Scotland · Wales · England
Housing is devolved, so damp and mould law diverged years ago. Most of what a landlord reads online is written for England and quietly assumes it applies everywhere. It doesn't — and a landlord working to the wrong regime is worse off than one working to none, because they're confident about the wrong thing.
Last reviewed 26 August 2026
The short version
| Scotland | Wales | England (private) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Awaab's Law applies? | No — own regime | No | No — social housing only |
| Statutory timescales? | Yes — 10 / 3 / 5 working days | None | None |
| In force from | 6 October 2026 | Already in force | Already in force |
| Governing law | Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s.13 and s.14, as amended by the 2026 Regulations | Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, s.91 and s.92 | Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, s.11 and s.9A |
| The standard | Substantially free from damp and mould | Fit for human habitation, judged against 29 matters | Fit for human habitation, judged against s.10 matters and 29 HHSRS hazards |
| Investigation by a competent person required? | Yes, expressly | Not expressly — but expected in practice | Not expressly — but expected in practice |
| The main consequence | Enforcement via the First-tier Tribunal | No rent payable while unfit | Disrepair claims — damages and specific performance |
| Council enforcement | Yes | Yes | Yes — HHSRS, improvement notices |
| Occupier called | Tenant | Contract-holder | Tenant |
| Likely to change | Ministers' guidance pending | No equivalent announced | Awaab's Law extension expected, no date |
Scroll the table sideways on a phone →
Reading "no statutory timescales" as good news. Wales and England replaced the clock with something worse, not with nothing.
A Scottish landlord who misses a deadline has a breach they can explain. A Welsh landlord whose property is unfit was never owed the rent in the first place. An English landlord has no deadline at all and a claims industry that works on no win, no fee.
In detail
The Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026 amend the repairing standard so a house must be substantially free from damp and mould, and impose three deadlines:
The second and third clocks both run from completion of the investigation, in parallel — not one after the other. Applies to private residential tenancies, Scottish secure and short Scottish secure tenancies alike. No small-landlord exemption.
The trap: the clock starts when you become aware, which includes a passing mention on a phone call or a contractor's note — not when a formal complaint arrives.
The Scotland pack →Duties run through the occupation contract itself. Section 91 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 requires the dwelling to be fit for human habitation at the start and throughout; section 92 separately requires structure, exterior and installations to be kept in repair.
That third one has already been litigated. Landlords held valid reports but did not hand them over in time; the properties were treated as unfit and rent was not payable until they were provided. Nothing was broken and nothing was dangerous.
The Wales pack →Awaab's Law binds registered providers of social housing — phase one since 27 October 2025, phase two from 30 November 2026. It does not bind private landlords. The power to extend it exists in the Renters' Rights Act 2025, but the regulations have not been made and no commencement date is confirmed.
That last point is the real change. Tenants can now raise conditions, involve the council and instruct a solicitor with no possibility of a no-reason notice landing in reply. "There's nothing to repair" answers a section 11 claim and answers nothing at all under section 9A.
The England pack →What doesn't change
Only the law is devolved. A wall in Swansea behaves exactly like a wall in Stirling, and the diagnosis that decides your legal position is the same job everywhere:
| Cause | What it looks like | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Condensation | Black spotting, not a tide mark. Cold surfaces, window reveals, corners, behind furniture on external walls | Extract fan flow rate, duct route, overrun, trickle vents, insulation, glazing, heating cost |
| Penetrating damp | Localised, worse after driving rain | Gutters, downpipes, hoppers, render cracks, pointing, flashings, chimney head |
| Rising damp | Tide mark typically up to about a metre, hygroscopic salt banding | DPC present? Bridged by paving, render or planting? External ground level against the DPC |
| Plumbing or drainage | Constant regardless of weather, localised to a service run | The first thing to exclude, everywhere |
A free damp survey from a company that sells the treatment is a sales visit, not an investigation.
A diagnosis of "rising damp, inject and replaster", where the real cause was a bridged DPC or a failed downpipe, leaves you paying twice — once for the wrong work, and again when the mould returns. Look for PCA or RICS qualification in damp and timber, a written methodology, and independence from the outcome.
The packs
Each pack is built from that nation's own legislation — not one pack with the place names swapped. Guide, forms, and fillable versions you can complete on a phone on site.
13-page guide, nine forms, working-days calculator, 512 fillable fields. Built around the statutory clocks in force from 6 October 2026.
From £39 →11-page guide, eight forms including a full inspection against every statutory fitness matter, plus the automatic-unfitness check. 602 fillable fields.
From £39 →13-page guide, eight forms including a full disrepair claim defence file with access log and document schedule. 698 fillable fields.
From £39 →Common questions
Not at the time of writing, anywhere in Great Britain. It binds registered providers of social housing in England. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 contains the power to extend it to the private rented sector, but the regulations have not been made and no commencement date has been confirmed. Scotland has its own separate regime; Wales has none.
One per nation. The regimes are genuinely different rather than variations on a theme — different governing statutes, different standards, different consequences, and even different words for the occupier. Using the Scottish pack in Wales would have you working to deadlines that don't exist while missing the automatic unfitness requirements that do.
It depends what you mean. Scotland has the tightest timescales. Wales has the most direct financial consequence, because rent stops being owed while a dwelling is unfit. England has neither, but the largest disrepair claims industry and, since section 21 was abolished, no way to end the argument by ending the tenancy.
Sometimes partly, and in all three nations it can form part of a defence. But it is a difficult factual dispute and the burden is on you to evidence it. Fans that don't achieve their flow rate, ducting into lofts, missing overruns, trickle vents painted shut, cold bridging and unaffordable heating all present as "lifestyle" and are all landlord-side. Test every one of them before the word appears in anything you write.
No. This is general information written by a damp and timber practitioner rather than a solicitor. Devolved housing law changes frequently — check the current position at legislation.gov.uk and take your own advice on your circumstances.