Awaab’s Law: What can landlords do to prepare?
Pannone Corporate
28/07/2025

The Government has confirmed that, subject to parliamentary approval, Phase 1 of Awaab’s Law will come into force on 27 October 2025. Guidance has now also been published, which is intended to provide additional support to landlords to help them achieve and maintain compliance with their new obligations.

Background

It is almost three years since the Coroner issued her Prevention of Future Deaths to the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities at the conclusion of the inquest into the death of Awaab Ishak.

The government of the day responded to that report by tabling amendments to the already existing Social Housing Regulation Bill, inserting an implied covenant requiring lessors to comply with all prescribed requirements applicable to a relevant lease. Whilst landlords have historically only been responsible for damp and mould caused by a structural defect, and ensuring that a property is fit for human habitation, Awaab’s Law serves to extend that duty further by mandating specific actions and responses within specified timescales.

Phase 1

Phase 1 serves to require social housing landlords to investigate concerns of damp and mould, and to attend to emergency repairs. Phase 2, coming into force in 2026, will extend the obligation to include additional hazards, including excess cold and heat, with the inclusion of further hazards (with the exception of over-crowding) being introduced in 2027.

Given the time taken already for Awaab’s Law to finally reach the statute books, this confirmation is to be welcomed but it is hoped that those operating in the market have already addressed their minds to the changes they may need to implement within their businesses going forwards.

The key obligations coming into force in October are:

  • investigate any potential emergency hazards and, if the investigation confirms emergency hazards, undertake relevant safety work as soon as reasonably practicable, both within 24 hours of becoming aware of them
  • investigate any potential significant hazards within 10 working days of becoming aware of them
  • produce a written summary of investigation findings and provide this to the named tenant within 3 working days of the conclusion of the investigation
  • undertake relevant safety work within 5 working days of the investigation concluding, if the investigation identifies a significant hazard
  • begin, or take steps to begin, any further required works within 5 working days of the investigation concluding, if the investigation identifies a significant or emergency hazard. If steps cannot be taken to begin work in 5 working days this must be done as soon as possible, and work must be physically started within 12 weeks
  • satisfactorily complete works within a reasonable time period
  • secure the provision of suitable alternative accommodation for the household, at the social landlord’s expense, if relevant safety work cannot be completed within specified timeframes
  • keep the named tenant updated throughout the process and provide information on how to keep safe

Whilst the reference to working days allows landlords some breathing space to respond, it could also result in repairs (and potentially avoidable harm) being delayed due to the intervention of a non-working weekend.

Defences

The duties are not absolute and social housing landlords will have a defence if they can show that they have used all ‘reasonable endeavours’ to avoid breaching the requirements of Awaab’s Law. In other words, it will be a defence for landlords to demonstrate that despite them having taken all reasonable steps to comply with the requirements of the regulations, it has simply not been possible for reasons genuinely beyond their control.

Examples provided within the government’s guidance document include:

  • The landlord may not be able to complete work within the timeframes because the building is high-risk and building control approval from the Building Safety Regulator is required before starting works to make the property safe. In this case ‘reasonable efforts’ could be making an application to the Building Safety Regulator as soon as reasonably practicable. Likewise, other approvals and permissions might be needed from external bodies, and the landlord should show that they are taking the appropriate steps to obtain these.
  • The landlord may not be able to gain access to the property to complete relevant safety works. For example, the landlord may have made multiple attempts to arrange a time to access the property but has been unable to do so within the given timeframes.
  • The landlord may have been unable to source specialist contractors or materials within the required timeframes, but has made reasonable efforts to do so.
  • The landlord may have made reasonable efforts to secure suitable alternative accommodation, but there may be no suitable properties which are within a reasonable distance of schools/ places of work or in the local area. In this case the landlord could work with the tenant to identify the best option.

If a tenant seeks compensation from a landlord following an alleged breach of Awaab’s Law, the onus will be on the latter to show why the failure was unavoidable. This will clearly be something which will be determined on a case-by-case basis, but at this stage, it is recommended that landlords retain clear, detailed and unambiguous records of all efforts made to achieve compliance.

What can providers do to prepare?

As touched upon above, it is to be hoped that social housing landlords are already well aware of the imminent changes and are ready for 27 October 2025.

If not done so to date, landlords may also want to address their minds to the following:

  • Decanting processes: if there is an immediate risk, or other requirement to move tenants whilst works are undertaken, landlords need to have available empty properties into which to move them. This is likely to cause extreme difficulties for many social housing landlords, who have to balance ongoing waiting lists and limited available housing stock and it is unlikely to be practicable to retain empty properties solely as a decanting resource. An option may be for landlords to re-negotiate their contracts with local authorities to ensure that they retain more control over lettings. An alternative solution is paid-for hotel accommodation, but this will only serve to squeeze already stretch budgets, at a time when increased funding streams appear unlikely.

  • Stock condition reports: it would be helpful for social landlords to understand where the risks are within their properties, and the nature and form of those risks. For example, it is accepted that contributory factors for damp and mould include structural issues, poor ventilation and over-crowding. All of these issues ought to form part of the stock condition report, and should therefore be monitored on a rolling basis. Damp and mould are largely seasonal issues and this variance in presentation ought to be taken into account when undertaking condition reports.

  • Staff knowledge: it will be helpful for providers to understand where and how concerns are likely to enter their business. For example, first notification may be through a customer contact centre, and if so it will be necessary for customer-facing staff to be aware of the potential hazards being reported by tenants, and how they as representatives of the landlord can help identify emergency repairs – to ensure compliance with the relevant timescales. Staff may require training and education in this regard to ensure that they are alive to possible risks. There also needs to be consideration as to how staff engage with customers and the language which they use when discussing issues arising.

  • Escalation processes: once a concern has entered into a business, landlords need processes to be able to respond in a timely manner and in compliance with the above timescales. Where works are required, there needs to be available maintenance and repairing resource to respond. Where these resources cannot be sourced internally, it would be prudent to have procedures in place to ensure that third party contractors can be appointed and are ablet o attend. In this case, it would also be beneficial to implement procedures and monitoring relating to the quality of work undertaken by third parties.

  • Record-keeping: in light of the reasonable endeavours defence social housing landlords must be able to demonstrate what steps they have taken on becoming aware of a risk, and in responding to it. This will include attempts to engage with tenants, access properties and adherence to timescales. Should a query be later raised in terms that there has been non-compliance by the landlord, it will only help to have access to this information and data in an easily accessible format.

Conclusion

Despite the time taken for Awaab’s law to finally come into force, the direction of travel has been clear for a long time and although the recently issued guidance is to be welcomed, it ought not to come as a complete surprise to social housing providers.

What remains to be seen is how the application of Awaab’s law develops in practice, and specifically the extent and circumstances which will satisfy the reasonable endeavours defence. It is inevitable that case law will develop around this issue, and additional guidance may be required in due course.

Whilst the new obligations are clear, they will undoubtedly create real and practical difficulties for landlords: the resources to respond and comply with the new timescales must be secured. Compliance with Awaab’s Law will be a challenge but must nonetheless be a priority for providers going forwards. This may mean that other aspects of the landlord’s operations have to be de-prioritised by an equivalent amount, which may only serve in the long-term to prejudice those whom Awaab’s Law is designed to protect – the tenants.

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