Vent-Axia has welcomed the UK Government setting a date of October 2025 for Awaab’s Law to be introduced across the social housing sector.
The law was initiated following the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, due to a mouldy home. Awaab’s Law is part of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act and is set to impose strict requirements on social housing landlords to investigate and resolve issues of damp and mould within specified timeframes, helping residents gain faster repairs and reducing health risks. It marks the biggest change in social housing rules in a decade, aiming to prevent future tragedies and improve tenant safety.
In a statement by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, published on 6 February 2025, it was revealed that from October 2025 social landlords will be required to address damp and mould hazards that present a significant risk of harm to tenants, within fixed timescales.
From the same point in time, they will also have to address all emergency repairs, whether they relate to damp and mould or any other hazard, as soon as possible and within no longer than 24 hours. Other hazards, apart from damp and mould will not be introduced until 2026 at the earliest. The Government is set to shortly publish further detail on Awaab’s Law and guidance to support implementation.
The statement follows the latest English Housing Survey which recently revealed in 2023 5% of dwellings in England had a problem with damp, higher than in any of the last five years (3-4%). But serious condensation was more prevalent in homes (3%) than rising damp (2%) and penetrating damp (2%). Within the social rented sector, local authority dwellings were more likely to have serious condensation (7%) than housing association dwellings (4%). The data reveals that there is still a significant damp and mould problem in social housing in the UK which needs to be solved.
“We welcome the Government setting a date to introduce Awaab’s Law since it gives clarity for social housing landlords. No one should live in a home with mould and damp and landlords have a duty of care to their residents to help ensure they live in a healthy environment. Addressing mould and damp is not only about complying with regulations but crucial for safeguarding residents’ well-being”, says Natasha King, Product Manager at Vent-Axia. “Effective ventilation is vital to improve indoor air quality and tackle condensation and mould. At Vent-Axia we have been advising on ventilation since 1936 and we work with landlords to help them choose the right ventilation for their individual property so they meet their duty of care.”
Vent-Axia will be publishing an eBook, Ensuring Safe Housing Conditions: Focusing on Mould and Damp Conditions, to give guidance to social housing landlords on Awaab’s Law and how to tackle condensation and mould.
