Awaab’s Law Update: Rules, Deadlines, & Penalties For Landlords

It won’t be long before Awaab’s Law officially crosses over into the private rental sector, and with different rules affecting England, Scotland and Wales, now is the ideal moment for a check-in.

Awaab’s Law has been active for social housing in England since 2025, but it will eventually affect all private landlords in the UK around the liveability, health and safety of their rental homes.

So if you’ve either not heard of Awaab’s Law or haven’t been following its rollout, here’s where you can bring yourself up to speed as we explore:

• An Awaab’s Law refresher.
  
  
• What does Awaab’s Law cover, and from when?
  
  
• Saying goodbye to ‘reasonable timeframe’
  
  
• What if your tenant is causing the problem?

• Penalties and fines explained.

By the end of our guide, you’ll know exactly when the law is set to affect your rental property and whether there’s anything you need to put in place to be 100% prepared.

Awaab's Law refresher

Awaab’s Law is named in memory of Awaab Ishak, a 2-year-old child who died in December 2020 from breathing in toxic mould at his family home, rented from Rochdale Boroughwide Housing.

• The Ishaks began complaining about their living conditions in 2017, before Awaab was even born. The landlord eventually visited their home in July 2020.
  

• Rather than recognising the profound lack of ventilation, the landlord blamed the family’s lifestyle for the humidity, condensation and mould. Awaab died 5 months later.
  
  
• After the inquest into Awaab’s death in November 2022, the new Social Housing (Regulation) Bill in England was amended to include Awaab’s Law and gained Royal Assent in July 2023.
  
  
• The 2024 general election delayed plans to include the private sector, but Awaab’s Law passed as part of the recent Renters Rights Act in October 2025.
  
  
• In March 2025, Holyrood announced plans to introduce a Scottish version of Awaab’s Law to cover social and private housing, and the eventual legislation became law on 18 March 2026.

What started as a tragic wake-up call in Greater Manchester has evolved into a nationwide legal framework, fundamentally rewriting how property standards are enforced across the UK.

What does Awaab's Law cover, and from when?

With each region of the UK having devolved powers, the English, Scottish, and Welsh governments have chosen different paths and timelines around Awaab’s Law. Here’s a snapshot:

• Awaab’s Law in Scotland comes into force on October 6th 2026, and covers damp and mould in both social and private rented homes.
  
  
• A rollout date for private landlords in England will be set after a final consultation, but Awaab’s Law will cover far more, from water leaks and broken boilers to faulty appliances.
  
  
• Wales took a different route, and the Renting Homes Act introduced strict ‘Fitness for Human Habitation’ rules for private landlords in December 2022, covering similar ground to England.
  

While the legislative routes differ from nation to nation, the direction of travel is identical: tenant safety and property standards are under the microscope, and proactive maintenance is no longer optional.

Saying goodbye to 'reasonable timeframe'

If we use a report of damp or mould as an example, landlords are currently required to address it in a ‘reasonable timeframe’.  Awaab’s Law replaces that leeway with very specific deadlines, as follows:

• Investigation: A competent person must investigate reported damp or mould within 10 working days of the issue being reported.
  
  
• Written Summary: Landlords must issue a written summary of the investigation findings to the tenant within 3 working days of completion.
  
  
• Commencement of Repairs: If work is required to make the property safe, repairs must commence within 5 working days of the investigation finishing.
  

As you can see, this leaves absolutely no wiggle room for ignoring issues or taking a casual approach, not least because of the penalties involved (more on that later).

What if your tenant is causing the problem?

Even if a tenant is contributing to a problem (drying clothes on radiators, not ventilating after showers, etc.) Awaab’s Law doesn’t let landlords immediately off the hook.

No matter how strong your suspicions, as soon as your tenant reports anything that comes under the remit of Awaab’s Law, you are responsible for proving the root cause. Here’s what to do:

• Investigate first, assume nothing: Awaab’s Law requires landlords to inspect and investigate every report rather than dismissing it as a tenant-lifestyle issue.
  
  
• Prove the cause: If an expert investigation finds that your tenant is part or all of the problem, you need to document this clearly in writing.
  
  
• Dispense clear remedies: You also need to provide clear, actionable guidance for your tenant to amend their behaviour, and reiterate their duty to care for your property appropriately.

Of course, prevention is always better than cure, and our blog on regular Mid-Tenancy Inspections is essential reading for nipping potential problems in the bud.

Penalties and fines explained
With Awaab’s Law tightening standards across the board, failing to act on reports of problems leaves landlords vulnerable to all sorts of severe consequences, including:

• Legal action by tenants and local authorities for missed statutory deadlines around responding and repairs.
  
  
• Tenants can apply for financial compensation, leaving landlords seriously out of pocket, from paying back rent in England, to receiving far less in Scotland, to a complete forfeit in Wales.
  
  
• Local authority enforcement teams can issue civil penalties for specific hazard breaches, while courts can bring criminal proceedings, with fines as high as £40,000 for major offences.

It’s also worth mentioning that with digital public databases tracking management standards more closely than ever, the potential for ongoing reputational damage can linger long after any repairs.

Are you set up for Awaab’s Law?

If you own a rental home in the Wilton and Salisbury area and want to ensure your property is ready for Awaab’s Law, we’d love to help you conduct a review.

We’re here to keep landlords out of trouble and to ensure their tenants are safe, so call us on 01722 580059 or message us at info@piccoloproperty.co.uk to start things off with a chat.