IN Brief:
- The consultation considers extending Awaab's Law to private rented tenancies and certain forms of licensed accommodation in England.
- Proposed protections would establish requirements for investigating and remedying hazards, including dangerous damp and mould.
- Responses are invited until 18 December 2026, with implementation arrangements still to be determined.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has opened a consultation on extending Awaab’s Law to private rented housing in England, seeking views on the timescales landlords should meet when serious hazards are identified. The exercise also examines whether comparable protections should cover some accommodation occupied under licence, including supported housing and temporary accommodation for homeless households.
The consultation opened on 9 October 2026 following a government announcement the previous day. Responses close at 11.59pm on 18 December. Powers to extend the requirements to private rented tenancies were introduced through the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, but detailed duties for that sector still require further regulations. No commencement date or final private-sector repair deadline has been established.
Awaab’s Law was introduced following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in 2020 after exposure to mould in a social rented home. From October 2025, its first phase has required social landlords to investigate and remedy specified significant damp and mould hazards and emergency hazards within defined periods. Extending the regime to other rental arrangements will require decisions about which hazards trigger duties and how those duties operate.
The proposed private-sector extension concerns the response to hazards, rather than prescribing a single repair method for every property. A damp problem can arise from penetrating rainwater, a plumbing leak, inadequate ventilation or a combination of causes. A surveyor may need to establish the moisture source before a contractor can design an effective remedy. Cleaning visible mould without addressing persistent moisture is unlikely to provide a durable solution.
Some repairs may involve localised work to pipes, seals or ventilation equipment. Others can require investigation of roofing, walls, insulation or drainage, with access arrangements and specialist trades affecting the delivery programme. Legal timescales will need to distinguish between initial investigation, immediate steps to reduce danger and completion of work that depends on more extensive building intervention.
Private rental ownership is varied. A single-property landlord may commission inspections and repairs differently from an institutional landlord maintaining hundreds of homes. Tenants may also deal with managing agents rather than the property owner directly. The consultation seeks evidence that will inform proportionate obligations without abandoning the objective of rapid protection from serious health and safety hazards.
The government is separately considering accommodation occupied under licence rather than tenancy. The categories under discussion include supported housing, temporary accommodation for homeless households and care leaver accommodation. Those arrangements may involve providers with different legal responsibilities and operating models, so the applicability of any new requirements needs to be established clearly.
Enforcement is another area of consideration. Duties must be capable of being understood by the person responsible for a property and applied consistently when occupants report problems. A workable system also depends on records showing when a complaint was received, what investigation followed, the condition found and when effective remedial work was carried out.
A wider range of hazards is being brought within Awaab’s Law for social housing. The next phase, scheduled for 30 November 2026, addresses such risks as excess cold or heat, electrical danger, fire and structural collapse. That timetable belongs to social landlords and should not be presented as an automatic start date for the private rented sector.
For property maintenance teams, the eventual rules could change how jobs are classified and prioritised. An urgent electrical defect requires different expertise from damp remediation, while a structural concern can need investigation before safe access and repairs are possible. Systems that track resident reports, inspection outcomes and completion evidence may become increasingly important if comparable deadlines are imposed across more tenures.
The consultation includes an assessment of costs and benefits and asks respondents for evidence about practical implementation. Expenditure may include inspections, remedial works, communication with occupants and administrative changes, although the distribution of those costs will depend on the eventual obligations and the condition of individual properties.
A statutory duty to respond quickly does not remove the need for technically appropriate work. Defective building fabric, inadequate heating and poorly managed ventilation can interact, and an inappropriate intervention may leave the underlying risk in place. The quality of investigation and workmanship will therefore remain central to achieving the policy’s intended protection.
Ministers have pointed to more than five million additional households that could benefit from extending the protections. This is an estimate of potential coverage, not a forecast that every household has a serious hazard or will need repair. The extent of actual construction and remediation activity will depend on identified conditions and the final regulatory scope.
The consultation closes on 18 December 2026. Its outcome will determine how investigation and repair deadlines are adapted for private rented homes and qualifying licensed accommodation; existing safety duties remain in force in the meantime.
