Have your say on new rental repair rules

The government has opened a consultation into applying Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector, which could give private landlords in England strict deadlines to make urgent repairs.

The law already applies in the social housing sector. Since last year, social landlords have been required to fix emergency hazards within 24 hours and investigate potential significant hazards within 10 days.

At first Awaab’s Law only applied to damp and mould hazards, but from the end of November 2026, it will also cover more hazards including excess cold and heat, falls and structural collapse.

How Awaab’s Law could work in the PRS

The government recognises that the private rented sector isn’t the same as the social housing sector, and so Awaab’s Law won't automatically be applied the same way.  

They note in the consultation that private housing providers are typically smaller, less professionalised, and less likely to have a dedicated maintenance team on call.  

The government makes a case to apply Awaab’s Law to the same list of Housing Health and Safety Rating Standards in private rentals as in social homes. However, they also raise the option of giving private landlords longer deadlines to investigate hazards, because they may not be able to get a specialist contractor at short notice.

Some other open questions include:

• Whether leaseholder landlords must take reasonable steps to get freeholders to make repairs

• Whether occupiers’ individual circumstances, like health conditions, should affect how serious a hazard is considered

You can reply to the consultation by completing the online survey here: https://consult.communities.gov.uk/leasehold-and-private-rented-sector/awaabs-law-prs-and-licences/.