HOMES BOOST
Major change coming in months which means landlords will have to fix mould and improve homes for renters
We explain how to complain about mould and damp in your home
LANDLORDS will be forced to fix issues of mould in homes or face being taken to court.
New laws will come in to force from October to tackle dangerous conditions in social housing in England.
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The legislation is named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died as a direct result of exposure to mould in the social home his family rented in Rochdale in 2020.
Landlords will have to investigate and fix dangerous damp and mould within a set period of time and repair all emergency hazards within 24 hours.
The law will be further strengthened so that from 2027 it will require landlords to fix all dangerous hazards.
After the first phase this year, it is expected to cover excess cold and excess heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and hygiene hazards from 2026.
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Then from 2027 another expansion is planned to cover remaining hazards under the housing health and safety rating system, but this will not include issues of overcrowding.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: "We have a moral duty to ensure tragedies like the death of Awaab Ishak never happen again.
"Landlords cannot be allowed to rent out dangerous homes and shamelessly put the lives of their tenants at risk.
"Our new laws will force them to fix problems quickly, so that people are safe in their homes and can be proud to live in social housing."
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Under the Renters’ Rights Bill, the government also intends to extend similar powers over the private rented sector.
A consultation on how Awaab's Law will be implemented for private tenants and landlords is planned.
New Build Home Full Of Mould
But housing charity Shelter said the time frame for the further plans was not soon enough.
Chief executive Polly Neate said: “Awaab Ishak’s legacy must be that no other family has to witness poor housing conditions putting their child’s life at risk.
“These delays to implementation represent a real risk to the health and safety of tenants, and puts lives at risks.
“The Government must make good on their promise and fully and swiftly implement Awaab’s law.”
THE HEARTBREAKING CASE OF AWAAB
Two-year-old Awaab’s father Faisal Abdullah repeatedly complained to the landlord about mould and damp before the tot’s death in December 2020.
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) boss Gareth Swarbrick was sacked following an investigation into the tragedy.
At a coroners court inquest into the tot’s death, it was revealed Faisal Abdullah had first noted mould in his kitchen in autumn 2017.
The court heard he was told at the time to “paint over it” by a member of staff at RBH, who manage the estate, only for it to return a year later before Awaab's premature birth in December 2018.
Mr Abdullah had reportedly first applied for a new home for his family in May 2019, before later making further bids for housing as the damp became “really bad.”
According to records obtained by the court, Awaab had a history of blocked nose and coughing on several occasions in his young life and by the autumn of 2020 – almost two years after his birth - he was struggling to breathe.
RBH initially said the damp posed no risk to health.
However, a pathologist said Awaab's death - which was a week after his second birthday - was linked to "environmental lung exposure".
A report carried out by Rochdale Council after the tragedy found he had suffered "category one" harm - or extreme harm - due to mould and damp.
The government said the phased approach means that issues of mould can be tackled sooner rather than waiting for all dangers to be covered by the law.
There are already existing laws that mean social landlords must make homes fit for human habitation.
Plans to crackdown on the issue were first announced by former housing secretary Micheal Gove under the previous Conservative government.
In 2023, 7% of social rented homes had a damp problem and 4% had hazards rated at the most dangerous "category 1" level.
RENTERS' RIGHTS
If you are renting, and poor maintenance is contributing to a damp or mould problem, then your landlord should act.
Substandard insulation, rotting windows, leaks, rising damp and broken extractor fans fall under your landlord’s responsibilities.
You must keep the property adequately ventilated and heated to minimise condensation.
Jenny Lamb, from Shelter, previously told The Sun: “If you have a damp problem, report it to your landlord in writing, along with how long it has been going on.
“If no action is taken, contact your local authority, and they can carry out an environmental health inspection.”
But while many good landlords will act, some will unfortunately use a Section 21 “no fault” eviction order instead of carrying out repairs.
What will change under Awaab's law
A timeline for changes will hand the government more powers to ensure that mould and other dangers for renters are reduced.
The government has said it will push the law through parliament as quickly as possible.
October 2025
When social tenants report damp and mould issues that pose a significant risk of harm, tenants will have to fix them within a specific time
Emergency repairs for damp and mould will have to be addressed as soon as possible and in 24 hours or less.
2026
A wider array of hazards in addition to mould and damp will fall under the law.
This is set to include: include excess cold and excess heat; falls; structural collapse; fire, electrical and explosions; and hygiene hazards.
2027
The law will be expanded to apply to all hazards defined under the Housing Healthy and Safety Rating System (England) Regulations 2005.
Jenny explains: “A tenant could find themselves in a scary position just for asserting their rights.”
The Government says Section 21 orders will be scrapped in the new Renters’ Rights Bill.
HOW TO COMPLAIN
Council, housing association and private tenants can all ask for compensation.
According to housing charity Shelter you could ask for compensation if:
- Your landlord does not make repairs within a reasonable time
- The repairs are poor quality or do not fix things
- Your home is unfit to live in
You should wait until your tenancy ends if you are a private tenant to avoid receiving a section 21 eviction notice.
First, you must make a complaint to your landlord.
To do so, use an email or letter to set out what your complaint is about, what you want your landlord to do and when you want them to respond.
Check if your landlord has a complaints procedure before you make your complaint.
Once this is done you can escalate your complaint to the Ombudsman.
It is free to make a complaint to the Housing Ombudsman if you are a resident in social housing.
You will need to explain what you think has gone wrong and what you think the landlord should do to put it right.
It will only consider investigating your complaint when it has received evidence that your landlord has supplied a full and final response to your complaint.
For a complaint to be investigated, it must be referred to the Housing Ombudsman within 12 months of the landlord’s final response.
The Ombudsman will then work with you and your landlord to reach an agreement, which is known as a resolution.
This is much quicker than going through a full investigation.
If you and your landlord agree to a resolution then it will set out the agreed terms in writing, also known as a determination.
Last year the Ombudsman made 5,465 determinations.
The Ombudsman will also follow up with you and the landlord to check that all of the agreed actions have been completed before it closes the case.
When it will launch an investigation
If a solution cannot be found through a resolution then the Ombudsman’s dispute resolution team will complete a formal investigation of the case.
A full investigation can take 12 months while high-risk cases can be determined within 6 months.
An investigation will assess whether a landlord has acted fairly and whether their actions were reasonable, considering all the circumstances of the case.
The investigation will establish whether the landlord has been responsible for maladministration.
This could include if they:
- Failed to comply with any relevant legal obligations or relevant codes of practice
- Did not apply their own policies and procedures
- Behaved unreasonably when dealing with the issue
- Were unfair, unreasonable or incompetent
- Treated the resident in an unsympathetic, inappropriate or heavy-handed way
If this is the case then the Ombudsman may order the landlord to take steps to put things right.
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, it may set out orders and recommendations to the landlord in its report to put things right.
This could include telling the landlord to:
- Pay compensation
- Apologise
- Review its policies and procedures
- Complete any outstanding repairs
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Landlords are obliged to follow any orders from the housing Ombudsman.
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