FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
Mould expert, Jeff Charlton, is calling on the UK Government to repeal Awaab’s Law, having identified more than 250 investigative failures in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government report. Charlton has published a technical evidence review of the original investigation which he says raises fundamental questions about the validity of the original conclusions and the subsequent introduction of 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.
Charlton, who is recognised as the UK’s leading expert in mould, biocontamination and building-related illness, with more than 35 years of experience said: “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.”
According to Charlton the Law was introduced on an “incorrect foundation” and the investigation was “deeply flawed”.
He said: “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.”
In his forensic review Charlton states he has identified 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
Charlton is now calling for Awaab’s Law to be repealed and fundamentally rewritten, with proper scientific, medical, and forensic oversight.
He added: “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. 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.”
Wednesday 14 January at 11:00am
Building Management Systems (BMS) have long been used to control the heart of a building – monitoring and controlling its essential systems such as lighting, ventilation, heating and air conditioning. Facilities Managers want the best visibility to help detect and deal with concerns before they become issues.
This webinar brings together the experts from energy network provider, E.ON along with FM thought leaders to discuss moving from a reactive service to a proactive service. By identifying energy issues early and automatically, instead of occupants reporting issues, then potential faults can be identified early and remedied. The BMS does this before the problem occurs by using smart alerting and EMC support services.
Panel:
- Sara Bean: Editor FMJ (Facilities Management Journal)
- Nick Westlake: Energy and Service Delivery Manager at E.ON Control Solutions
- Sunil Shah, the author of IWFM’s Energy Management Good Practice Guide and MD of Acclaro Advisory
- David Cermak, Regional Facilities Manager for David Lloyd Clubs
To register for the webinar which will be taking place on 14 January 2026 at 11:00am click here.
