General information, not legal advice. The rules are changing, so check GOV.UK and your professional body for the current position. FixDocket does not make anyone compliant; it keeps evidence of what was reported and done.
Awaab's Law was introduced after the death of Awaab Ishak from exposure to damp and mould in a social home. Its first phase is in force for social landlords in England, setting timescales to investigate and fix hazards such as damp and mould. For privately rented homes the government has said it will bring similar standards, but the timetable and detail are not confirmed. If you are a letting agent, the practical question is not "does this apply yet" but "could we show what happened if asked".
What to be able to show for a damp or mould report
- When it was reported, by whom, with photos, as received.
- When it was first looked at, and by whom.
- What was decided and the date: inspection, treatment, further works.
- Who attended, what they found and their photos afterwards.
- What it cost and who approved it.
- Whether it came back. A repeat report at the same flat is a pattern, and the history of the flat is where you spot it.
Why per-flat history matters
Damp and mould is rarely a one-off. A single report in a flat tells you less than three over a year. A record kept per flat, not per email thread, makes that visible, and it is the same record you need if a landlord or a tenant asks what was done and when. FixDocket keeps the report, the timeline, the photos, the invoice and the sign-off together, and the history cannot be quietly edited afterwards.
Start with evidence, not promises
Until the private-sector rules are settled, the safe move is to record properly now: every report timestamped, every response attributed, every photo kept. That is useful under any version of the rules and in any dispute. See the repair audit trail, and for the related legislation the Renters' Rights Act records checklist.