Spring is supposed to mean fresh air, open windows and more time spent outside. But for many families living in council or housing association properties, it also brings something else: sneezing, itchy eyes, wheezing and sleepless nights.
If your household suffers badly with allergies every spring, it’s easy to blame pollen – and pollen is definitely part of it. But what if your home is making things significantly worse for everyone under your roof?
The truth is, certain problems inside your rented home can turn a manageable allergy season into a really miserable one. Whether it’s you, your partner, your children, or an elderly relative you care for, the conditions in your property can affect every member of the family. And the responsibility for fixing those problems often sits firmly with your landlord.
There are also new laws – including Awaab’s Law – that mean councils and housing associations have to act faster than ever when issues are reported.
In this article, we explain what those problems are, what your landlord is supposed to do about them, and what your options are if they’re not doing enough.
How Your Home Can Trigger and Worsen Allergies
Most people know that pollen, pet hair and dust can cause allergic reactions. But indoor air quality plays a much bigger role in your family’s health than you might think. A home in poor condition can seriously worsen allergy symptoms for people of all ages.
Here are the main household problems that can make spring allergies harder to manage:
- Damp and mould – Mould releases tiny spores into the air that your whole household breathe in every day. These spores are a known trigger for asthma, hay fever, and allergic rhinitis (that blocked, runny nose that just won’t stop). Even small patches of mould in a bedroom, living room, or bathroom can have a big impact on everyone in the home.
- Poor ventilation – When fresh air can’t circulate properly, allergens build up inside your home. If windows are broken, extractor fans don’t work, or there’s no proper ventilation, everyone in the property is breathing the same stale, allergen-heavy air day after day.
- Dust mite infestations – Dust mites thrive in warm, damp environments. A home with rising damp or condensation problems creates the perfect breeding ground. Dust mite droppings are one of the most common allergy triggers for both adults and children, and can make existing conditions like asthma or eczema significantly worse.
- Pest infestations – Cockroaches and mice leave behind droppings, shed skin, and saliva that are powerful allergens. These can trigger or worsen asthma and allergic reactions in people of any age. If your home has a pest problem that your landlord hasn’t dealt with, this is a serious health issue for the whole family.
- Leaking roofs or windows – Water getting in creates the damp conditions where mould and dust mites flourish. Even a slow drip over weeks or months can cause hidden mould growth that you might not immediately see, but everyone in the household can feel the effects of.
If any of these sound familiar, your home could genuinely be making your family’s health worse and that’s not something you should simply have to put up with.
What Is Your Landlord Actually Responsible For?
Your council or housing association has a strict legal duty to keep your home in a safe and habitable condition, and must investigate and rectify hazards in your property within a reasonable period of time.
Under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, your landlord must make sure your home is fit to live in throughout your tenancy. A home isn’t fit for purpose if it poses a risk to the health or safety of anyone living there. That includes conditions that trigger or worsen allergies, asthma, or other respiratory problems.
- Keeping the structure and exterior of the property in good repair (walls, roof, windows, drains)
- Fixing damp and mould caused by structural problems or disrepair
- Ensuring ventilation works properly
- Dealing with pest infestations when they’re linked to the condition of the property
- Repairing leaking roofs and windows
If any of these problems exist in your home and your landlord knows about them but hasn’t fixed them, they could be in breach of their duties and you could be entitled to compensation for the impact on your health and your enjoyment of the home.
Awaab's Law: What It Is and Why It Matters for Your Family
You might have heard the name Awaab Ishak. Awaab was a two-year-old boy from Rochdale who died in 2020 after prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s social housing flat. His tragic death shocked the country and sparked a long-overdue conversation about the state of social housing in the UK.
Out of that came Awaab’s Law – new legislation that came into force in October 2025 as part of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. It applies directly to council and housing association tenants and puts strict time limits on landlords to investigate and fix damp, mould, and other serious hazards that affect the health of everyone in the home.
- Emergency hazards must be made safe within 24 hours of you reporting them
- Significant damp and mould problems must be investigated within 10 working days
- Your landlord must share written findings with you within 3 working days of completing that investigation
- If a risk is confirmed, your landlord must start repair work within 5 working days
- If your home can’t be made safe quickly, your landlord must look at providing alternative accommodation
These are legal obligations, rather than guidelines or suggestions. If your landlord misses these deadlines or ignores your report altogether, they are breaking the law. And that puts your whole household in a much stronger position to take action.
It’s also worth knowing that Awaab’s Law will expand over time to cover more types of hazards beyond damp and mould – including excess cold, structural issues, fire and electrical hazards, and hygiene risks. So the protection it gives you as a tenant is only going to grow.
If anyone in your household is being affected by damp or mould right now, Awaab’s Law is one of the most powerful tools you have. Report the problem in writing today, because the clock starts ticking from the moment your landlord receives your report, and make sure you keep copies of each report you make.
Signs That Your Home Could Be Affecting Your Family's Health
- Black or green mould spots on walls, ceilings, around windows, or in cupboards
- A persistent musty smell that doesn’t go away
- Condensation regularly streaming down the insides of your windows
- Peeling wallpaper or bubbling paint on external walls
- Draughts coming through broken window frames
- Evidence of mice, cockroaches, or other pests
- Anyone in the household finds their cough, wheeze, or blocked nose is worse at home than anywhere else
If you’ve noticed any of these things, it’s worth taking this seriously. Allergy and respiratory symptoms across your household can improve dramatically once the underlying problem in the property gets fixed.
What to Do If You Think Your Home Is Affecting Your Family's Health
If you believe your home is making allergies worse for anyone in your household, or anyone in your family is experiencing respiratory symptoms here’s what we recommend you do
Report it to your landlord in writing
Always put your concerns in writing – by email, through the council’s online repairs portal, or by letter. Importantly, make sure that you keep a copy of everything you send. This creates a record that you’ve raised the issue. Be specific about what the problem is, where it is, and how it’s affecting your household. Remember, under Awaab’s Law, the clock starts from the moment your landlord receives your report.
Keep a record of everything
Take photos and videos of the problem. Keep a diary of symptoms across the household; note the dates, what people experienced, and whether it seems linked to being at home. If anyone visits the GP because of allergies or breathing problems, make sure this gets recorded and ask for copies of any letters or referrals.
Get your GP involved
If a doctor thinks someone’s symptoms are linked to your home environment, ask them to put this in writing. A letter from a GP connecting health issues to the conditions in your property can be very valuable if you later decide to make a claim, especially where multiple people in the household are affected.
Follow up if your landlord doesn’t respond
Under Awaab’s Law, your landlord must investigate significant damp and mould within 10 working days of your report. If they don’t respond, or they send someone to look but nothing actually gets fixed within the legal timeframes, you don’t have to just wait. You can escalate the complaint and, if necessary, get legal help.
Talk to us
You don’t need to navigate this alone. At Liberay Legal, we help council and housing association tenants understand their rights and take action when their landlord fails them. If you’re not sure whether you have a claim, just get in touch – our specialist Housing Disrepair solicitors will listen to what’s been happening and give you honest, no-obligation advice.
What Compensation Could You Claim?
If your landlord has failed to deal with disrepair that has affected the health of people in your home – or if they’ve breached the deadlines set out under Awaab’s Law — you could be entitled to compensation. This isn’t about getting rich. It’s about being put right after your landlord let your family down.
- General damages for the impact on your household’s health and quality of life
- The cost of any belongings damaged by damp or mould
- A binding legal agreement for the repairs to your home to be completed within a specified period of time
Housing disrepair claims are focused on making sure that your repairs are completed, and that your landlord cannot just pay and walk away. In many cases, getting the repairs done is actually the most important outcome for families.
We work on a no win, no fee basis, which means you don’t pay anything upfront and there’s no financial risk to you if your claim doesn’t succeed. If we take on your case, it’s because we genuinely believe in it.
Don't Wait and Hope It Gets Better - Here's How Liberay Can Help
Allergy season is tough enough without your home adding to the problem. But a spring full of sneezing, wheezing, and sleepless nights on top of a home that’s damp, poorly ventilated, or riddled with mould? That’s something no family should have to cope with.
Your landlord has a duty to provide you with a home that’s safe and healthy to live in. Awaab’s Law now backs that duty up with clear legal deadlines. If your landlord is ignoring the problem and your family is paying the price you have every right to push for change.
Whether you’re just starting to put the pieces together or you’ve been fighting your council for months, we’re here to help. Get in touch with Liberay Legal today for a free, no-obligation chat about your situation. Let’s get your home sorted.
