Extending Awaab’s Law beyond social housing: what landlords need to know

The Government has launched a consultation on extending Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector and certain forms of accommodation occupied under licence. This represents one of the most significant proposed changes to housing standards enforcement since the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. The consultation closes on 18 December 2026.

For landlords, managing agents and housing providers, the consultation provides an important insight into the Government's direction of travel: a move towards legally enforceable timescales for investigating and rectifying serious housing hazards across a much wider range of accommodation.

What is Awaab's Law?

Awaab’s Law was introduced following the tragic death of Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old child who died in 2020 after prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s home. An inquest found that the mould exposure caused the respiratory condition that led to his death.

The legislation currently applies within the social housing sector and requires landlords to investigate and address specified hazards within prescribed timescales. Since October 2025, social landlords have been required to deal with emergency repairs and damp and mould hazards presenting a significant risk of harm within fixed periods. Further hazards are due to be brought into scope from 30 November 2026.

What is the Government proposing?

The consultation seeks views on how Awaab’s Law should be applied to:

• Private rented sector tenancies
• Supported housing occupied under licence
• Temporary accommodation for homeless households
• Accommodation for care leavers
• Other accommodation occupied under licence where occupants may be vulnerable.

Importantly, the decision to extend Awaab's Law to private rented tenancies has already been made through the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. The consultation is not asking whether the extension should happen, but rather how it should operate in practice.

Why is change needed?

The Government's rationale is clear. In the consultation foreword, it notes that private renters are more likely than social housing tenants to occupy substandard housing and often struggle to obtain timely resolution of complaints relating to serious hazards.

The Government estimates that around one in ten private rented homes contains a Category 1 hazard, representing the most serious risks to health and safety under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).

By extending Awaab's Law, ministers hope to ensure that dangerous housing conditions are addressed more consistently and within enforceable timescales.

A shift from standards to timescales

One of the most interesting aspects of the consultation is that it does not seek to create entirely new repair obligations. The accompanying impact assessment makes clear that landlords are already responsible for addressing serious hazards under existing legislation. The proposed changes focus instead on imposing specific processes and timescales for compliance.

In practice, this means:

• Reports of serious hazards would require prompt investigation.
• Landlords would need to communicate outcomes and next steps within prescribed periods.
• Necessary remedial works would need to be completed within defined timescales.
• Failure to act could lead to regulatory or enforcement consequences.

For many professional landlords, this may formalise existing good practice. For others it may require significant changes to complaints handling, repairs management and record keeping.

What about supported housing and temporary accommodation?

Perhaps the most significant longer-term implication is the Government's consideration of extending protections to accommodation occupied under licence. The consultation specifically seeks views on applying Awaab's Law to:

• Supported housing;
• Temporary accommodation used to house homeless households; and
• Accommodation provided to young people leaving care.

This will be of particular interest to local authorities, registered providers, supported housing operators and organisations involved in homelessness services. For those operating in these sectors, the consultation raises important questions around responsibility for repairs, funding implications and practical delivery where accommodation models differ from conventional tenancies.

Potential impact on the housing sector

The Government estimates that extending Awaab's Law could increase the number of households benefiting from legally enforceable repair timescales from around four million to approximately nine million homes. This demonstrates the scale of the policy ambition.

If implemented, landlords will need to ensure that:

• Repair systems can meet statutory deadlines;
• Hazard reports are appropriately identified and escalated;
• Contractors can respond within prescribed timescales;
• Comprehensive records are maintained; and
• Staff (if the landlord has staff!) are trained to recognise potential Awaab's Law hazards.

What should landlords do now?

Although no implementation date for the private rented sector has yet been confirmed, the direction of travel is clear. The consultation itself emphasises that the Government intends to create a system that is fair, proportionate and effective for both tenants and landlords.

Landlords and housing providers should consider:

• Reviewing existing repairs policies and procedures.
• Assessing how quickly serious hazards are currently investigated and remedied.
• Evaluating record-keeping and audit trails.
• Considering whether current contractor arrangements could meet statutory deadlines.
• Responding to the consultation where there are operational concerns or practical implementation issues.

Final thoughts

The extension of Awaab's Law beyond social housing represents a significant development in housing regulation. While much of the focus has understandably been on damp and mould, the wider policy objective is to ensure that all renters, regardless of tenure, can expect serious hazards to be addressed promptly and effectively.

For housing professionals, the consultation provides an early opportunity to shape the framework and prepare for what is likely to become an increasingly robust compliance regime. Registered providers will also be watching closely, given the possibility of future alignment of standards across social housing, private renting and licensed accommodation.

The consultation closes on 18 December 2026 and can be accessed via the Government's consultation portal. 

We will be submitting a response to the consultation and would welcome any views or feedback from those with an interest in this area to help inform our submission. Please get in touch.

You can also visit our Awaab's Law website hub for further information.