Beyond Awaab’s law: priorities for indoor air quality action in the UK housing sector

What are the indoor air quality (IAQ) challenges and opportunities in the UK housing sector? What are the existing best practices on IAQ, and how can these best practices be mainstreamed across a diverse housing sector? How are existing processes helping to reduce indoor air pollution in the UK?

In the UK, most people spend about 90% of their time indoors, but almost all efforts to reduce air pollution focus on the outdoors. Indoor air pollution comes in many forms, from gases like carbon monoxide to particulate matter, such as dust and soot. Breathing in these particles and gases is terrible for our health, and poor IAQ has been linked to lung diseases, including asthma and cancer.

IAQ has become an increasingly important issue for residents and policymakers in the UK. The quality of the air we breathe indoors significantly impacts our health and well-being. In 2023, the UK passed the Social Housing Law, popularly known as Awaab’s law, and in January 2024, the UK government is calling for proposals to implement the law. Among other things, Awaab’s Law provides a framework to address issues like dampness and moulds in social housing.

No existing laws solely focus on indoor air quality in the UK, and the INGENIOUS project is hosting a webinar to discuss how IAQ improvements should cut across all housing types, from social housing to privately rented homes or owner-occupied properties. The webinar is designed to discuss the broader issues of IAQ beyond moulds and spores.

The INGENIOUS project is a collaborative effort that brings together academic institutions, policymakers, and industry partners to improve IAQ in the UK. The webinar featured a panel of experts from the INGENIOUS project:

• Prof. Nicholas Pleace – Director, Centre for Housing Policy, University of York
• Prof. Nic Carslaw – Principal investigator, INGENIOUS, Indoor Air Chemistry, University of York
• Dr. Chantelle Wood – Social psychologist, University of Sheffield
• Prof. Sani Dimitroulopoulou – Principal Environmental Public Health Scientist on Indoor Environments within the Air Quality and Public Health Group, Environmental Hazards and Emergencies Department (EHE), UKHSA
• Prof. Sarah West – Centre Director, SEI York

The panel discussed the latest research on IAQ and explore the ways in which residents and policymakers can work together to improve the air we breathe indoors.