There’s a mould epidemic in the UK, with a predicted 6.5 million UK homes being affected. Often, if we see visible mould in a home the solution is to buy some mould cleaning spray or mix water with bleach and wash the walls, but this is only temporary and ignores the hidden dangers of invisible mould spores in the air. Unfortunately, many social landlords don’t take complaints of mould seriously which is why Awaab’s Law comes into place in October 2025 following the tragic death of Awaab Ishak. Awaab’s death in December 2020 was caused by prolonged exposure to harmful mould in the social housing home where he and his parents lived. After petitions by Awaab’s parents, housing & homelessness charity Shelter, and the Manchester evening news, the UK government introduced Awaab’s Law in July 2023.

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What is Awaab’s Law?

Awaab’s Law will come into force on October 27th 2025 and it will force landlords of social housing to investigate and fix damp and mould issues quickly.

Awaab’s Law requirements

The new regulations as part of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act requires social housing landlords to act quickly if potentially harmful damp and mould is suspected.

Investigation

When a tenant alerts their landlord to damp or mould in their home, the landlord must investigate (or use a third party to investigate) within 10 working days, If there is an emergency damp or mould hazard, the investigation must start within 48 hours.

Written summary to tenants

Within three working days after the mould investigation and test is complete, the social landlord has to provide their tenants with a written summary, which will include their findings, the next steps and the timeframe in which remediation will be carried out.

Mould remediation timeframes

The UK government has set out strict timeframes in which social housing landlords must carry out mould and damp remediation work.

Immediate risks

If the mould that has been detected is an immediate risk, the work has to be carried out within 24 hours and it has to be a permanent solution.

Significant risks

If the mould found poses a significant risk to the tenants’ health, the home must be made safe within 5 working days. In this case, the landlord may use temporary measures.

Mould prevention work

The landlord then has 12 weeks to complete any other supplementary work to prevent mould recurring.

Overall, all mould remediation work and repairs to social housing to remove and prevent mould must be carried out within a reasonable timeframe.

Landlord responsibilities

Social housing landlords have additional responsibilities as part of Awaab’s Law that are designed to empower and protect their tenants.

Record keeping

Social housing landlords will have to keep accurate and clear records of correspondence with contractors and tenants, as well as any work that has been carried out to comply with regulations.

Alternative accommodation

If the work can’t be completed within the designated timeframes, the landlord has to find a temporary safe living space for their tenants.

How social landlords can investigate mould

The first crucial step is to investigate and test for mould, and using a private contractor can be costly if you are letting a large amount of properties.

At AirTrap®, we have developed the AirTrap® XL air sampling kit which is used with the Sporecyte sampling pump, so you can test for the presence of mould spores in the air yourself within just  five minutes.

It’s simple to use, and once you send the cassettes back to us, you will receive your lab verified AI-powered mould report within a few days. The AirTrap® report will uncover 90+ different types of mould spores and potentially harmful airborne pathogens, and will be presented in an easy to understand format which you can share with tenants.

To help social landlords get started in complying with Awaab’s Law, we have created a starter kit that gives you everything you need.

Need more information on the AirTrap® XL? Take a look at our FAQs page: https://www.airtrap.co.uk/pages/faqs or get in touch on sales@airtrap.co.uk