01 · OriginsWhy Awaab's Law exists, and where the PRS extension stands
Awaab Ishak was two years old when he died in December 2020 from respiratory complications caused by prolonged mould exposure in a Rochdale social-housing flat. His parents had reported the mould repeatedly from 2017. The coroner's conclusion, that the housing provider's repeated failure to act was a direct cause of death, forced a legislative response.
The response is now a statutory clock. Under Part 2 of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, registered providers must investigate reported hazards within a specified period, begin making the property safe within a further specified period, and complete repairs within a reasonable time. The detailed figures sit in regulations that flowed from that Act and bind every social-housing landlord in England.
The private rented sector is not yet bound in the same terms. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 contains the statutory power to extend Awaab's Law to the PRS; a government consultation has been run on the detailed timescales and scope; the final statutory instrument, which will give the PRS framework its teeth, has not been laid as of April 2026. What is already landing, though, is tenant expectation: solicitors, councils and the Housing Ombudsman are increasingly treating the social-housing timescales as the benchmark for reasonable PRS behaviour, regardless of whether the SI has commenced.
Consultation-stage framework, run it as policy, not yet as statute
The timescales in this SOP (14 days to investigate, further window to remedy, 7 days for emergencies) are the proposed PRS figures, drawn from the live social-housing regulations under the 2023 Act and the RRA 2025 consultation. They are not yet binding on the PRS as prescribed statutory duties. They are, however, the benchmark a court, a council or the ombudsman will already measure a private landlord against, and the right internal SOP to run now. When the final SI lands, tighten the figures to whatever it prescribes.
There is a second reason to run this SOP now, quite apart from the statutory question. Damp and mould is the single biggest category of landlord-disrepair litigation in London county courts, and Category 1 damp-and-mould hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) already compel a local authority to act under the Housing Act 2004. The HHSRS regime pre-dates Awaab's Law by nearly two decades and applies to every PRS landlord in England without exception. A PRS landlord who ignores a tenant report is already exposed to HHSRS enforcement, a disrepair claim, a Housing Ombudsman complaint, and after commencement of the new landlord portal and ombudsman provisions, reputational damage on a public register.
02 · The clockThe statutory clock, what the 14 days actually mean
The framework has three windows stacked inside it. The phrasing below uses the social-housing timescales verbatim and the anticipated PRS figures that tracked the consultation proposals; treat them as the benchmark your internal SOP should meet, pending the final SI.
Day 1–14 · Investigate
Investigation windowFrom the date of a relevant tenant report (verbal or written), the landlord has 14 calendar days to investigate whether the reported condition amounts to a prescribed hazard. "Investigate" means a physical inspection, a professional assessment where indicated, and a written determination recorded in the tenant file. A desk review is not enough.
Within a further reasonable period · Remedy
Remedy windowWhere investigation confirms a prescribed hazard, the landlord must begin remedial action within a further specified period (the social-housing regulations set this at a reasonable period and the PRS consultation benchmarks a similar window). A written plan of works must go to the tenant. "Begin" is a meaningful standard, first contractor on site, not first phone call to a surveyor.
Day 1–7 · Emergency override
Emergency windowWhere the hazard is a significant and imminent risk to health or safety, the entire investigation-and-remedy cycle compresses. Landlord must act to make safe within 7 calendar days of the report. Temporary accommodation may be required where the hazard cannot be made safe with the tenant in occupation. This is the window that catches severe Category 1 damp-and-mould and any exposure to vulnerable occupants (children under 5, elderly, immunocompromised).
Throughout · Written communication
ContinuousThe duty runs alongside a communications duty: acknowledge the report in writing within 24–48 hours, confirm the inspection appointment, communicate the findings in plain language, share the plan of works, confirm start and completion dates, and confirm sign-off. Every material step written down. The evidence pack is the defence.
In practice, the 14-day figure is tighter than it sounds. Fourteen calendar days from a tenant WhatsApp on a Friday evening means a surveyor on site by the second Friday, a determination letter out by the end of day 14, and the next contractor instructed. Landlords who manage a single property through an agent will need to sharpen the hand-off, and portfolio landlords will need a tracked queue. The SOP below is built around that reality.
03 · Hazard categorisationWhat triggers the clock, HHSRS Categories 1 and 2
The investigation duty is not subjective. It is measured against the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), the risk-based framework introduced under Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004. Every residential property is already measurable against HHSRS, and the 29 recognised hazards include damp and mould growth as a named hazard in their own right. The categorisation below is the HHSRS lens a competent surveyor (or an environmental health officer from the local council) will apply.
| Category | What it looks like | Landlord / council duty |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1 Serious |
Extensive black mould on external walls or ceilings; mould behind furniture or in wardrobes; visible spore staining in multiple rooms; active water ingress from roof, render or plumbing; household member reports respiratory symptoms, eye irritation or worsening asthma. | Council is compelled to act under s.5 Housing Act 2004, typically an improvement notice, prohibition order, emergency remedial action, or demolition order. Landlord should treat as the 7-day emergency window. |
| Category 2 Less serious |
Localised spot mould in one bathroom or kitchen corner; condensation patterns on single-glazed windows; minor surface mould easily treated. No occupant health complaint. No active ingress. | Council may act (discretionary). Landlord still owes the 14-day investigation duty under the SOP framework. Remedial action within a reasonable window; document the outcome. |
| Non-hazard condensation | Ephemeral condensation on bathroom mirror, cold external wall in winter, no mould growth; diagnosed as occupant lifestyle (tumble-dryer venting into room, windows never opened) where the fabric and services are sound. | No HHSRS duty, but the SOP still applies. Investigate, confirm the non-hazard determination in writing, give the tenant a plain-language ventilation and heating guide. Keep the file closed with evidence. |
The categorisation has two practical consequences. First, any tenant report that might involve a Category 1 hazard, visible black mould, a respiratory complaint, a child under 5 in the household, should be escalated to the emergency window without waiting for the first inspection. Second, the categorisation is the line a tenant's solicitor or the local authority will draw after you have closed the case, which is why the written determination and photographic evidence at the investigation stage is load-bearing.
Vulnerable occupants compress the timeline
The HHSRS risk assessment weights hazard severity by the characteristic of the most vulnerable occupant. A Category 2 condition in a household with a child under 5, an elderly tenant, or an immunocompromised household member may categorise as Category 1 under HHSRS. Your SOP should flag vulnerable-occupant cases at the acknowledgement stage so the response window compresses automatically.
The landlords who come through a damp complaint cleanest are the ones who wrote everything down from the first phone call. Not because the law requires it, though it does, but because an indifferent paper trail is a disrepair claim waiting to happen, and a disciplined one usually closes the file at the investigation stage.
04 · SOPThe 14-day standard operating procedure, day by day
Below is the SOP to run the day a tenant puts damp or mould in writing. It is tuned to the PRS (single-property landlords and small portfolios), and it meets the proposed statutory clock under the RRA 2025 PRS extension and the live social-housing regulations under the 2023 Act.
- Day 0 · Intake. Tenant report received (call, WhatsApp, email). Record date, time, channel, and the exact words of the report. Flag if the household has a child under 5, elderly resident, or any reported health symptoms, those flags accelerate the rest of the SOP. Save the original message verbatim.
- Day 1–2 · Acknowledge in writing. Send a written acknowledgement by email or letter within 48 hours. Confirm receipt, thank the tenant for reporting, state the next step (inspection appointment), and give a named point of contact. This acknowledgement is both a legal safeguard and the thing that keeps the case out of the ombudsman.
- Day 2–5 · Triage call and risk screen. A same-week call with the tenant to ask the diagnostic questions: when did it start; where in the flat; how extensive; any health symptoms; have you moved anything to cover it; is there any water coming in visibly. Based on the triage, decide: emergency window (7 days), standard investigation (14 days), or a determination that it is non-hazard condensation that still warrants an inspection for the file.
- Day 5–10 · Inspection and surveyor brief where indicated. Physical inspection by landlord or agent. Photograph everything, including any areas moved to access the mould. Take moisture readings if equipped. Where visible black mould or any Category 1 indicator is present, instruct an independent damp surveyor with a written brief (template in §6).
- Day 10–14 · Determination and plan of works. Surveyor report received (or in-house determination for clear Category 2 and non-hazard cases). Send a written determination letter to the tenant in plain language: what was found, what the cause is, what category under HHSRS, what you are going to do about it, and the programme for remedial action. This letter is the close of the investigation window.
- Day 14 onwards · Remedy. Begin remedial action within a further reasonable period (the social-housing regulations and the PRS consultation both benchmark this as a specified window; run your SOP on "works started within a further 14 days" unless the final SI reduces it). Written confirmation of contractor start-date to tenant. Works carried out. Post-works inspection. Written completion sign-off to tenant.
- Day 14 / 21 / 28 · Follow-up and close-out. Two-week post-completion check to confirm the condition has not returned. Written close-out note to tenant. File all evidence: original report, acknowledgement, triage notes, inspection report, surveyor brief and report, plan of works, contractor invoices, completion sign-off, post-works check. This is the file you produce if a tenant solicitor, a council officer, or an ombudsman asks.
05 · Worked exampleTower Hamlets E14, tenant reports mould in the bedroom
Single-let 1-bed flat, Tower Hamlets E14, child under 5 in household
A private landlord owns a 1-bed flat in a 1980s Tower Hamlets block, let to a couple with a 3-year-old. On a Sunday evening in October the tenant sends a WhatsApp message: "There's black mould in the bedroom corner, my daughter has been coughing at night, can someone come and look." This is how a competent SOP plays out.
- Day 0 (Sunday evening). Report received. Landlord logs the message verbatim. Child-under-5 flag raised; vulnerable occupant compresses the framework. The case is routed as a suspected Category 1 hazard, triggering the 7-day emergency window.
- Day 1 (Monday). Written acknowledgement emailed by 11am. Named point of contact, triage call booked for Tuesday morning, same-week surveyor appointment scheduled. Tenant advised to move the bed away from the affected wall in the interim and to keep a window cracked open.
- Day 2 (Tuesday). Triage call. Landlord confirms: mould is extensive on two walls in the bedroom; the child has had three nights of cough; external wall is cold to touch. This screens as probable Category 1. Damp surveyor instructed in writing that afternoon.
- Day 4 (Thursday). Damp surveyor inspects. Findings: cold bridge at junction of external wall and floor slab; inadequate bathroom extraction; extensive active mould growth on outside-facing wall. Categorisation: Category 1 under HHSRS (child in household). Immediate make-safe: mould remediation specialist to clean and treat; mid-term: install new extraction; long-term: improve wall insulation.
- Day 5 (Friday). Surveyor report received. Written determination letter emailed to tenant same day, in plain language, with the three-stage plan of works and the start date (the following Monday). Temporary stay in a local serviced apartment offered for the two nights during the mould-treatment works; tenant accepts.
- Day 7 (Sunday). Day 7 emergency window met. Mould-remediation contractor on site Monday morning (Day 8). Works to the affected walls complete in 48 hours.
- Day 14 (Sunday). Within the 14-day investigation window, two out of three remedial stages are complete. Extraction-fan installation booked for Day 19. Completion sign-off sent to tenant for stage 1 and stage 2; stage 3 scheduled for the following month during a cold-weather weekend when the insulation contractor can access the cavity.
- Day 21 (Sunday). Post-works inspection. Tenant confirms no return of mould; child's cough has stopped. Close-out letter sent. Full evidence file archived.
- Outcome. The tenant did not escalate. The council did not issue an HHSRS notice. The file closed at the investigation and emergency-remedy stage. Cost to landlord: roughly £2,400 across the three stages, versus the £6,000–£18,000 range typical of a disrepair claim settled after a council notice. The reason the file closed was the first 72 hours.
72 hours
The first 72 hours from a damp-and-mould report is the window that determines whether the case closes at the investigation stage or escalates to a council notice, an ombudsman complaint or a disrepair claim. Tenants who feel heard, given a named contact, and given a written plan almost always stay inside the SOP. Tenants who feel ignored do not.
06 · TemplatesEvidence pack, surveyor brief and tenant comms script
The three artefacts below are the working parts of an Awaab's Law-compliant SOP. Copy them, adapt them to your letting style, and keep them ready in your landlord file.
Evidence pack, what to archive
- Original tenant report, verbatim, dated. Screenshot the WhatsApp / email / letter.
- Written acknowledgement within 24–48 hours, with a named contact and the next-step appointment.
- Triage-call notes, with the date, time, and the questions asked.
- Inspection report or photographs, dated, with rooms identified.
- Surveyor instruction letter (where commissioned) and the returned report.
- Written determination letter to tenant. This is the close of the investigation window.
- Plan of works with start and end dates.
- Contractor instructions, invoices and completion certificates.
- Completion sign-off letter to tenant.
- Post-works check note. Case closed or escalated.
Surveyor brief template
Suggested brief to a damp surveyor
"I am the landlord of [address]. On [date] my tenant reported [verbatim report]. The property is a [type/age]. Occupants: [adults, children under 5, any health vulnerabilities]. Please attend by [date within 14 days of report] and provide: (a) a physical inspection with photographs; (b) moisture readings of affected walls; (c) a categorisation under HHSRS (Category 1, Category 2, or non-hazard); (d) your professional opinion on cause (penetrating damp, rising damp, condensation, fabric defect, cold bridge); (e) a recommended remedial scope, prioritised by urgency; (f) whether you consider the hazard significant and imminent such that the emergency 7-day window is engaged. Please provide the report within 48 hours of inspection."
Tenant comms script, the first call
Triage script
"Thank you for reporting this. I want to explain what happens next. Within 48 hours you will receive a written acknowledgement with my direct contact. This week I will arrange an inspection, and if the condition looks serious I will instruct an independent damp surveyor. I expect to have a written determination back to you within two weeks. If at any point the condition feels like an immediate risk to your health, call me on [number] and we will move faster. Now, can I ask a few questions about what you are seeing… when did it start, where exactly in the flat is it, has anyone in the household been unwell, and have you moved anything to cover or access it?"
The three artefacts together create the defence. An inspector or ombudsman asking "what did you do when the tenant reported it" gets a dated answer to every step in the SOP.
07 · FAQsQuestions private landlords keep asking
Does Awaab's Law apply to private landlords yet?
Not yet in its final statutory form. Awaab's Law currently applies to registered providers of social housing under the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, with detailed timescales set by regulations. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 contains the power to extend it to the private rented sector, but the extension is at consultation stage and the detailed statutory instrument has not yet been laid as of April 2026. Landlords should operate an internal SOP now, on the social-housing framework, and tighten it to the final PRS regulations when they land.
What is the 14-day clock under Awaab's Law?
The proposed framework for the PRS, modelled on the social-housing regulations, is a 14-day investigation window from a relevant damp-and-mould report, a duty to begin remedial action for confirmed serious hazards within a further specified window, and a 7-day emergency-repair window where the hazard is an immediate risk to health or safety. Exact figures will be set by the statutory instrument; the social-housing regulations provide the current benchmark.
What counts as damp and mould under Awaab's Law?
The clock is triggered by a relevant report from the tenant, verbal or written, of damp or mould conditions in the property. The landlord's duty is to investigate and determine whether the condition amounts to a prescribed hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, with particular focus on Category 1 damp and mould growth. The tenant does not have to prove the hazard; a credible report triggers the investigation duty.
What evidence should a landlord keep?
Document every step. Keep the original tenant report (WhatsApp, email, letter, or contemporaneous note of a phone call with date and time). Keep your written acknowledgement within 24–48 hours. Keep the inspection findings, photographs, moisture readings where available, and the independent surveyor brief and report. Keep the written plan of works and the dated signed-off completion record. Keep all tenant correspondence. The evidence pack is your defence against a disrepair claim, a council HHSRS enforcement notice, or a Rent Repayment Order application.
What happens if I miss the 14-day deadline?
Under the social-housing regulations, missing the statutory clock can trigger regulatory enforcement, a disrepair claim, and escalation to the Housing Ombudsman. The proposed PRS extension is expected to carry similar consequences, plus the Renters' Rights Act 2025 ombudsman route. Local authorities can separately issue HHSRS improvement notices or prohibition orders under the Housing Act 2004; a Category 1 hazard compels the council to act. The reputational and legal exposure of missing the clock is material.
Do I need to commission an independent survey?
Not in every case, but yes where the reported condition may amount to a Category 1 or serious Category 2 hazard. Your initial inspection is a triage step; a suitably qualified surveyor gives you an independent professional opinion that is much harder for a tenant to challenge and that the council and the courts give more weight to. For visible black mould, condensation patterns on external walls, or any health complaint from the tenant, commission the survey and document the instruction.
From the survey to the signed-off completion record, one contractor, one evidence file
HSE runs damp, mould, ventilation and fabric remediation alongside the fire-safety remedial scope. One team on site, photographic evidence at every stage, sign-off letter to the tenant, and the evidence file archived against future enforcement.
08 · Where to go nextTwo practical follow-ups
If damp and mould is an active issue on your portfolio, these are the two reads that close the loop.
First, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 complete guide, the 14-minute mega-article covering all five headline provisions of the Act, including where the Awaab's Law PRS extension sits in the commencement sequence and how it interacts with the new ombudsman and landlord portal.
Second, subscribe to The HSE compliance briefing. One email a month with regulatory-landscape updates and one actionable thing to do before the next deadline. When the Awaab's Law PRS extension SI is laid, you will hear it from Kevin within the week.
HSE service for this topic
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