Labour vows to extend Awaab’s Law to the PRS

Labour’s Angela Rayner says the party will extend Awaab’s Law to landlords in the private rented sector (PRS).

She told Good Morning Britain viewers – see the video below – this will protect 1.6 million children who live in cold, damp or mouldy homes owned by private landlords, according to data from Citizen’s Advice.

Awaab’s Law was named after Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old boy who died in 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by mould at his home in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

His home was ‘unfit for human habitation’, an inquest found.

Promised to deliver Awaab’s Law for social housing

The Government has promised to deliver Awaab’s Law for social housing, but Labour says this is not enough and wants to close a loophole that excludes private landlords from the legislation.

Ms Rayner, Labour’s Deputy Leader, said: “The private rented sector has widespread problems with damp, mould and cold, driven by the poor energy efficiency of privately rented homes.

“It is a no-brainer to extend Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector and that is exactly what Labour will do.”

Labour is urging the Government to back its plan in amendments to the Private Renters Bill, which will be debated in Parliament in February.

Forcing landlords to investigate hazards within two weeks

A consultation on Awaab’s Law, launched earlier this month, proposes forcing landlords to investigate hazards within two weeks, to fix issues within a further seven days and make emergency repairs within 24 hours. Landlords who fail to comply could be dragged to court and ordered to pay compensation.

Ms Rayner also revealed that she had friends and family who were afraid to complain about their living conditions for fear of being evicted.

She said: “The problem we’ve got is a problem of supply.

“Many people are living in homes that they know are not good for their health and the health of their children.

“But they know that if they raise these concerns and the local authority condemns the property, that they’ll end up homeless.”

People were being relocated to other boroughs

Ms Rayner added that some people were being relocated to other boroughs where there are more homes available, disrupting their lives.

She said: “Some families are ending up 20, 30 – even 200 miles away from where they live, so the children can’t go to the local school.

“If they are in work they can’t get to their job. So, it has a real knock on effect on people.”

Watch Angela Rayner hit out at private landlords and their mouldy homes:

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