Awaab’s Law is changing: what you need to know
From 30 November 2026, the next phase of Awaab's Law comes into effect, giving social housing customers greater protection from hazards in their homes.
The law already sets strict timescales for social landlords like us to investigate and deal with emergency hazards and significant damp and mould. From 30 November, it will expand to cover a wider range of significant hazards that could affect your health or safety.
Why is it called Awaab's Law?
The law is named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who tragically died from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to damp and mould in his social housing home.
Despite his family raising concerns about the mould, action was not taken for more than two years. His family campaigned for change, leading to new rules setting clear timescales for social landlords to act when hazards could put customers' health or safety at risk.
What is changing?
The first phase of Awaab's Law came into effect on 27 October 2025. It introduced strict timescales for dealing with emergency hazards and significant damp and mould.
From 30 November 2026, the law will expand further. As well as damp and mould, the new phase brings more hazards within the requirements of Awaab's Law.
These include issues such as:
- water and leaks
- heating and hot water
- ventilation
- electrical safety
- fire safety
- structural safety
What does it mean for you?
If you report a problem in your home, we'll look at the issue and let you know if it is covered by Awaab's Law.
There are clear timescales for problems that meet the requirements of the law:
- Emergency hazards must be investigated and made safe within 24 hours.
- Significant damp and mould must be investigated within 10 working days.
- If we find a significant hazard covered by the law, we must make it safe within 5 working days after our investigation.
We'll keep you updated about what we find and what happens next.
Tell us about problems in your home
Your safety matters to us. If you're worried about damp, mould or another hazard in your home, please tell us as soon as possible.
The sooner we know about a problem, the sooner we can look into it and take action.
Call us on 0330 175 9540
Email us at enquiry@incommunities.co.uk
You can also read the government's Awaab's Law Phase 2 guidance to find out more.