- Over 5 million more households could benefit from strict new protections that force landlords to quickly fix dangers like severe damp and mould
- Private renters, homeless families, care leavers and people in supported housing could get faster repairs through legal deadlines set by Awaab’s Law
- Changes already protecting social housing tenants come in memory of two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died in 2020, after prolonged exposure to dangerous damp and mould
More families living in poor conditions will be protected by stricter laws that legally require their landlords to fix dangerous issues like severe damp and mould to faster deadlines.
Landlords must already act on hazards if they are found to be significant and seriously threaten tenants’ health and safety.
To speed up these repairs, the government introduced Awaab’s Law to social housing last year, setting legal deadlines for landlords to fix dangerous damp and mould.
Now a government consultation will look at how it is introduced for private renters and what types of other accommodation should benefit in future, such as:
- temporary accommodation for homeless people and families;
- accommodation for young people leaving care;
- and supported housing where many elderly, disabled and other vulnerable people live.
Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said:
Irrespective of tenure, all renters have the right to live in a safe and decent home and have complaints responded to in a timely manner.
Awaab’s Law is already helping to drive up standards in the social housing sector. We’re now moving to extend it to private landlords so that England’s 11 million private renters can enjoy the same protections.
Bringing Awaab’s Law to millions more people are commitments in the Renters’ Rights Act and the National Plan to End Homelessness. The changes will help provide the decent, safe and secure homes that people need to get on in life, ensuring repairs for the most dangerous conditions are never compromised.
Around one in 10 private rented homes have a hazard at the most serious level (category 1), which already requires landlords to act. As echoed by the Prime Minister, landlords renting out homes with the worst conditions already risk enforcement action. The Renters’ Rights Act recently introduced fines of up to £7,000 if these serious dangers are found. Awaab’s Law will go even further by forcing quick action on them.
The consultation closing on 18 December 2026 will help inform how Awaab’s Law is implemented in the private rented sector, including the timescale for these new protections to come into force.
Significant changes brought in by the Renters’ Rights Act this year already empower private tenants to raise issues without fearing repercussions, like eviction for no reason which is now illegal or above-market rent increases which can now be challenged in court.
Holly Williamson, Chief Executive of Generation Rent, said:
Homes are the foundations of our lives. But too many renters live in homes that are harmful to our health and often wait months for landlords to act on issues. We’re pleased to see the government moving forward with bringing in Awaab’s Law. It must be put in action as soon as possible to make sure every renter can live in a good quality home.
Francesca Albanese, Director of Policy & Social Change at Crisis, said:
With millions of people renting privately across England, it’s crucial that tenants have a safe place to call home and that hazards like damp and mould are dealt with quickly.
We support the UK Government moving forward with stricter laws to clamp down on poor conditions in the private rented sector, and that ministers are considering applying stricter standards to other forms of accommodation. At Crisis, we directly support people who are homeless and are being forced to live in unsuitable temporary accommodation, like hostels and B&Bs, which can often be damp, mouldy and harmful to their health. We therefore welcome action to improve housing standards for everyone, including those having to live in temporary accommodation while they wait for a more settled home.
Clara Collingwood, Director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said:
A home should be a place of safety, and nobody in the UK should have to live in a home that is making them ill or putting their lives at risk, regardless of whether they rent their home from the council or from private landlords. We welcome the government’s consultation, and hope that the public responds with urgency - every additional day in which a child like Awaab Ishak’s life continues to be at risk should weigh heavily on us.
Morgan Vine, Director of Policy and Influencing at Independent Age, said:
We welcome this consultation on extending Awaab’s Law to better protect private renters and improve the safety of their homes, and are pleased there is an opportunity for the voices of the people affected to be heard. Some of the older renters we speak to have rats in their floors and mould on their walls but are too scared of the repercussions to ask their landlord to make repairs. Renters of all ages, including those in later life, deserve a home that is safe and suitable.
Almost all (96%) of the older renters we polled supported Awaab’s law. Now, it must be implemented in a way that works for, and takes into account, the needs of all tenants. If change is put in place effectively, all renters will be empowered to request fixes to their homes, and we will be able to build a rented sector that works well for everybody.
Anela Anwar, CEO of Become, the national charity for children in care and young care leavers, said:
We know that too many young people leaving care have experienced unsuitable and, at times, unsafe accommodation, including homes affected by disrepair and mould.
We welcome the Government’s exploration of options to improve the quality of accommodation available to care leavers, helping to ensure young people have the safe, stable foundation they need as they move into adulthood.
ENDS
Note to Editors
Awaab’s Law is already in force in the social housing sector, protecting over 4 million tenants.
It is being introduced in the social sector in three phases:
- Phase 1 came into force on 31 October 2025, protecting tenants with fast repairs on severe damp and mould. See more information here.
- Subject to parliamentary approval, phase 2 comes into force on 30 November 2026, extending the protections to further serious hazards like electrical hazards, excess cold and falls. See the press release here and easy explainer here.
- The third and final phase will be introduced in 2027, covering all remaining hazards in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System where they present a significant risk of harm, except overcrowding which is addressed differently.
The Housing Health and Safety Rating System was recently updated for the first time in 20 years. It is used to assess health and safety in all types of housing, making it simpler to identify dangerous risks and take action.
See here more information on these hazards and the recently introduced penalties of up to £7,000 for private landlords.
An options assessment on the potential impacts of introducing Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector is being published alongside the consultation. This will help inform responses and the government is seeking further evidence to inform its assessment of the impacts through the consultation.