Damp and mould – Awaab’s Law
Damp and mould – Awaab’s Law
Today, ‘Awaab’s Law’ officially comes into effect across England, bringing with it new responsibilities for social landlords and setting new timeframes for responding to damp, mould and emergency hazards in social housing.
Awaab’s Law has been created to protect social housing tenants from serious health hazards, after the tragic death of toddler Awaab Ishak in Rochdale in 2020. An inquest found that the two-year-old had died due to prolonged exposure to mould in his home.
Initially focusing on damp and mould, the law will expand to cover other hazards such as excess cold, fire risks, and structural dangers. Its goal is to ensure that every tenant lives in a safe, decent, and healthy home, and it gives all tenants the right to hold social landlords accountable if they fail to act.
Our new approach
When a customer reports damp and mould in their home, all social landlords will now be required by law to keep to the following timescales.
- If damp and mould in your home is found to be causing an immediate risk to health, we will visit within 24 hours to make sure your home is safe. If necessary, we will find alternative accommodation for you until any risk has been removed.
- Where a significant risk has been identified, we will investigate within 10 working days. Following the investigation, we will write to you to explain our findings and next steps within 3 working days.
- From the date your home is made safe, we will start any repairs within 5 working days. If this is not possible, all work will be started in no more than 12 weeks.
- We will always contact you six weeks after the work is completed to check that you are happy that the issue has been fixed.
Preparing for the changes
Over the past 12 months, colleagues and teams across Onward have been working together to prepare for the introduction of Awaab’s Law.
As we continue to evolve our repairs service and bring more services in house, we are getting much greater control over the services we provide and are better able to maintain standards. Our dedicated damp, mould and condensation (DMC) team launched earlier this year, bringing specialist skills together in one place and ensuring we can provide a more consistent service across all our regions.
In consultation with our involved customers, we have also recently updated the guidance we provide around damp and mould in our homes, so that everyone knows what to look out for, how to report issues, and what they should expect from us.
This information is now available in a range of formats here: Reporting damp and mould | Onward