A former government adviser who describes himself as the world’s preeminent mould expert says the government should repeal Awaab’s Law, as it is “impossible to comply with.”
Jeff Charlton, who has 35 years of international experience including training and advising governments in the UK and US, claims there are over 250 investigative failures in a report on the law by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government report.
Charlton believes his review raises fundamental questions about the validity of the original conclusions and the subsequent introduction of Awaab’s Law.
“Two months after it came into effect, Awaab’s Law is forcing unqualified people to make medical and environmental risk decisions within 24 hours. It is impossible to comply with and places families at greater risk, not less” warns Charlton.
Background to Awaab’s Law
Introduced in October 2025, Awaab’s Law mandates social landlords must investigate significant hazards caused by damp or mould, within set deadlines.
“The Law was introduced on an incorrect foundation” Charlton adds.
“The investigation was deeply flawed. There are more than 250 separate failures. Yet this law now forces landlords, housing officers, and contractors to make medical and environmental risk judgements they are neither trained, nor legally authorised, to make. The Law needs rectification now to make it fit for purpose.”
His review claims to identify fundamental errors, including:
- A failure to confirm the presence or species of mould
- Misleading or incorrect expert testimony
- An absence of preserved environmental evidence
- A lack of medically recognised environmental linkage
- Invalid assumptions about building conditions
- No forensic assessment of exposure pathways
So what next?
Charlton calls for Awaab’s Law to be repealed and fundamentally rewritten, with proper scientific, medical, and forensic oversight.
“To comply with Awaab’s Law, a landlord must somehow diagnose environmental illness, identify mould species, assess severity, and determine medical hazard level — all within 24 hours” he concludes.
“These are scientific and medical tasks requiring specialist training, not something a housing officer or unqualified contractor can legally undertake. The law needs to be rewritten to do what it was meant to do – prevent a repeat of this tragedy.”
You can see more details here: www.buildingforensics.co.uk/library
