Awaab’s Law Scotland takes effect for damp and mould

Awaab’s Law Scotland is now in force, bringing statutory damp and mould response times into effect for social and private landlords from 6th October 2026.

The Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026 require landlords to investigate reports of possible damp or mould within 10 working days and, where substantial damp or mould is identified, start necessary repair work within five working days after the investigation is concluded.

The Scottish rules are broader than many landlords may expect because they apply across both the social and private rented sectors. They also sit alongside other tenancy changes taking effect on the same date, including revised succession rules and much larger potential wrongful termination awards.

What Awaab’s Law Scotland requires from landlords

Once a landlord becomes aware that a home may be affected by damp or mould, an investigation must be carried out within 10 working days by a competent person.

Scottish Government guidance says the competent person must have the skills and expertise needed to decide whether the home is substantially free from damp and mould and whether repairs are required. No single professional qualification is prescribed, but the guidance points to experience in areas such as building surveying, housing maintenance, environmental health, construction and property inspection.

The guidance says investigations should normally be carried out in person unless there is a justified reason for using another method. A remote assessment may sometimes be appropriate, but landlords are expected to record why it was considered sufficient.

The investigation also needs to look beyond surface mould. Where substantial damp or mould is found, the landlord must identify the root cause and decide what repair work is necessary.

Repair work must start within five working days

The second key deadline begins once the investigation is complete. If substantial damp or mould is identified, repair work must commence within five working days.

The Scottish Government makes clear that the work is expected to do more than temporarily clean the visible problem. The home must be made substantially free from damp and mould and, as far as reasonably practicable, steps should be taken to prevent the same problem returning.

For social landlords, work to make the home substantially free from damp and mould must then be completed within 20 working days from the date repair work starts.

Private landlords do not have the same fixed 20-day completion period. Instead, repairs must be completed within a reasonable time after the investigation. Compliance with the new timescales will nevertheless be relevant if a case reaches the First-tier Tribunal.

Exceptional circumstances do not remove the duty

The regulations recognise that some investigations and repairs cannot be completed inside the normal deadlines for reasons outside a landlord’s control.

The guidance gives the example of a case where a specialist surveyor cannot attend within the 10-working-day investigation period. In those circumstances, the landlord should explain the delay, provide a revised timeframe and take reasonable interim steps where practicable.

That is not a general extension for poor administration. Landlords still need evidence of the circumstances causing the delay and should keep tenants informed.

The same principle applies where specialist contractors, structural work or other factors outside the landlord’s control make the repair timetable impossible to meet.

The rules apply to private as well as social landlords

One of the most important practical points is the breadth of the Scottish approach. The duties apply to social landlords and private landlords.

For private rented homes, the regulations modify the Repairing Standard so that a house must be substantially free from damp and mould. The Housing and Property Chamber can consider compliance with the Awaab’s Law timescales when deciding whether the Repairing Standard has been met.

If a private landlord fails to comply with a Repairing Standard Enforcement Order without reasonable excuse, that can become a criminal offence. The tribunal can also make a Rent Relief Order restricting rent until the enforcement order is complied with.

For social tenants, the existing Right to Repair mechanism provides a route to compensation where the new investigation or repair commencement timescales are missed.

Other Scottish tenancy changes start on the same day

Awaab’s Law is not the only housing reform taking effect on 6th October.

The Scottish Government’s private renting policy page confirms that the qualifying period for certain tenancy succession rights falls from 12 months to six months.

Changes to wrongful termination payments also take effect. Property-sector guidance on the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 says awards can now range from three to 36 times the relevant sum, a substantial increase from the previous maximum.

Those changes are legally separate from the damp and mould regulations, but landlords and managing agents should treat 6th October as a broader compliance date rather than a single-issue commencement.

What landlords should change in practice

The new duties make internal response systems important. A damp or mould report that sits unanswered in a general inbox can quickly consume a large part of the statutory investigation period.

Landlords should know who is authorised to triage reports, who can carry out a competent investigation, how specialist surveys will be commissioned and how findings will be recorded in writing.

Contractor availability also matters. If repair work has to begin within five working days of the investigation concluding, a landlord that waits until then to identify contractors may struggle to comply.

Record-keeping is equally important. The guidance repeatedly stresses communication with tenants, evidence of decisions and the need to document exceptional circumstances where normal timescales cannot be met.

This is housing regulation, not a planning permission rule

Awaab’s Law changes landlords’ repair and housing-standard obligations. It does not itself grant or remove planning permission.

That distinction matters where damp or mould is linked to proposed building work. A landlord may need to carry out repairs quickly while still checking whether a separate alteration needs planning permission, listed building consent, building standards approval or another consent.

Planning Geek’s Scotland planning news tracks changes affecting the Scottish property and planning system, while our common projects guidance covers planning questions that can arise when physical works are proposed.

Planning Geek view

The biggest operational change is the clock. Damp and mould complaints can no longer be treated as routine maintenance tickets that move through an open-ended workflow.

For private landlords in particular, the combination of a 10-working-day investigation duty, a five-working-day repair commencement duty and tribunal enforcement means processes need to be designed around the statutory timetable.

The regulations also show why property compliance needs to be separated into its component parts. Housing standards, tenancy law and planning control can all affect the same property, but they are not interchangeable.