We’re committed to providing safe, good quality homes for our customers. On 27 October 2025, Awaab’s Law came into effect, bringing in new legal standards for how quickly social landlords must respond to certain types of repairs.
It was introduced after the tragic death of Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old who died due to prolonged exposure to black mould in his home in Manchester in 2020. This new law aims to ensure situations like this never happen again in social housing.
We have always taken issues like damp, mould and other hazards seriously and acted quickly to put them right, and we welcome the introduction of Awaab’s Law which will bring consistency across the sector. We have been preparing for these changes so we can continue providing safe, high-quality homes for our customers in line with the latest regulations.
What’s changing?
Awaab’s Law introduces strict timescales for how quickly landlords must respond to and fix emergency repairs and significant damp and mould problems. This means:
- Emergency repairs – we must investigate within 24 hours of being told about the issue, and repair or make it safe within a further 24 hours.
- Significant damp and mould – we must investigate within 10 working days, and repair or make it safe within a further 5 working days.
- Written summary – we must provide customers with a written summary within 3 working days of investigation, unless the repair is already complete and no follow-on works are required.
- Follow-on works – we must complete follow-on or preventative work within 12 weeks, if required.
Our emergency repairs service already goes further than the new legal requirements. For emergency repairs, we aim to respond the same working day and, in most cases, investigate within four hours. We are committed to continuing with this fast, reliable service that our customers already expect from us.
Find out more about how we categorise repairs on our repairs service webpage.
The steps we’ve taken to get ready
We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to prepare for Awaab’s Law, strengthening our repairs service so we can continue to keep our customers safe.
- Dedicated teams – our response repairs team will continue to handle most routine, priority and emergency repairs, while moderate to severe damp and mould cases will be dealt with by our specialist damp and mould team.
- New reporting tool: We’ve developed a new system to track and monitor Awaab’s Law cases, helping us stay well within the maximum timeframes and keep customers informed every step of the way.
- Improved system for reporting damp and mould. We’ve made it easier for customers to report damp and mould to us and improved our processes so we can act fast and prioritise issues that need urgent attention.
- Advice for customers: We’re providing more guidance for customers on how to prevent damp and mould, including tips on small issues customers can manage themselves and when to report problems to us.
- Staff training: Our staff have had training on spotting and reporting potential hazards. Our customer support and planning team is also trained and equipped to triage reports correctly and handle urgent cases within Awaab’s Law timescales.
“We’ve worked hard to ensure we’re ready for Awaab’s Law. Our staff have received training, our reporting systems have been upgraded, and we have clear processes in place to make sure every issue is dealt with promptly and safely.
Our focus is, and will always be, keeping our customers safe and comfortable in their homes.”
Miles Tilling, Head of compliance, M&E and operations administration
With new robust systems and processes in place, we are confident that we’re ready to meet the new requirements. We’re committed to ensuring emergency and significant damp and mould repairs are resolved quickly in line with the new legal timeframes and that customer safety remains our top priority.
Selwood Housing staff attend training session on Awaab’s Law
How to report repairs
Customers should report potential problems to us as soon as possible. Reporting small problems early can stop them from developing into bigger problems.
The quickest way to report issues is to call us on 01225 715 715. Alternatively, customers can request a repair via our website.
