Ventilation must come first as Awaab’s Law widens

Clitheroe retrofit contractor Energy Giants is urging social landlords to design ventilation in before they insulate, as Awaab’s Law prepares to widen.

From 30 November, subject to Parliamentary approval, its deadlines are due to cover excess cold as well as damp and mould. Six other hazard groups, including fire, falls and electrical hazards, are due to join at the same time.

The law is named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died in Rochdale in 2020 after prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s flat. Since 27 October 2025, social landlords in England have had to make emergency hazards safe within 24 hours. Significant damp and mould must be investigated within 10 working days.

The scale of the challenge is clear. The English Housing Survey found damp in 291,000 social rented homes in 2024, 6.9 per cent of the sector, and the rate has risen since 2022.

Miles Sharples, managing director of Energy Giants, said: “Awaab’s Law has changed the clock landlords work to. When a damp report comes in, the first job is to find where the moisture is coming from and make the home safe. In most of the homes we see, it comes back to moisture with nowhere to go.”

That matters because retrofit done badly can make damp worse. In October 2025 the National Audit Office estimated that 98 per cent of homes given external wall insulation under the energy company obligation schemes had major issues needing repair. So did 29 per cent of homes with internal wall insulation.

Miles said: “Insulation keeps heat in, but it also keeps moisture in if the air can’t move. So we design the ventilation first, then the fabric, then the heating. The government’s own damp and mould guidance says energy efficiency work needs adequate ventilation.”

Government guidance is clear that Awaab’s Law deals with urgent risks to tenants and is 'not intended to drive' large scale upgrades. But where damp comes from missing ventilation or poor insulation, landlords must fix the cause, and the guidance names mechanical ventilation and insulation as examples.

Miles said: “Awaab’s Law isn’t a retrofit programme and shouldn’t be sold as one. But every case a landlord logs says something about the homes that need work for EPC C by 2030 and the new Decent Homes Standard. Landlords who use that information to plan will face fewer emergencies later.”

Contractors are under scrutiny too. The Housing Ombudsman has said contractor delay is not a valid reason for a landlord missing the deadlines.

Miles said: “That puts the onus on firms like ours. Turn up when we say we will, record what we find and leave the evidence on file for the landlord.”