Landlords in Salford will be forced to investigate reports of damp and mould in social housing within strict deadlines after new regulations came into effect.
Known as Awaab’s law, new legislation brought in today requires social housing landlords to inspect any reported damp & mould in rented homes within 10 working days of being notified.
And social landlords – generally the local council or a housing association – will be required to repair damage caused by significant hazards, such as fire outbreaks or water leakage within 24 hours.
Named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died in 2020 after prolonged mould exposure at his family’s rented home in Rochdale, the law has been brought in after persistent campaigning from his family.
Cllr Maria Brabiner, who sits on the Community and Neighbourhoods Committee at Salford City Council, discussed her constituents’ risk. When asked if damp and mould worried her, she said:
“If any of my residents contacted me, I’d be worried because I grew up in a home that was damp, the wallpaper falling down and everything. The landlord had died and the house fell into disrepair. I grew up in a home like that.
“Me and my mum and my brother were sleeping downstairs because the house was shocking. It got worse and worse and eventually, after about a couple of years my mum went to Salford Council for help. They came to our rescue.”
Cllr Brabiner continued: “I’m not worried at all because I’m a housing association tenant with Salix Homes. Every time you ring up Salix about anything, no matter what it is, they always ask you, have you any damp or mould?
“I’m happy to be a councillor on Salford Council because I think we’re on it – right from the beginning as well.”
When asked why damp and mould is such a problem in rented accommodation, David Hockney, from North west Damp Proofing, said: “A lot of these landlords have no clue why the property is either damp or full of mould they think the best thing to do is clean, clean, clean – that is not the best thing to do. Prevention is better than cure.”
He explained Awaab’s Law would make a meaningful difference for tenants: “What this does is this protects tenants from having problems long term instead of somebody just going, yeah we’ll come back to you. but the family’s in a property here, the baby’s here, everybody’s here and the whole place is full of mould.”
Salix Homes is Salford’s largest housing association. They said:
“At Salix Homes, we are committed to making sure every home we manage is safe, well maintained, and a place where people can be proud to live.
“We have strengthened our repairs service, introduced pro-active measures to prevent issues, provided additional training for our staff and contractors, and made it easier for customers to report concerns.
“We will continue to listen to our customers and use their feedback to improve our services and ensure safety, wellbeing, and quality remain at the heart of everything we do.”
Next year, the law will expand to include all emergency repairs. This stipulation means councils and housing associations must fix emergency health and safety hazards within 24 hours of reporting. These hazards include excess cold and heat, and general hygiene issues.
The Renters’ Rights Bill is due early next year. Awaab’s law will then extend protections to private landlords. Meanwhile, some Salford councils are already clamping down on private landlord conduct. They introduced licensing requirements for landlords in areas like Broughton, Kersal, and Broughton Park. This initiative aims to ensure better living conditions for all Salford tenants.
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