Leading mould expert, Jeff Charlton, today urged the UK Government to repeal Awaab’s Law, as he published a damning evidence review that identifies more than 250 investigative failures in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government report. Charlton’s 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,” warned Jeff.
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,” Jeff explained. “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.”
Charlton is recognised as the UK’s leading expert in mould, biocontamination and building-related illness, with more than 35 years of experience. His forensic review identifies 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
Jeff is calling for Awaab’s Law to be repealed and fundamentally rewritten, with proper scientific, medical, and forensic oversight.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,” Jeff 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.”
Jeff Charlton is Principal Consultant at Building Forensics, a specialist consultancy recognised for its scientific expertise in mould, CIRS-related environmental pathways, and forensic contamination diagnostics.
A copy of the evidence review is available here.
Header image: Jeff Charlton, Principal Consultant at Building Forensics
