. Meeting Awaabs Law requirements requires substantial investment, and many landlords face difficult trade-offs between compliance, new affordable housing development, other property improvements, and keeping rents affordable. Some smaller housing associations and councils genuinely struggle to fund required improvements.
A surge in demand for building surveys, damp specialists, heating engineers, and other contractors has created capacity constraints, resulting in long waiting lists, rising costs, and quality concerns. As a result, some landlords are struggling to meet timeframes due to contractor unavailability.
Some building types present challenges, including 1960s and 1970s system-built tower blocks that require extensive remediation, non-traditional construction with inherent damp risks, listed buildings where interventions are restricted, and buildings with multiple ownership that complicate work.
Awaab's Law currently applies only to social housing, but campaign groups, MPs, and some coroners have called for the principles to be extended to the private rented sector and vulnerable owner-occupiers.
The government has indicated a commitment to Awaab's Law for social housing, monitoring its effectiveness before considering an extension, and strengthening the regulation of the private rented sector through separate legislation, but has no immediate plans for a full extension beyond social housing.
Practical Guidance for Tenants
Knowing Your Rights & Reporting Problems
If you live in social housing in England, you have clear rights under Awaab's Law. When you report damp, mould or other health hazards, your landlord must investigate within 14 days for serious hazards. Investigation must be thorough, identifying all potential structural causes. Your landlord cannot simply blame you without first proving all structural factors have been eliminated.
Once the cause is identified, repairs must commence within 14 days and be completed within a reasonable period, taking into account the complexity of the works. You can request information about investigation findings, the action plan, and progress towards completion.
To report problems effectively, use your landlord's reporting system in writing and keep copies of all correspondence. Document the problem by taking photographs that show the extent of mould, damp patches, and affected areas, preferably with a dated newspaper to indicate when the images were taken. Record any health impacts, including GP visits, prescriptions and missed school or work.
Request confirmation of specific timeframes for when the investigation will be conducted, when you will receive findings, when repairs will commence, and the expected completion date. If responses are vague, ask for specific dates.
What to Do If Your Landlord Doesn't Respond?
If the investigation doesn't occur within the timeframes, send follow-up correspondence emphasising Awaab's Law requirements, reference previous correspondence, request the manager's review if the initial staff are non-responsive, and state the intention to escalate if not resolved.
If the landlord still does not respond, submit a formal complaint through the landlord's complaints procedure, clearly stating the breaches of Awaab's Law and specifying what you want.
If the landlord's response to the complaint is inadequate, contact the Housing Ombudsman, providing all relevant documentation, including reports, correspondence, and evidence of landlord failures. The Ombudsman can order investigation, repairs and compensation.
For serious or systemic failures, report to the Regulator of Social Housing with evidence of breaches. The Regulator can investigate and take enforcement action.
You can also contact your council's environmental health department to request an HHSRS inspection, as local authorities can use enforcement powers to require repairs.
Conclusion: Awaab's Legacy
Awaab Ishak should be alive today. His death at age two from a respiratory condition caused by mould in his home was entirely preventable. It resulted from systemic failures by his landlord to respond to repeated reports, to investigate properly, and to prioritise tenant health and safety.
The tragedy of Awaab's death has catalysed the most significant reform of social housing safety requirements in a generation. Awaab's Law establishes clear legal obligations on social landlords to investigate and remedy health hazards within strict timeframes, empowers tenants, strengthens regulatory oversight, and creates meaningful consequences for landlords who fail to protect residents.
The impact so far includes billions invested in identifying and remedying hazards, dramatically faster responses with average times from report to resolution falling substantially, a cultural shift challenging the assumption that problems are tenants' fault, empowered tenants who increasingly understand their rights, serious regulatory action creating deterrence, elevated political attention, and early evidence of health improvements in remediated properties.
Awaab's Law represents justice for Awaab, protection for other children and families, accountability for social landlords, recognition that safe housing is a fundamental right, and commitment that children should not die due to preventable housing conditions.
No child should die because their home makes them ill. No family should live in fear of mould threatening their children's health. No tenant should be ignored when reporting hazards. Awaab's Law takes meaningful steps towards ensuring these basic standards are met.
For Awaab, and for all children living in social housing across England, we must ensure that his law is implemented fully, enforced rigorously, and leads to sustained and permanent improvements in housing conditions. That is the legacy Awaab deserves, and the protection all children need.