It’s again. The season of soggy windowsills, black-speckled corners and tenants sending pictures of “mould rising behind the wardrobe”. Each agent is aware of the sensation — damp and mildew complaints surge the second the heating goes on. However this 12 months, there’s a chill within the air for a distinct cause. Councils are actually approaching these instances as if Awaab’s Legislation already applies to the personal rented sector.
The irony, in fact, is bitter. Awaab’s Legislation was created after tragedy in social housing — but it’s personal brokers and landlords who are actually feeling the complete drive of its affect. From 27 October 2025, social landlords might be certain by strict timeframes to research and restore damp and mildew. And whereas the extension to the personal sector isn’t regulation but, it’s very a lot within the authorities’s plan by way of the Renters’ Rights Invoice. Councils, nonetheless, aren’t ready for Royal Assent — they’re imposing with Awaab in thoughts.
Throughout the nation, native authorities are ramping up inspections, issuing enchancment notices, and warning that “life-style” excuses gained’t reduce it. Beneath the present Housing Well being and Security Ranking System (HHSRS), failure to behave can already set off civil penalties of as much as £30,000 — and even prosecution with limitless fines. Tenants also can take issues into their very own palms below the Properties (Health for Human Habitation) Act 2018, which supplies them the fitting to sue landlords straight when a property turns into unfit to stay in. In brief: the authorized tooth are already there.
For brokers, the message is easy. Cease treating damp and mildew as an inconvenience to be suggested on and transfer previous. That is now a compliance challenge, and the query has shifted from “is that this condensation?” to “are you able to show you’ve taken affordable steps to repair it?”
Which means logging each report, recording each response, and documenting each restore. Images, contractor notes, and tenant updates all kind the audit path you’ll want if an Environmental Well being Officer comes knocking. Should you can’t proof it, it’d as nicely not have occurred.
Coaching your crew is essential. Property managers and negotiators should perceive the right way to triage stories, escalate rapidly, and talk sensitively — as a result of mould is now greater than a upkeep gripe; it’s a well being challenge, and tone issues.
Preparation is every part. Perform pre-winter inspections, examine air flow and guttering, and ensure your contractor checklist is prepared earlier than the primary chilly snap. Brokers ought to deal with damp and mildew as a standalone compliance class, proper alongside fuel security and electrical checks.
Awaab’s Legislation might not but apply to personal landlords, however its requirements already do. Tenants anticipate urgency. Councils anticipate proof. And brokers who get forward now gained’t simply keep compliant — they’ll set the benchmark for professionalism in a sector the place popularity counts.
Sophie Lang is Co-Founding father of Lang Llewellyn & Co.
