Awaab’s Law and the PRS - How Can Landlords Prepare for the Coming Change?

It’s about the oldest cliche as far as rented properties are concerned – damp. Yorkshire TV deliberately chose the title “Rising Damp” for its sitcom about a seedy landlord and his tenants, knowing their audience would get it immediately.

However, although it may be a cliche, it is certainly no comedy for those dealing with it, and the effects of untreated damp in any property can range from merely irksome to tragically fatal.

Both north and south of the border, landlords in the social and private rented sectors are going to find themselves subject to new regulations placing rigorous time restraints on how quickly they have to deal with reports of damp in their properties.

As property professionals with a keen interest in everything that affects the PRS, we’re going to look at the background to this new regulation, and what landlords can expect as a result.

Who was Awaab?

Awaab Ishak was a two-year old boy who lived, with his family, in a one-bedroom flat in Rochdale. He died in December 2020 as a result of a severe respiratory condition. At his inquest, the coroner ruled that this was a direct result of untreated black mold.

His parents had constantly complained to their housing association starting in 2017 about the condition of the flat but were told to ‘paint over’ the mold.

Subsequent investigations showed a failure of care, a failure of process and the systemic weakness of “established” procedures within the rented sector for dealing with hazardous situations.

As a direct result of the death of Awaab, changes were made to the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 which laid new legal requirements on landlords to deal with hazardous situations affecting tenants.

As its name suggests, this law applied to Social housing, however subsequent regulation in Scotland has extended these provisions to cover the private rented sector as well.

In England, the government has declared its intention to introduce Awaab’s law as part of the Renters Rights Act, however it will be subject to further consultation with regards to the PRS.

At present this seems to be tied to the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) with speculation that this could come into force sometime around 2035, leaving the PRS in England well behind its Scottish counterpart.

It’s these changes, affecting the PRS, which we are concerning ourselves with here.

Changes as a result of Awaab’s law

Unlike some laws and regulations, with the widespread introduction of Awaab’s law to all areas of the rented sector, landlords aren’t required to do anything in advance, however it would be sensible to be prepared.

Rather, the law lays down, in explicit terms, the timescales to be adhered to when investigating complaints or notifications of damp, and the start of remedial work if that is the appropriate solution.

In Scotland, this requirement is contained in ‘The Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026’. This lays out the steps which landlords must take, and the timescales they should strive to meet with regards to damp.

The regulations in Scotland will take effect from the 6th October 2026.

According to a recent post from the Scottish Association of Landlords those requirements are as follow:

1. Complete an investigation into the issue within 10 working days. The investigation must be carried out by a competent person, which could be the landlord themselves if they have the necessary skills and experience.
2. Following the completion of the investigation, the landlord must provide a written summary of the results of the investigation to the tenant within 3 working days.
3. If the investigation concludes that work is required to ensure the property is free of damp/mould, that work must commence within 5 working days of the completion of the investigation.

There are provisions allowing landlords to explain in writing if these timescales cannot be met. It therefore follows that landlords will need to keep accurate records of all steps and actions taken when dealing with damp to prove their compliance.

Penalties for non-compliance

The subject of penalties for failing to comply with Awaab’s law is interesting. Many publications which have written on the subject make reference to punitive damages for landlords who fail to comply.

However, the UK government’s guidance on the law – which is extensive and detailed, says the following:

“Awaab’s Law does not provide for fines to be imposed on social landlords. The court can award the tenant damages as compensation for loss suffered”.

The Scottish government’s proposal to introduce the law to the PRS in Scotland only references limited compensation payable on a per-day basis and with a cap of £100, which doesn’t strike us as exceptionally punitive.

Here’s an example of the apocalyptic warnings which are common online, but there is an absence of detail about where the fines come from and who they are levied by.

The most likely explanation for this disparity of information is that Councils will be able to use existing powers and regulations to fine or otherwise punish non-compliant landlords – private or social.

Preparing for the changes

While we said that landlords don’t need to do anything, which is technically correct, they would be well advised to review their operation to ensure that it can cope with the additional requirements of the regulations.

Specifically:

Are your reporting mechanisms in place and working well?

Can tenants easily communicate their concerns about damp and other hazards? Are there mechanisms in place to ensure that any such contacts aren’t missed or ignored?

Communication and record keeping.

Awaab’s law places a great emphasis on accurately tracking complaints and notifications, and on recording all steps and communication with the tenants.

If your current system is slightly ‘back of a fag packet’ now would be an excellent time to address that and ensure that you can, if required, show a complete, dated,  record of all communication, visits, advice given and remedial works performed.

Failure to do so will undermine any defence available to a landlord who finds themselves having to answer to a local authority audit or the First Tier Tribunal.

Is your maintenance programme effective and up-to-date?

Ensuring that there are no problems to report is the best place to be ahead of the coming change. If you have any outstanding issues with damp, make sure they’re dealt with.

Do you have access to professionals who can resolve serious problems?

The changes, both north and south of the border, reference the use of “competent persons” to investigate a complaint of damp in a property. This might be the landlord, but if not, do you have access to someone with the right qualifications?

Although the regulations do not specify a period within which a landlord must complete repairs, it would be wise to assume that they should be completed in a timely manner and well documented.

Advice from the property pros

Landlords already have an obligation to undertake remedial work under the Repairing Standardregulations. The new regulations will add fairly stringent timescales to these existing requirements.

It’s important to point out that not all damp in buildings is caused by structural failures, and the actions of tenants can cause or contribute to such problems.

In these cases we would expect a landlord to do their best to ensure that the tenants understand the issues and that they take steps to mitigate such problems themselves.

We think it would be sensible to ensure that all such advice should be confirmed in writing and logged – whether that’s via a management system or simply through email, which will show dates and times.

Dampness in dwellings is hardly a new problem, although it’s far less common now than it was some decades ago. Awaab’s law, in its various forms throughout the UK, isn’t designed to address dampness in and of itself.

Rather it exists to ensure that reports of damp in a rented property cannot be ignored and must be dealt with timeously, regardless of whether the property is a social or private let.

In summary…

Possibly the most relevant thing landlords can do ahead of the widespread introduction of Awaab’s law is to ensure that their processes and procedures are up to scratch.

Across the UK, landlords are going to be required to report to their tenants in writing should they notify them of a damp problem. It would also be sensible to deal with any outstanding damp issues, that’s both common sense and good practice.

The PRS is now a far more regulated space than once it was, and it follows that landlords, or their agents, need to be on the ball. The changes resulting from Awaab’s law impose stringent time limits on landlords.

In respect of Awaab’s law and the PRS, Scotland is moving well in advance of England. The new requirements come into effect on the 6th of October 2026.

As ever, if you would like to discuss the PRS in Scotland, how you could profit from being involved, and the pros and cons of doing so, we are happy to chat.

The PRS has become a much more regulated space, but that alone doesn’t detract from the opportunities it offers.

Thanks for taking the time to read more about this latest, and important, change to the PRS.

Written by Ross MacDonald, Director of Sales & Cofounder of Portolio

Get in touch on 07388 361 564 or email to [email protected]