On 27 October 2025 Awaab’s Law is scheduled to come into effect. The new law will require social landlords to address damp, mould and other ‘emergency hazards’ in social housing, within fixed timeframes.
Registered providers will be required to investigate reports of damp/mould; provide written summaries of investigations; and take action to make the property safe within strict timeframes. If the landlord fails to meet this obligation then the tenant can take legal action.
The stated aim of the new law is to improve living conditions and ensure that tenants are not exposed to harmful environments, however the practicalities of meeting the obligations against the backdrop of a national housing crisis, present a new series of risks, on social housing providers from a cost and resource perspective, but also to the disrepair claim sector as a whole.
In the last few years, the number of disrepair claims has increased dramatically, and we are also seeing a rising number of related matters, including issues over access and discrimination.
Join Forbes Solicitors and their panel of legal experts at this lunchtime Q&A session as they address some of the risks and legal issues facing social landlords across the country.