Legal reference
The statutory hazard-response timeframes for the private rented sector
The statutory hazard-response framework in force in social housing since 27 October 2025 is to be extended to the private rented sector by section 60 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025. As at 12 October 2026 that section is not in force, no private-sector regulations exist, and no date has been set. The government’s consultation on how to apply it to private tenancies is open until 18 December 2026.
The origin
Section 60 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 extends the framework to private tenancies by amending section 10A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 — the section that makes the prescribed hazard-response requirements an implied term of the lease, enforceable by the tenant, with a defence for a landlord who used all reasonable endeavours. Section 60 is not in force (checked on legislation.gov.uk on 12 October 2026: section 10A still reads “relevant social housing leases”). When it is commenced, section 10A will apply to any lease of a dwelling-house in England granted for less than seven years — every assured tenancy — and the private-sector requirements and timescales will be set by regulations under section 10A(3). The government's implementation roadmap (13 November 2025) places that extension in its third phase, with the timescales “subject to consultation”. That consultation, Extending Awaab's Law to private rented tenancies and to licences, opened on 9 October 2026 and closes on 18 December 2026; it asks when the law should start and sets no date (see what the consultation does and does not say). Until then the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 reasonable-time standard continues to apply. On every property Harvey W James manages, every report is logged with a reference and our repairs team tells the tenant what happens next and when (Essential Terms §46.X); we set no response times of our own.
Awaab's Law is named after Awaab Ishak, the two-year-old child who died in December 2020 from prolonged exposure to mould in social-rented accommodation. The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 (section 42) inserted section 10A into the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 for social housing, and the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1042) set the timeframes in force since 27 October 2025; the Renters' Rights Act 2025 extends the same section to the private rented sector. It sits alongside, not inside, the Housing Act 2004's Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), the hazard-assessment regime local authorities use to rate housing conditions.
The mechanism is statutory hazard categorisation plus statutory response timeframes. A hazard is categorised by severity; the landlord must investigate and respond within the timeframe set in regulations; failure to respond within the timeframe is itself a breach, separate from any underlying disrepair.
The timeline
There is no date for private landlords. The section that will bring the law in is on the statute book but not in force, and the regulations that will set the private-sector timescales are out to consultation until 18 December 2026. What exists is a dated sequence in social housing — the model the private-sector regulations are expected to follow.
Awaab's Law starts for social landlords: damp and mould hazards that pose a significant risk of harm, and every emergency hazard, to fixed timeframes (SI 2025/1042).
GOV.UK's Renters' Rights Act implementation roadmap places the private-sector extension of Awaab's Law, together with the Decent Homes Standard, in phase three: “the timescales for implementing these changes will be subject to consultation”.
The Act's tenancy reforms commence — periodic tenancies, the end of section 21, the rental bidding ban. Section 60 is not among the sections commenced.
The government opens Extending Awaab's Law to private rented tenancies and to licences, announced the evening before. It asks how the law should apply to private tenancies, including the timescales and when it should start, and closes on 18 December 2026. It sets no date.
Draft amendment regulations laid before Parliament extend the social-sector duties to excess cold, excess heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards and domestic hygiene, and define a significant hazard as one a reasonable landlord would make safe within 15 working days.
All remaining HHSRS hazards except overcrowding. GOV.UK's phase 2 guidance for social landlords (31 July 2026) gave no date; the government's announcement of 8 October 2026 and the private-sector consultation both place this third phase in 2027, with no day yet set.
After the consultation closes come regulations under section 10A(3) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, then commencement of section 60. Neither has happened. The consultation says the earliest feasible start would be 2027 and asks respondents to choose between 2027, 2028 and 2029: a question, not a date.
Until then, the landlord’s duty is to repair within a reasonable time under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. On every property Harvey W James manages, each repair or hazard report is logged and the tenant gets a reference; an emergency is treated as an emergency; our repairs team decides who attends and when, tells the tenant what happens next and when, and keeps them updated until the job is done (Essential Terms §46.X). We do not set response times of our own: the statutory timeframes will be the ones the private-sector regulations set.
The clock
The private-sector figures will be set by the regulations to come. These are the timeframes in the social-housing regulations (SI 2025/1042), read as made; the private-sector regulations are expected to follow them. They differ by hazard severity.
24 hours to investigate an emergency hazard and complete the work that makes it safe (regulation 5) — or, where the home cannot be made safe in time, to move the household to suitable alternative accommodation. An emergency hazard is one a reasonable landlord would make safe within 24 hours: loss of heating, water or power; an uncontainable leak or a gas leak; a door or window that will not lock; anything posing an imminent and significant risk to health or safety.
10 working days to complete a competent investigation of a significant hazard (regulation 6), a written summary of the findings to the tenant within 3 working days of that investigation (regulation 9), and the safety work completed within 5 working days of it (regulation 11); any further preventative work begun within 12 weeks (regulation 13). In social housing the significant-hazard timeframes currently cover damp, mould and fungal growth only (regulation 3); the draft amendment regulations laid before Parliament would extend them from 30 November 2026 to excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire, electrical and hygiene hazards.
Alternative accommodation, suitable for the household, where a hazard renders the property temporarily uninhabitable and it cannot be made safe within the applicable timeframe (Part 6 of the regulations).
The timeframes run from the point at which the landlord (or the landlord's agent) is on notice of the hazard. A tenant's written report, an agent's inspection note, a contractor's report, or a third-party referral all count as notice. The landlord cannot reset the clock by disputing the report — the obligation to investigate is triggered by the notice itself. Working days exclude weekends and bank holidays.
The obligation
The operational requirement breaks down into four parts.
The landlord (or the agent acting for them) must have a route through which tenants can report hazards at any hour, including outside business hours for emergencies. For managed tenancies, that is the agent's emergency line. For self-managed tenancies, the landlord's own contact details must be in the prescribed-information disclosure and must work.
Within 24 hours of notice of an emergency hazard (or within 10 working days for a significant hazard), the landlord must investigate. That means attending the property, instructing a contractor to attend, or taking a documented decision based on existing evidence. A tenant's written report alone is not a substitute for investigation. For a significant hazard the tenant must then receive a written summary of the findings within 3 working days (regulation 9), and if the tenant asks for a physical inspection one must follow within 10 working days (regulation 7).
The safety work must be completed within 24 hours for an emergency hazard and within 5 working days of the investigation for a significant hazard; preventative work that takes longer must begin within 12 weeks and finish within a reasonable period. Where the property cannot be made safe in time, the household must be offered suitable alternative accommodation. A landlord who simply misses the timeframe with no record of the reason is in breach; the statutory defence is proof that the landlord used all reasonable endeavours to avoid it (Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.10A(5)).
Date and time of notice, date and time of investigation, contractor instructions, attendance records, repair completion records, and any decisions about alternative accommodation. The documentation is the evidence base if a tenant takes the breach to court under the implied covenant, escalates it to the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman, or — where a separate housing offence is involved — pursues a Rent Repayment Order.
The tenant's part
For managed properties, the route is simple. Repairs and hazards go to aftercare@harveywjames.com, or call our line at 020 3865 1500. For an out-of-hours emergency (loss of heating, water, electricity; uncontainable leaks; gas leaks; security failures), call the emergency line at any hour — do not wait until business hours.
Three things help the response.
If a hazard is reported and the response falls outside the timeframe without a documented reason, the tenant's route is the Internal Complaints Procedure and then the external redress route appropriate to the complaint — the Property Redress Scheme for complaints about us as the agent, the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman (mandatory landlord membership expected in 2028) for complaints about the conduct of the landlord.
The wider standard
Until section 60 is commenced and the regulations under LTA 1985 s.10A(3) are made, the governing standard in the private rented sector is the implied repairing covenant under sections 11 and 12 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 — the landlord must keep the structure and exterior in repair and the installations for water, gas, electricity, heating, and sanitation in proper working order, and must do so within a reasonable time of being on notice of any disrepair. "Reasonable time" is a question of fact, judged against the severity of the disrepair and the practical difficulty of the works.
The reasonable-time standard remains in force after Awaab's Law takes effect. The Awaab's Law timeframes are statutory minimums for the categories they cover; they do not replace the LTA 1985 repairing obligation, they sit alongside it.
Also under section 100 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and Schedule 4, the Decent Homes Standard — long applied to the social-rented sector — extends to private rented properties from 2035. A property meets the Decent Homes Standard if it meets the statutory minimum standard for housing in England (no Category 1 hazards under the HHSRS), is in a reasonable state of repair, has reasonably modern facilities and services, and provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort. Properties that fail the standard will face enforcement action by the local authority and potential restrictions on letting.
Awaab's Law and the Decent Homes Standard are complementary, not duplicative. Awaab's Law governs the response time to a specific hazard. The Decent Homes Standard governs the baseline condition a property must meet to be lawfully let. A property that meets the Decent Homes Standard may still develop a hazard that triggers Awaab's Law obligations; a property that breaches the Decent Homes Standard is also likely to be breaching the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 repairing covenant.
If the clock is missed
Awaab's Law itself is enforced by the tenant, not the council: the regulations bind a landlord only through the covenant implied into the tenancy (Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.10A(4)), so the route is a claim for breach of that covenant — an order that the work be done (the social regulations make specific performance available) and damages — against the defence that the landlord used all reasonable endeavours (s.10A(5)). Three further routes sit alongside it once the law is in force in the private rented sector.
Local authorities can already issue improvement notices, prohibition orders, and hazard awareness notices under the Housing Act 2004 where a Category 1 hazard is identified. Awaab's Law does not give councils a new power: the same damp or mould is a Category 1 hazard under the HHSRS whether or not the landlord met the timeframe, and a missed timeframe is the evidence that persuades a council to act. A civil penalty of up to £40,000 is available under Housing Act 2004 s.249A (as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025) as an alternative to prosecution for failing to comply with an improvement notice.
The PRS Ombudsman (Part 2 Chapter 2 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025; the government expects landlord membership to become mandatory in 2028) will handle complaints about the conduct of private landlords. GOV.UK's guide to the Act says it will be able to direct apologies, remedial action and compensation of up to £25,000. A landlord who has missed an Awaab's Law timeframe is plainly within the Ombudsman's jurisdiction.
Where the failure to respond to a hazard also constitutes a separate housing offence — for example, breach of an improvement notice — the tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order of up to 24 months' rent under Part 2 Chapter 4 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025. See ETC v2.5.1 §75 and the Internal Complaints Procedure for the conditions and process.
Common questions
Not yet. Section 60 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 will extend it to every private tenancy of under seven years, but the section is not in force (checked on legislation.gov.uk on 12 October 2026), and the regulations that would set the private-sector timescales are out to consultation until 18 December 2026. Until then the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 reasonable-time repairing standard applies.
No date has been set. The government's consultation on extending Awaab's Law to private tenancies opened on 9 October 2026 and closes on 18 December 2026; it asks when the law should start rather than setting a date. After it come regulations under section 10A(3) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, then commencement of section 60.
The private-sector figures will be set by regulations. The social-housing model in force since 27 October 2025 is: 24 hours to investigate an emergency hazard and make it safe; 10 working days to investigate a significant hazard, a written summary within 3 working days and the safety work within 5 working days; suitable alternative accommodation where the home cannot be made safe in time.
In a private tenancy, not directly, because the duty does not yet exist. Report the hazard in writing with photographs: the landlord must repair within a reasonable time under sections 11 and 12 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and the council can act on a Category 1 hazard under the Housing Act 2004. On a property Harvey W James manages, every report is logged with a reference, an emergency is treated as an emergency, and our repairs team tells you what happens next and when.
By the tenant. The regulations bind the landlord through a covenant implied into the tenancy (Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.10A(4)), so the route is a court claim for breach, with an order that the work be done and damages; the landlord's defence is proof of all reasonable endeavours (s.10A(5)). Councils enforce the HHSRS separately under the Housing Act 2004, and the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman is expected from 2028.
Run to the social-housing clock now: a reporting route that works at any hour, an investigation within 24 hours or 10 working days, a written summary, the repair within 5 working days, and a dated record of every step. Damp and mould were the first hazards in scope in social housing and will be the first in the private sector too, so treat every damp report as if the clock were already running.
Related pages
For the full post-RRA regulatory framework, see The Renters' Rights Act 2025. For the operational pitch for landlords, see the Landlords page. For the full tenant-rights explainer, see the Tenants page. For the complaints procedure and the two external redress routes, see the Internal Complaints Procedure. For specific questions, see the FAQ. For terminology, see the Glossary.
Contacts & registers
This page reflects Harvey W James' operational understanding of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (in particular section 60, and section 100 with Schedule 4 for the Decent Homes Standard), the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (sections 10A, 11 and 12), the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025, the Housing Act 2004 (Part 1 and section 249A) and the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. It is not legal advice. The timeframes set out above are those of the social-housing regulations; the operative private-sector timeframes will be those set in the Secretary of State's regulations under LTA 1985 s.10A(3) when made. For the published Act text refer to legislation.gov.uk; for your specific situation seek independent legal advice. Statutory references on this page were read on legislation.gov.uk on 13 September 2026, and section 60 and section 10A re-checked on 12 October 2026 (Renters' Rights Act 2025 as revised to 22 June 2026, section 60 not in force; Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to 29 June 2026; the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 as made, in force 27 October 2025; the draft Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 as laid before Parliament, naming 30 November 2026; Housing Act 2004 to 22 June 2026) and checked against GOV.UK's Renters' Rights Act implementation roadmap (13 November 2025) and its Awaab's Law phase 2 guidance for social landlords (published 13 July 2026, updated 31 July 2026), and against the GOV.UK consultation Extending Awaab's Law to private rented tenancies and to licences (opened 9 October 2026, closes 18 December 2026) and the government's press release of 8 October 2026; operational clauses are those of Essential Terms and Charges v2.5.1 (23 October 2026).
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