Awaab's Law and Mould: Fix the Cause, Not the Symptom

Awaab's Law has changed what counts as dealing with damp and mould. Since 27 October 2025, social landlords in England must investigate reported damp and mould within fixed legal deadlines, put their findings in writing and make the property safe. Crucially, government guidance is explicit that landlords must tackle the underlying cause, and it names installing mechanical ventilation as an example of appropriate remedial action where mould results from a lack of ventilation.

That is exactly what ClearAIR does. We install positive input ventilation (PIV) systems across the Midlands and Yorkshire for a fixed £895 all in, including an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC). For a landlord facing Awaab's Law, that certificate is not paperwork for the sake of it. It is dated, documented evidence that a permanent remediation of the root cause has been carried out.

Call us on 0330 818 8992 or check a property in 20 seconds.

What Awaab's Law actually requires

Awaab's Law was introduced through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act following the death of two year old Awaab Ishak from prolonged exposure to mould in his home. Phase 1 came into force on 27 October 2025 and covers emergency hazards and significant damp and mould hazards in social housing.

Under the government guidance for social landlords, once a landlord becomes aware of a potential damp and mould hazard they must:

• Investigate within 10 working days to establish whether a significant hazard exists
• Provide the resident with a written summary of findings within 3 working days of the investigation concluding
• Complete relevant safety work within 5 working days of the investigation concluding, where a significant hazard is found
• Begin any supplementary preventative work within 5 working days, or take steps so that physical works start within 12 weeks, and complete them within a reasonable time
• Deal with emergency hazards within 24 hours, including both investigation and emergency repairs

If the property cannot be made safe within these timescales, the landlord must offer suitable alternative accommodation at their own expense. Residents can enforce these requirements through the courts as an implied term of their tenancy agreement.

Compliance timeline at a glance

Full details are on the gov.uk Awaab's Law collection page.

Who it applies to now, and who is next

Right now, Awaab's Law applies to social landlords: housing associations and local authority landlords in England.

Private landlords are not yet in scope, but that is expected to change. The Renters' Rights Act, which received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, contains the power to extend Awaab's Law requirements to the private rented sector through secondary legislation, alongside a Decent Homes Standard for private rentals. Tenancy reforms under the Act began on 1 May 2026, but the government has said it will consult on the detail and timing of the Awaab's Law extension, and no commencement date has been confirmed.

Our honest advice to private landlords: do not wait for the date. The direction of travel is set, tenant awareness of damp and mould rights has never been higher, and a mouldy property is already actionable under existing fitness for habitation law. Landlords who sort ventilation now will have nothing to scramble for later.

Why "wipe it down and repaint" fails

The traditional response to tenant mould complaints is a mould wash, a coat of stain block and a request to "keep the windows open". Under Awaab's Law this approach fails on two counts.

First, it does not fix anything. Most mould in UK rental homes is condensation mould. Everyday living produces moisture, and without adequate ventilation that moisture condenses on cold surfaces and feeds mould growth. Paint over it and it returns within weeks, usually with a fresh complaint and a restarted legal clock.

Second, it leaves you unable to demonstrate compliance. The guidance requires landlords to identify and address the underlying cause. Repainting a symptom while leaving a ventilation deficiency in place is precisely the pattern of behaviour the law was written to end. If the case reaches the Housing Ombudsman or a court, "we cleaned it twice" is not a defence. A documented root cause fix is.

How PIV satisfies the remediation duty

A PIV unit sits in the loft (or a cupboard in flats) and gently pushes filtered fresh air into the home, displacing humid stale air out through natural leakage points. It runs continuously, costs pennies a day and treats the whole property rather than one room. It is the government guidance's own example made real: where mould results from inadequate ventilation, installing mechanical ventilation is the appropriate remedial action.

For a landlord that means:

• The root cause is addressed, not masked. Indoor relative humidity typically falls into the range where condensation mould cannot establish
• The fix is permanent and tenant proof. No reliance on tenants opening windows, running extractor fans or managing trickle vents
• The works are fast. A standard installation takes around half a day, comfortably inside a 5 working day or 12 week window
• The remediation is documentable, which under Awaab's Law matters almost as much as the fix itself

What ClearAIR provides as evidence

Every ClearAIR installation is a fixed £895 all in and comes with a compliance ready paper trail:

• Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) issued under our NAPIT accreditation, giving you dated, independently accredited proof that the remediation work was professionally completed
• Before and after humidity readings, showing the measured moisture problem and the measured improvement
• Photographic record of the installation
• Manufacturer warranty documentation and tenant guidance so the system stays running

If a tenant, the Ombudsman, an environmental health officer or a court ever asks what you did about a mould report, you hand over a file that shows the hazard was investigated, the cause was identified and a permanent mechanical ventilation remedy was installed and certified. That is what a completed remediation looks like on paper.

Portfolios and HMOs

If you manage multiple properties, mould complaints rarely arrive one at a time. Properties of similar age and construction fail in similar ways, and HMOs are the worst case: more occupants, more showers, more drying laundry, more moisture, plus licensing conditions that already require adequate ventilation.

We work with portfolio landlords, letting agents and social housing providers across the Midlands and Yorkshire to survey and remediate at scale, scheduling installs street by street or block by block with a single point of contact and consistent documentation across every property. If you have five doors or five hundred, call us on 0330 818 8992 for a multi property pricing conversation.

Frequently asked questions

Check a property in 20 seconds

Awaab's Law rewards landlords who can prove they fixed the cause. A ClearAIR PIV installation at a fixed £895, certified under NAPIT with before and after humidity evidence, is that proof.

Check a property in 20 seconds or call 0330 818 8992. Covering the Midlands and Yorkshire.