Awaab's Law for private landlords: the consultation and the earliest start date

Everything below about private landlords in England is a proposal or an option the government is asking about. The consultation says it does not expect Awaab's Law to require repairs landlords are not already obliged to make: it would set the timescales and process for doing them.

Where the law stands now

Awaab's Law has applied to social housing tenancies in England since 27 October 2025, starting with damp and mould and all emergency hazards. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 contains the powers to go further: section 60 widens section 10A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the Awaab's Law provision, from social housing leases to leases of homes in England, which brings in private tenancies, and section 61 allows them to be applied to chosen types of accommodation occupied under licence. Neither section is in force yet, and both need regulations setting the actual requirements, such as the timescales. That is what the consultation is about.

Until then, private landlords keep their existing duties: repairs under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, keeping the home fit for human habitation under section 9A, and council enforcement under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, updated in June 2026. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 also gives councils a new power to fine landlords up to £7,000 for failing to take reasonably practicable steps to keep a home free of category 1 hazards. As the consultation puts it, existing legislation does not set specific timescales for private landlords: repairs must be done within a reasonable period, which depends on the facts of each case.

What the consultation proposes

For each part of Awaab's Law the consultation sets out the social housing rule as the starting point, then asks whether it would work for private landlords, most of whom own fewer than five rental properties and, in most cases, hire tradespeople one job at a time. The government says it is not trying to make the private rules stronger or weaker, only workable.

Who would investigate damp and mould

This is the question that matters most to surveyors. In social housing the investigation must be done by someone the landlord believes has the right skills and experience, and qualified specialists are not needed in every case. Question 12 asks who should carry out Awaab's Law inspections in private rented homes:

• any person who, in the landlord's judgement, is competent to assess the risk the potential hazard poses to the occupier;
• a two-stage process in which the landlord or agent makes an initial assessment and then, if required, arranges a specialist follow-up inspection;
• "someone with specific relevant qualifications – for example, a Housing Health and Safety Rating System practitioner or a building surveyor".

The consultation is open about the trade-off. A private landlord who needs specialist expertise will usually have to hire someone for that one job. If specialists are not available, the delay could leave tenants worse off in cases where a first look by the landlord or agent would have been enough. Question 13 asks how big a challenge the cost of investigations, the availability of suitably competent people and disputes over whether a hazard meets the threshold would be. If you carry out damp investigations for private landlords, these are the questions to answer.

Damp, mould and the tenant's household

Two further questions turn on evidence a damp investigation produces. Question 5 asks whether hazards caused by the tenant's breach of contract, such as deliberate damage, should be excluded, with guidance making clear that landlords cannot avoid acting on damp and mould because of assumptions about tenant "lifestyle". Question 8 asks whether a hazard should be judged against the people who actually live there, as in social housing (a child, or a tenant with asthma, may be at greater risk from damp and mould), or only on the severity of the hazard itself, as an HHSRS assessment does. The consultation lists the risks of the first approach: landlords not knowing about a health condition, tenants not wanting to share it, rental discrimination and handling sensitive personal data.

Leasehold flats get their own question. Around 40% of privately rented homes are leasehold, and question 6 asks whether hazards that are the freeholder's responsibility should be left out, as in social housing, or kept in with the landlord required to take reasonable steps to get the freeholder to fix them.

When it could start

The consultation says: "Given the time requirement to make regulations following this consultation, the earliest feasible implementation date would be 2027." It balances that against giving landlords and agents time to prepare. Where an agent manages repairs, the landlord would remain liable under the implied term, so some landlords may need new contracts with their agents.

• Question 30 asks when it should start: 2027, 2028, 2029 or another date.
• Question 29 asks whether to phase it in and, if so, whether the first phase should be damp and mould and all emergency hazards, as in social housing.
• Question 31 asks whether the start should wait for the Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman, which the government expects to be established from 2028.

For its cost estimates only, the consultation's impact section assumes three phases in 2028, 2029 and 2030. That is a modelling assumption, not a decision. The date will be set in regulations after the government has considered the responses.

Licences: supported housing, temporary accommodation and care leavers

Part 2 of the consultation asks whether to use section 61 to apply Awaab's Law to three kinds of accommodation when they are occupied under licence rather than a tenancy: supported housing, temporary accommodation for homeless households, and care leaver accommodation. Where these are let on tenancies they would already be covered by the social or private rules. The government's initial assumption is that the licence requirements would mirror those for tenancies. It does not propose covering all licences. The government's press release says extending Awaab's Law to private renters and these other types of housing could take the number of households covered from 4 million to around 9 million.

How to respond

• Online: the government's consultation survey, which it prefers.
• By email: to awaabslawconsultation@communities.gov.uk, saying which question numbers you are answering.
• By post: to the Awaab's Law Consultation team at MHCLG, using the address in the consultation document.

The deadline is 11.59pm on 18 December 2026. You can answer only the parts that apply to you. The consultation asks people not to include personal details in their answers, and it cannot resolve individual repair complaints.

England now, England proposed, and Scotland

Where DampApp Pro fits

Whatever timescales are chosen, the proposed duties would turn on a record: when the landlord became aware, when the investigation concluded and what it found, when the tenant was told, and when the home was made safe. A dated, evidenced damp and mould investigation, with readings, photos, the likely cause and the work recommended, is what shows which clock applied and whether it was met. It is also good practice now, under the existing duty to repair within a reasonable time. DampApp Pro helps the person doing the visit record it:

• On site and offline: record each room, wall and defect with moisture readings and photos, with no signal needed.
• Evidence for the cause: temperature and humidity give dew point and condensation risk, so the report can separate condensation from rising, penetrating or leak damp.
• Dated photos (Pro): the report can show each photo's capture time from its EXIF data, or the time it was added.
• HHSRS scoring as supporting evidence (Pro): score damp and mould and other hazard profiles (see HHSRS scoring). A score does not decide whether Awaab's Law would apply.
• A report before you leave: the PDF is built on your device, with optional AI help to turn shorthand into clear wording you check.
• A letter for the household (Pro): a plain-English summary letter drafted from the survey, which you edit.

The app records and reports the investigation. It does not decide whether a hazard is significant, set a legal deadline or make anyone compliant. See the damp and mould survey app or an example report.

Genuinely free to start: surveys work offline and free PDFs carry a small app footer. Upgrade to Pro when you're ready for your own branding, the resident letter and the full toolkit.

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