In 2024, damp problems were present in 10% of privately rented homes in England. That was more than double the rate in owner-occupied homes (4%), and higher than in local authority (8%) and housing association (6%) homes.
The English Housing Survey 2024-25 also found that private renters were the most likely to have a Category 1 hazard (the most serious kind) in their home, at 10%.
Phase 1 of Awaab's Law came into force for the social rented sector on 27 October 2025, following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak. It set strict legal deadlines for investigating and repairing emergency hazards and damp and mould.
Phase 2, which starts on 30 November 2026, extends these deadlines to a much wider range of hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), including excess cold, falls, structural collapse, and fire and electrical risks.
Private landlords are not yet subject to these deadlines. However, the Renters' Rights Act implementation roadmap plans an equivalent extension to the private rented sector, alongside a modernised Decent Homes Standard, in its final phase. The timetable is still subject to consultation, but the direction of travel is clear.
Some private landlords assume that because Phase 2 is confined to social housing, it's someone else's problem until Parliament says otherwise. The evidence suggests that is a risky view. Housing disrepair claims, local authority enforcement and rent repayment order tribunals already ask the same questions.
Was the hazard identified? Was it investigated promptly? Was the response proportionate and documented? Waiting for the law to catch up is not the same as protecting yourself in the meantime.
"The expansion of Awaab's Law is no longer just a social housing issue. The Renters' Rights Act has paved the way for similar hazard deadlines in the private rented sector, and it sends a clear warning to private landlords: the standards courts and councils expect are rising, and landlords who can't evidence a prompt response to hazards will be exposed." Mark Dawson, AST Assistance
Phase 2 doesn't bind private landlords, but it resets the benchmark
For now, the legal duty stops at social housing. However, the standards of evidence and process it demands are becoming the benchmark for what "reasonable" looks like across the rest of the housing sector.
What Phase 2 actually changes
From 30 November 2026, the following deadlines apply to social landlords:
● Emergency hazards must be investigated within 24 hours, and the property must be made safe within 24 hours.
● Significant (non-emergency) hazards must be investigated within 10 working days, and a written summary of the findings and proposed actions must be given to the tenant within 3 working days of the investigation.
● Safety work must begin within 5 working days of the investigation, and any longer-term remedial works should begin within 12 weeks.
Phase 2 brings seven additional HHSRS hazard categories into scope, extending the rules well beyond damp and mould to cover fire, electrical, structural and excess cold risks.
Why private landlords should still pay attention
The Renters' Rights Act roadmap places an extension of Awaab's Law-style duties to the private rented sector in its next phase, alongside a modernised Decent Homes Standard. Even before these duties apply to private landlords, local authorities, ombudsmen and courts are likely to look to the Awaab's Law timescales as a benchmark of good practice.
Tenant expectations are also shifting. As awareness of the social housing deadlines grows, private tenants are raising their own expectations of how quickly problems should be dealt with.
Winter is where the gap between policy and practice shows
Damp, mould and cold-related hazards become more visible in winter, but their causes are there all year round. Winter is usually when unmanaged problems turn into claims.
The scale of the problem
The English Housing Survey 2024-25 found that privately rented homes had the highest rate of damp of any tenure, and private renters were the most likely to have a Category 1 hazard. Households that cut back on heating to save money are also more likely to live in damp homes. That concentrates the risk among the tenants least able to challenge it.
Why winter concentrates risk
Less ventilation and heating in a property significantly increases condensation and mould growth. Minor issues such as slow leaks, poor insulation or blocked air bricks can become active hazards in winter. Complaints rise, and landlords without a clear triage process tend to respond reactively and inconsistently across their portfolio. That increases the risk of missing expected deadlines.
The compounding effect
A hazard reported in autumn that isn't properly investigated can become dangerous, harder to repair and harder to defend by January. Seasonal spikes in reports can overwhelm informal processes, making it more likely that a genuine hazard is missed or delayed.
The documentation gap is where landlords are most exposed
Most landlords who lose a dispute are not found to have acted maliciously. They lose because they can't show that they acted at all, or that they acted in time.
What "managing" a property actually requires
Managing a property properly means more than responding when something goes wrong. It requires:
● A record of when a hazard was reported, and how.
● Evidence of when it was investigated, by whom, and what was found.
● A documented, proportionate timescale for remedial action, with evidence that it was met or a clear record of why it wasn't.
● Written confirmation to the tenant of the findings and next steps.
Common gaps
In practice, the weakness is rarely a lack of intention to carry out repairs. It's usually the quality of the records and processes behind them. Common gaps include:
● verbal instructions to contractors with no written record
● repairs logged as "complete" with no evidence of what was done or when
● no record of communication with the tenant between the report and the repair
Processes can also vary significantly across a portfolio, especially where management is split between agents, in-house teams and contractors. That makes it hard to show a clear, joined-up response from the first report through to the repair.
Why this matters legally
In a disrepair claim or a rent repayment order hearing, the landlord's records are often critical. They establish what was known, when it was known, and what was done about it. A landlord without clear records may struggle to show they responded appropriately and within a reasonable time.
A lack of records doesn't prove that no action was taken. But without evidence of an inspection, a repair or communication with the tenant, it becomes much harder for a landlord to prove their account of what happened.
From reactive to proactive: building the evidence trail
Phase 2 marks a cultural shift as much as a legal one: from responding to complaints to showing ongoing, proactive management. Landlords who adopt this approach now won't be scrambling to comply when, not if, the private rented sector extension arrives.
A practical framework for private landlords
Private landlords should adopt a consistent process for recording and responding to hazards:
● Log every report of a hazard, whether it comes by phone, email or in person, in a single organised system.
● Set internal deadlines for responding and investigating, even where none are yet required by law, and track whether they are met.
● Confirm findings and next steps to tenants in writing, not just verbally in person or over the phone.
● Support all remedial work with dated evidence, such as invoices, photographs and contractor reports.
● Watch for repeat reports of the same hazard, whether in one property or across several. They may point to a wider management or maintenance problem rather than a series of one-off incidents.
Where winter-specific preparation helps
Properties need more preparation in the winter months. If a property is prone to damp, its ventilation and heating systems should be checked before winter. A consistent triage process is also essential, because genuine hazards can get lost among the seasonal spike in routine maintenance requests. It's also worth briefing agents and contractors on what records you expect them to keep, not just the standard of repair.
Getting ahead of the private rented sector extension
The Renters' Rights Act roadmap signals that equivalent duties, and a modernised Decent Homes Standard, are coming to the private rented sector. Landlords who build the right processes and evidence now will face a much smaller step when the timetable is confirmed.
Conclusion
Phase 2 of Awaab's Law does not yet create new legal duties for private landlords, but it is already changing what "reasonable" property management looks like. The autumn and winter months are when the gap between having a process and having only good intentions becomes visible, and sometimes costly.
The Renters' Rights Act roadmap makes clear that an equivalent extension to the private sector is a matter of when, not if. Landlords who can show that they identified, investigated and resolved problems promptly will be in a much stronger position than those who can only describe what they intended to do.
