There has been a
huge amount of media attention about Awaab’s Law following the tragic death of
the two year old in Rochdale.

But what is this
law all about? What will mean in practice? And will it meet expectations?

Awaab Ishak died
on 21st December 2020, just days after his second birthday. His
family were tenants of Rochdale Borough Housing. The home suffered from
numerous defects, particularly damp and mould. An inquest into his death took
place in November 2022. The Senior Coroner for North Manchester found that
Awaab died as a result of ‘a severe respiratory condition caused due to
prolonged exposure to mould in his home environment.’

This sparked a
frenzy of calls for change, from the media and politicians. One heartbreaking image
went viral –

In the wake of
this, on 9th February 2023, Michael Gove, Secretary of State for
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced Awaab’s Law. This would require
social landlords to investigate and fix damp and mould within strict time
limits. It would be achieved by amending the Social Housing Regulation Bill
that was going through Parliament. The Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 came
into force on 20th July 2023. Before we get too excited, this does
not mean that we now have Awaab’s Law!

What the Act does
is add a new s10A to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. It creates an implied
covenant that relevant landlords will ‘comply with all prescribed requirements
that are applicable to the lease’. This covenant will apply to social housing
tenancies in England to which s9A Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 applies. It has
nothing to do with the private rented sector. So, it is a contractual matter,
in line with other housing conditions obligations. The covenant will be
enforced through ‘actions for breach of covenant’.

The important bit
of course concerns the actual time scales! These will be set out in regulations
made by the Secretary of State.

A consultation was
published on 9th January 2024 and has just ended. We do not yet have
the regulations but the consultation gives us a pretty good idea of what to expect.

The relevant
defects will be the 29 prescribed hazards contained in the Housing Health and
Safety Rating System (HHSRS). This is wider than the ‘damp and mould’ that we
expected. This is positive news and will include things; like security, water
supply and heating etc. The consultation also has a subjective element which is
welcome. The requirement will have to take into account ‘the actual resident’.
So a resident who suffered from asthma will be at greater risk.

This is all good
news for tenants… sort of.

The duties will be
triggered by a significant risk. It will be for landlords to decide what is and
isn’t significant. This is a worry. Won’t it lead to landlords deciding that in
most cases there is no ‘significant risk’? The consultation mentions matters to
be taken into account, such as –

HHSRS Guidance

The Government
publication – Understanding
and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home – GOV.UK
(www.gov.uk)

Evidence from third parties such as doctors, social
workers, schools…

I would expect many of the more aggressive landlords
to deny everything. This is likely to end up in litigation. This will in turn
mean a majority of cases being brought under a CFA with the risks that go with developing new areas of law, and which has led to, so few cases brought under s9A.

But leaving that rant side for a moment, what will the
new ‘strict time limits involve’? As we know the present position is that a
landlord is liable for disrepair once they know of the defect and fail to carry
out remedial work within a reasonable time. How will this sit with new,
enforceable fixed time scales? Is it the end of O’Brien v Robinson that was
decided when I was doing my A Levels?!

This is how it will work –