Awaab’s Law Launch - Your Property, Your Duty, Our Solution…
- BioSweep UK
- Nov 7
- 3 min read
From 27 October 2025, Awaab’s Law becomes a landmark shift in social housing safety. The law - named after the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak from prolonged exposure to mould, places binding timeframes on landlords and housing associations to investigate and fix serious hazards in tenants’ homes.
What Awaab’s Law means in practice
For emergency hazards - those that pose an imminent and significant risk - the law requires the landlord to make the property safe within 24 hours of becoming aware.
For serious hazards such as damp & mould that pose a ‘significant risk of harm’, landlords must investigate within 10 working days, give the tenant a written summary within 3 working days of the investigation, and complete safety works within 5 working days.
The law takes a ‘person-centred’ approach - even if a hazard would not normally be classified as ‘Category 1’ under the HHSRS, it still comes within scope if the particular tenant is at risk (due to age, disability, health condition etc).
It is being introduced in phases: damp and mould + emergency hazards from October 2025; other hazards from 2026; and full rollout by 2027.
Why this matters…
The cost of poor housing is high. The death of Awaab Ishak is a stark reminder of the human cost of failing to act. The new law sends a clear signal - landlords must move from reactive maintenance to proactive hazard management. For tenants, it gives enforceable rights!
How BioSweep® UK is your trusted partner…
That’s where BioSweep UK enters the stage. The company specialises in decontamination, mould remediation, odour removal, air & surface treatment services.
For landlords and housing associations responding to Awaab’s Law, this expertise is relevant in several ways:
Rapidly identifying and treating mould proliferation (one of the first hazards targeted under the law)
Employing advanced decontamination methods (e.g., surface/air remediation) to help meet the legal time frames
Providing documentation of treatment, remediation and hygiene conditions, helping to demonstrate that ‘reasonable steps’ have been taken (which is the legal defence under Awaab’s Law if things go wrong)
Offering a service that goes beyond mere cosmetic fixes, by addressing biological contaminants, odours, fungal hyphae, spores etc. which align with the health risk focus of the new legislation.
What landlords and housing providers should be doing now
Review your hazard-management workflows: Are you ready to respond within 24hr for emergency hazards? Are you set up to investigate within 10 working days?
Map your housing stock for vulnerability: Which homes have known history of damp/mould? Which tenants are vulnerable (children, elderly, respiratory conditions)?
Engage trusted remediation specialists now (like BioSweep® UK) so that you’re not scrambling when the law hits.
Ensure tenant communication channels are clear: the law starts ‘the moment you become aware’ of a hazard. Logging tenant reports promptly is vital.
Document everything: investigations, summaries to tenants, remediation start/completion dates, because tenants will have enforcement rights and landlords’ ‘reasonable steps’ will be scrutinised.
Final thought
Awaab’s Law is a game-changer. From 27 October 2025, social tenants across England have stronger protections. For landlords and housing associations this means a sharper focus on health-related hazards, faster and more rigorous responses. For remediation specialists like BioSweep® UK, it is a moment to step-up, deliver expert services that help turn compliance into better resident health and value management.
If you haven’t yet begun preparations, now is the time. Your tenants’ lives and your compliance reputation depend on it!
For further information:
