Damp and Mould Policy

Awaab’s Law

5.1 We will use Awaab's Law and apply a person-centred approach, which considers the resident's circumstances and where a particular member of the household is at a greater risk from hazardous conditions, we will apply the appropriate category, either a significant or emergency hazard if Awaab’s Law applies.

In situations where Awaab’s Law does not apply, we will use our repair obligations, as set out in the Repairs Policy.

5.2 The three tables below set out how we will investigate and resolve significant or emergency damp and mould hazards, or any other repair issue that does not fall into either of these categories.

Table 1: Significant Hazards

Steps	If the council believes there is a significant hazard
1 Reporting the potential hazard	If we spot a possible hazard or someone reports one, we will look into it and consider the resident’s situation. Then we’ll decide if it’s serious enough to count as a ‘significant’ or ‘emergency’ hazard under Awaab’s Law, or if the law doesn’t apply. This is Day Zero in the Awaab’s Law timeline.
2 Investigate the possible hazard	If we find a possible serious hazard, we must investigate it within 10 working days. If we find it’s an emergency hazard, we will follow the emergency process—this is shown as Route Two in the diagram (appendix 1).
3 Is it a serious hazard?	If we confirm a serious hazard after our investigation (which we must finish within 10 working days), we will: Send the resident a written summary of what we found within 3 working days. Fix the safety issue and either start or take steps to start any extra work to stop it happening again within 5 working days. If we can’t start the extra work within 5 days, we must begin it as soon as we reasonably can—and no later than 12 weeks after the investigation ends. If the hazard turns out to be an emergency, we’ll follow the emergency process—this is shown as Route Two in the diagram (appendix 1).
4 If the home can’t be made safe	If the home can’t be made safe, the council will offer the residents a suitable place to live, as set out in the Decant Policy, until the problem is fully fixed.
5 Hazard resolved	Once the significant hazard is resolved, all required safety works are completed, and the obligation to provide alternative accommodation under Awaab's Law ends.

Table 2: Emergency Hazards

Emergency hazard
1. Reporting a Possible Hazard	If we identify a potential hazard or someone reports one, we will investigate and consider the resident’s situation. Then we will decide if it’s a significant or emergency hazard under Awaab’s Law, or if the law doesn’t apply. This is Day Zero in the Awaab’s Law timeline.
2. Investigating the possible emergency hazard	If the issue might be an emergency hazard, we will investigate it within 24 hours.
3. Emergency hazard confirmed	If we confirm it’s an emergency hazard, we will: Fix the problem and make the home safe within 24 hours. If that’s not possible, we will offer the resident a safe place to stay until the work is done Give the resident a written summary of what we found within three working days once the investigation has been concluded (if needed)
4. Hazard resolved	Once the emergency hazard is fixed and all safety work is done, the landlord’s duty to provide alternative accommodation ends.

Emergency hazard

1. Reporting a Possible Hazard

If we identify a potential hazard or someone reports one, we will investigate and consider the resident’s situation. Then we will decide if it’s a significant or emergency hazard under Awaab’s Law, or if the law doesn’t apply.

This is Day Zero in the Awaab’s Law timeline.

2. Investigating the possible emergency hazard

If the issue might be an emergency hazard, we will investigate it within 24 hours.

3. Emergency hazard confirmed

If we confirm it’s an emergency hazard, we will:

Fix the problem and make the home safe within 24 hours.
If that’s not possible, we will offer the resident a safe place to stay until the work is done
Give the resident a written summary of what we found within three working days once the investigation has been concluded (if needed)

4. Hazard resolved

Once the emergency hazard is fixed and all safety work is done, the landlord’s duty to provide alternative accommodation ends.

Table 3: Hazards that falls outside of Awaab's Law

Potential Hazards out of scope of Awaab’s Law
Investigate the potential hazard	We will treat all hazards and always consider the details and the resident’s situation. However, if we decide that the issue doesn’t fall under Awaab’s Law—meaning it’s not considered a serious or emergency hazard as defined by the law, we will consider our repairing obligation as set out in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.