Awaab’s Law marks one of the biggest changes to social housing in years, further putting safety and accountability at the centre of housing management. It will make sure certain repairs are carried out within strict timeframes so that no tenant is left at risk by hazards such as damp and mould in their home. The new law is named in memory of two-year old Awaab Ishak, who tragically died in December 2020, from a respiratory condition brought on by prolonged exposure to mould in his Rochdale home.
No additional funding has been made available to implement these new regulations at a time when the council’s Housing Revenue Account is already under mounting pressure. Lambeth recently produced its Asset Management Framework which sets out how the council will focus its severely limited resources on maintaining safe, secure, and decent homes for residents. In Lambeth, the council has been running an extensive readiness programme over the past six months to be ready to put Awaab’s Law into action across the borough’s council homes. This means working even more closely across all housing teams to spot, report and fix issues faster, and to do this in partnership with residents. Lambeth is already meeting its own target of treating damp and mould cases within 10 days.
To support the implementation of Awaab’s Law, Lambeth has:
- Introduced a new Damp and Mould Policy and Damp Charter, emphasising the council’s commitment to empowering people across the organisation so that everyone — from maintenance teams to housing officers — understands what’s at stake and is ready and equipped to respond
- Recruited additional dedicated damp and mould specialists and coordinators to monitor compliance, casework and audits
- Partnered with main contractor Wates to ensure capacity for inspections and preventative works
- Rolled out training sessions for all frontline staff, ensuring that housing officers, maintenance teams and customer care staff understand their duties and that everyone is clear on how to identify significant and emergency hazards
- Developed a risk assessment system with Public Health colleagues to prioritise responses according to tenants’ circumstances and vulnerabilities
Word from the Cabinet
Cllr Danny Adilypour, Deputy Leader of Lambeth Council and Cabinet Member for Housing, Investment and New Homes said:
“Awaab’s Law is not just another regulation, but a call to action and serves as a powerful reminder of why we must never be complacent about housing standards. Every resident deserves to live in a safe, healthy home — and as a council we have taken this moment to strengthen our systems, culture and accountability.
“We’re proud of the proactive steps Lambeth has taken to prepare for this law. From new specialist roles and training for staff, to our Damp Charter, we’re embedding change across every level of our housing service.
“This is about turning regulation into real impact. When we get housing right, we get communities right — and that’s the standard we’re holding ourselves to every day.”
Accurate record keeping, swift reporting, and compassionate communication are central to compliance. Lambeth’s staff briefings have underlined that the “clock starts ticking” as soon as the council becomes aware of a hazard — whether through a tenant report, an inspection, or a third-party notification.
From 27 October, the council must:
- Investigate any emergency hazards within 24 hours and act within the same timeframe
- Investigate any significant hazards within 10 working days and undertake safety works within 5 days of concluding investigations
- Keep tenants informed throughout, provide written summaries within three working days
Damp Charter
The Housing Ombudsman recommended that landlords review their initial response to reports of damp and mould with residents to ensure they avoid automatically apportioning blame or using language that leaves residents feeling blamed.
The first commitment of Lambeth’s Damp Charter is:
It’s not your fault. The council is committed to resolving issues in partnership with you and will communicate with you in a sympathetic way.
The council has also produced a resident’s guide for reporting damp and mould.
