On Monday 27 October, Awaab’s Law will come into effect. The law has been made after a young boy named Awaab Ishak died because of mould in his home in December 2020.  

It will mean that landlords must act quickly to make sure safety risks, like damp and mould, are fixed quickly.  

As a housing association, we have to follow this law. We were already doing a lot of what we will be required to do, but we have been working hard to make some improvements to make sure we are doing what is needed.  

You can find out on this page what this means for you as a customer, and how you can be sure we are following this.  

What does this mean for you?  

If you have an issue in your home, you should still tell us in the normal ways you would – nothing is changing with how you can get in touch. Usually the quickest and easiest way is to use our customer portal to book repairs, although you should call us if it's an emergency. Find out the other ways you can contact us.  

The main changes you may notice will be about how quickly we need to do certain things. You can help us by making sure we can get into your home to carry out repairs and other appointments. This means we can make the repairs we need to and keep you safe.  

Awaab’s Law doesn’t apply in the same way if you own your home. For homeowners, we’ll provide advice about damp and mould and if needed arrange inspections arrange inspections. This is similar if you live in a building managed by a third party, as they are responsible for repairing the structure of your building.  

It’s also important to know that Awaab’s Law doesn’t apply to all issues or repairs.  

What does it mean for us?

The law means we have to meet deadlines on when we do certain things when a problem like damp and mould is reported in the home of a customer.  

If a significant damp and mould issue is reported that could be harmful to the customer, we must investigate this within 10 days. We then need to share our findings in writing with the customer within 3 working days.  

If there’s an emergency, like a gas leak, exposed wiring, or mould affecting a customer who is vulnerable, we must act within 24 hours to investigate and fix the issue. This is not a change, as this is something we already do. If the home can’t be made safe, we must offer another place to stay.  

It also means we have to start some more complicated work or repairs within certain times.