What is Awaab's Law?

by Tillie Dawson

 

Awaab’s Law is a part of the biggest social housing reform in over a decade, following the preventable death of two-year old Awaab Ishak in 2020, who passed as a result of exposure to mould in the social home. The shock of his death pushed the Government to take safety concerns from residents in social housing more seriously, with the introduction of the Social Housing Regulation Bill 2023. Awaab’s Law was introduced in this Bill as Clause 42. It is being introduced in two phases. Phase 1 has focused on emergency hazards that pose a significant risk of harm, whereas Phase 2 will further expand the regulation to cover additional dangers.

Phase 1 (October 2025)

With the aim of reductions in poor housing conditions and landlord negligence, Awaab’s Law has set out certain requirements that must be met by landlords. The most substantial are the new time frames set out in tenancy agreements in order to pressurise landlords into action by holding them accountable for any delays in repairs.

These include:

  1. A time limit for social landlords to investigate cases of damp and mould within 14 days of a complaint being risen.
  2. Landlords must ensure they keep an appropriate log of any reported hazards, all correspondence with residents and any attempts to comply with the requirements.
  3. When there is a report of damp and mould, it must not be labelled as the resident’s fault. Blame should not be allocated to tenants for simply living in their home, such as drying clothes indoors. Instead, there is a responsibility on landlords to ensure adequate ventilation, for example.
  4.  Within 14 days, a written summary of the findings from the inspection of the reported hazard should be completed and provided to the resident, including a schedule of works, timeline and next steps.
  5.  Emergency repairs must be actioned within 24 hours. This includes gas leaks, broken boilers and water leaks etc.
  6.  If the property cannot be made safe and habitable within a reasonable time scale, the landlord must offer alternative accommodation for the tenants.
  7.  If a hazard is deemed a medical risk to the resident by either a registered provider or a medical professional, then work to the property must begin within 7 days of the written summary being issued.

Phase 2 (Autumn 2026)

The second phase predicted to be implemented in Autumn this year will extend the hazard investigation deadlines to include a wider range of serious building hazards found within social housing. This will now include:

  1. Thermal comfort, e.g. excess cold and heat
  2. Structural safety
  3. Fire and electrical hazards
  4. Accident risks and hygiene
  5. Sanitisation and food safety risks.

What impact will this have on law firms dealing with housing disrepair claims?

 With the hope that Awaab’s Law will reduce housing disrepair issues, there should be a reduction in the need for lawyers to have to get involved. Overall, if it works, this legislation will have a positive impact on the quality of social housing for tenants as it is creating more rigid requirements that social landlords must comply with. The firmness regarding timescales, for example, creates clarity over expectations of the landlord. So, if this is not met, it is clearer for tenants, landlords and the courts to see the negligence.

Of course, that depends on landlords complying with their obligations.

Additionally, there are areas of ambiguity within the new law which may lead to differences in interpretations and subsequent housing disrepair claims for firms. For example, there is concern over the lack of focus on a more rigid timescale for completion of works. No exact timescale was given for this due to the subjective schedule of works which would differ for each property. However, this vagueness could create issues with tenant and landlord expectations and lead to an influx of housing disrepair claims, meaning law firms may not be negatively impacted by Awaab’s Law.

Rather, law firms may need to prepare for an influx in claims, as, although these requirements have been legislated, social landlords may not abide by them, meaning that there will be even more claims brought forward as landlords continue to fail to provide decent, safe homes for their tenants.