Awaab’s Law duties set to commence in October 2026
New draft regulations to protect tenants from damp and mould have been laid in the Scottish Parliament. If approved by parliament, the Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026 will introduce new duties on landlords to investigate reports of damp and mould and start any repairs needed within a set timescale. The new duties are set to come into force on 6 October 2026.
This is the first set of regulations for the implementation of Awaab’s Law, named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died in 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by mould in his family’s housing association flat in England.
Landlords in Scotland are already required under the Repairing and Tolerable Standards to repair damp and mould problems in their properties. What this new law will do is introduce clear timescales in which they must do this. Once a landlord becomes aware of a damp/mould issue they must:
- Complete an investigation into the issue within 10 working days. The investigation must be carried out by a competent person, which could be the landlord themselves if they have the necessary skills and experience.
- Following the completion of the investigation, the landlord must provide a written summary of the results of the investigation to the tenant within 3 working days.
- If the investigation concludes that work is required to ensure the property is free of damp/mould, that work must commence within 5 working days of the completion of the investigation.
If a landlord is unable to adhere to these timescales then they must set out in writing to the tenant the reasons why and the expected timescale in which they will comply.
In instances where damp and/or mould is not a result of a building defect, landlords would be expected to work with tenants to signpost them to appropriate advice and guidance.
SAL will continue to keep members updated on developments with these proposed new duties and will issue guidance to members once government guidance has been published.
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