Awaab’s Law to be introduced in Scotland

Awaab’s Law will be introduced in Scotland, ministers have announced.

The Scottish government has confirmed it intends to make the regulations, which require social landlords to address health and safety hazards such as damp and mould, mandatory for social landlords.

It will introduce amendments to the Housing (Scotland Bill), currently going through parliament, to broaden ministers’ powers to impose timeframes on social landlords to investigate disrepair.

Shirley-Anne Somerville, social justice secretary, said: “Everyone in Scotland deserves the right to live in a warm, safe and secure home, free from disrepair. We already have a strong set of rights and standards that have been improving in Scotland.

“However, these measures will go even further and give power and confidence to tenants that any issues identified and repairs started in a timely manner, so any issues do not have a detrimental impact on their health.”

The new regulations, named after two-year old Awaab Ishak who died after exposure to black mould in a Rochdale Boroughwide home, are intended to ensure health and safety hazards are fixed promptly in social housing.

>>See also: Rochdale Boroughwide Housing signs off recovery plan launched following death of Awaab Ishak

In England, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced last month that Awaab’s law will be introduced in a phased approach, initially applying to damp and mould hazards before being rolled out to include all Housing Health and Safety Rating System hazards over a couple of years.