Does Awaab’s Law Apply to Private Renters?

Short answer: not yet — but it’s coming, and here’s exactly what’s confirmed law today versus what’s still expected.

Awaab’s Law is fully in force, but only for social housing tenants. If you rent privately, your landlord doesn’t have to meet Awaab’s Law’s strict 24-hour, 10-day, and 5-day deadlines right now. That said, you still have real legal protection under older law — and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has already laid the groundwork to bring Awaab’s Law-style deadlines to private tenancies too.

This page explains what’s actually confirmed, what’s expected, and what you can do about a repair problem today while you wait.

What is Awaab’s Law?

Awaab’s Law sets legally binding deadlines for landlords to investigate and fix serious health and safety hazards — introduced after the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak from prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s social housing home. It came into force for social landlords on 27 October 2025.

The confirmed social housing deadlines are:

• 24 hours — emergency hazards (gas leaks, no heating in winter, severe flooding, broken external locks) must be investigated and made safe
• 10 working days — significant hazards, including damp and mould, must be investigated
• 5 working days — once a hazardous problem is confirmed, it must be fixed
• 28 days — general, non-urgent repairs should be completed within a reasonable time, typically around this mark

Does this apply if I’m a private tenant?

Not yet, and no official date has been confirmed. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 contains the legal mechanism to extend Awaab’s Law to private landlords, but as of mid-2026 the government has not published the specific timeframes or a start date for the private rented sector. Several legal commentators expect it to broadly mirror the social housing model, but “expected” isn’t the same as “law” — and quoting the 24-hour figure to your landlord as if it’s currently binding on them isn’t accurate.

What protection do I actually have right now?

Even without Awaab’s Law, you’re not unprotected. Private landlords already have binding legal duties:

• Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, your landlord must keep the structure, exterior, heating, hot water, and sanitation of the property in repair — this duty applies regardless of what your tenancy agreement says.
• Under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, your home must be fit to live in throughout your tenancy, and you can take your landlord to court directly if it isn’t — including for damp and mould serious enough to affect your health.
• If your landlord retaliates against you for raising a repair issue — for example, by trying to evict you shortly after you complain — this is unlawful retaliatory eviction under Section 33 of the Deregulation Act 2015.

None of these come with Awaab’s Law’s fixed hour-and-day deadlines, but “within a reasonable time” and “without delay” are still enforceable — through the county court, or via a complaint to your local council’s environmental health team, who can serve an improvement notice or take enforcement action against the landlord directly.

What doesn’t matter

• Your landlord saying “there’s no legal deadline for this.” True for the specific Awaab’s Law hours-and-days figures — false for the underlying duty to repair within a reasonable time, which is already enforceable.
• Your tenancy agreement being silent on repairs. The Section 11 duty is implied into your tenancy automatically. It can’t be excluded by your agreement.
• A landlord saying they’ll “get to it eventually.” For anything affecting your health or safety — no heat in winter, serious damp, a broken lock — “eventually” isn’t a reasonable time, and your council’s environmental health team can intervene now, without waiting for Awaab’s Law to extend to private tenancies.

What to do if you have an urgent repair problem now

1. Report it in writing, even if you’ve already called or texted. A dated written record protects you if this escalates.
2. Give your landlord a reasonable window to respond — for anything urgent, a few days is generally reasonable; for an emergency (no heat, gas leak, serious flooding), immediately.
3. If nothing happens, contact your local council’s environmental health team. They can inspect the property and, where the hazard is serious, formally require your landlord to act — this route already exists and doesn’t depend on Awaab’s Law reaching private tenancies.
4. Keep evidence — photos, dates, copies of every message sent.

Frequently asked questions

When will Awaab’s Law apply to private landlords? No date has been confirmed as of mid-2026. The government has said the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 gives it the power to extend Awaab’s Law-style deadlines to the private rented sector, but the specific timeframes and start date are set by secondary legislation that hasn’t yet been published.

Can I still force my landlord to fix damp and mould? Yes — through the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 or by reporting it to your council’s environmental health team, both of which apply to private tenancies today.

Will the 24-hour and 10-day figures be the same for private renters when it does apply? Not confirmed. Most expect the private sector rules to broadly follow the social housing model, but the government hasn’t published final figures.

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Not sure how to escalate a repair issue with your landlord? [See our full guide on what to do when your landlord won’t do repairs].