Awaab's Law Is Coming to Private Rentals. What the Consultation Proposes and What to Do Now.
RealYield Team
Property Analyst
The government wants to bring Awaab's Law to private rentals in England, and it's asking landlords directly what the deadlines should look like. A consultation launched on 9 October 2026 proposes extending the fixed investigation and repair timescales that have applied to social housing since October 2025 into the private rented sector and licensed accommodation. It closes at 11:59pm on 18 December 2026. Nothing in it is law yet, and the government's own earliest feasible date for bringing it in is 2027.
That gap between "proposed" and "in force" matters, because the coverage so far has mostly stopped at the headline. Here's what the consultation document itself actually asks, what's already true regardless of the outcome, and what's worth doing before any of it lands.
What the consultation actually proposes
The consultation, "Extending Awaab's Law to private rented tenancies and to licences", runs in three parts. Part 1 covers applying Awaab's Law to private rented tenancies. Part 2 covers accommodation occupied under licence, which includes supported housing, temporary accommodation for homeless households, and care leaver accommodation, in both the private and social sectors. Part 3 asks about costs and impacts, mostly aimed at landlords, licensors and letting agents.
That scale is the headline for a reason. Awaab's Law currently protects around 4 million social housing households. Extending it this far would take that past 9 million, more than doubling the number of homes covered.
The legal mechanism is already in place, even though the detail isn't. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 allows Awaab's Law requirements to be written into private tenancy agreements as an implied term, once the government makes the regulations that set the actual timescales. The consultation is how those timescales get decided.
The timescales on the table, and why none of them are fixed yet
This is the part worth reading carefully, because the consultation isn't proposing a single set of deadlines. It's asking which of several options should apply, using the social housing rules as the starting point and checking whether private rentals need something shorter, longer, or different.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Awaab's Law already in force for private landlords in England?
No. As of November 2026, it only applies to social housing, where it has been in force since 27 October 2025. The government is consulting on extending it to private rented tenancies and licensed accommodation, but that consultation closes on 18 December 2026 and the earliest feasible implementation date the government itself has given is 2027. Nothing changes for private landlords until regulations are made.
What repair timescales is the government proposing for private landlords?
None are fixed. The consultation asks landlords and others to choose between ranges: 5, 10 or 15 working days to investigate a hazard report, 3, 5 or 10 working days to make a significant hazard safe or start further repair work, and 12, 24 or 48 hours for an emergency hazard. These are options under consultation, not proposals the government has settled on, and the final figures could land anywhere in or outside those ranges.
Will councils fine landlords who miss Awaab's Law deadlines, like they do now for category 1 hazards?
Not under what's currently proposed. The consultation suggests enforcing the private sector version mainly through tenants, who would gain a right to sue for breach of contract once the implied term is in place, with the county courts able to order repairs, compensation and costs. The consultation says councils would have no direct role in enforcing the new timescales, which is a different enforcement model from the existing £7,000 civil penalty councils can already issue for category 1 hazards.
Is this the same as the £7,000 damp and mould fine landlords are already facing?
No, and it's worth keeping the two separate. Since June 2026, councils in England have been able to issue a civil penalty of up to £7,000 where a landlord failed to take reasonably practicable steps to remove a category 1 hazard, under powers added to the Housing Act 2004. That penalty already applies to private landlords now. Awaab's Law is a different mechanism: fixed investigation and repair deadlines, enforced through the tenancy contract rather than a council penalty notice. The consultation is about whether and how to add that second layer on top of the first.
How does this compare to Scotland, where Awaab's Law already covers private tenants?
Scotland's version has applied to most private tenancies since 6 October 2026, with a landlord required to have a competent person investigate a damp or mould report within 10 working days, produce a written summary within 3 working days of that investigation concluding, and start repair work within 5 working days if substantial damp or mould is found. Completion itself has no fixed day count for private landlords in Scotland, just 'as soon as reasonably practicable'. England's private sector rules, if they happen, are still being consulted on and are not guaranteed to match Scotland's figures.
What should I do now, before any of this becomes law?
Start keeping the kind of records the consultation assumes will exist: who reported a damp or mould issue and when, who investigated it and what they found, what was done and when, and whether the problem came back. None of that is a new legal duty yet, but it's exactly what you'd need to defend yourself under either the existing category 1 hazard penalty or a future Awaab's Law claim, and it costs nothing to start now.
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