What Awaab’s Law actually requires (Phase 1 from 27 October 2025)

From 27 October 2025, social landlords in England must follow strict, time-boxed processes when a potential hazard is identified—especially damp and mould.

The key clocks

• Emergency hazards: investigate and complete safety work as soon as reasonably practicable and within 24 hours of awareness.

• Significant hazards (e.g., serious damp/mould):

  • Investigate within 10 working days of awareness.

  • Provide a written summary of findings to the named tenant within 3 working days after the investigation concludes.

  • Undertake safety work within 5 working days of the investigation concluding.

  • Begin further works within 5 working days; if that’s not possible, start as soon as possible and within 12 weeks.

• If the home cannot be made safe within the timeframes, provide suitable alternative accommodation at the landlord’s expense until it can.

• Keep tenants updated throughout and evidence what you’ve done.

Phased scope

• 2025: Emergencies and damp/mould.

• 2026: Expansion to additional hazards (e.g., excess cold/heat, fire/electrical, structural risks, hygiene).

• 2027: Full HHSRS coverage (except overcrowding).

Enforcement & redress
Awaab’s Law is implied into social tenancy agreements. Tenants can bring claims for breach; courts can order repairs, compensation, and costs. The Ombudsman and the Regulator of Social Housing will expect demonstrable compliance.

Private rented sector (PRS): Government policy is to extend Awaab’s Law to PRS via the Renters’ Rights Bill, with the detailed approach to be consulted on. Landlords should expect similar time-boxed duties and start preparing now.

Why “bolt-on” won’t work

Awaab’s Law touches triage, dispatch, technical diagnosis, tenant communications, documentation, procurement, stock investment, decanting and governance. Stitching a new SLA on top of an old policy won’t deliver:

1. Triage speed & accuracy. You must classify emergency vs significant quickly, then hit the 24-hour / 10-day / 5-day clocks. Many policies don’t triage on health-risk criteria or track “day zero” accurately.

2. Evidence & auditability. The regime requires written summaries and documented decision-making within 3 working days. Legacy systems often can’t generate compliant artefacts fast enough.

3. Contractor capacity & SLAs. You’ll need pre-procured capacity that can attend within 24 hours (emergencies) and complete safety work in 5 working days—plus a path to start follow-on works within 12 weeks.

4. Alternative accommodation. If a home can’t be made safe in time, you must decant at your expense. Most repairs policies don’t integrate a decant workflow or budget line.

5. Root-cause fixes, not paint-overs. The expectations favour deficiency-based remedies (ventilation, insulation, leak elimination, heating performance), not lifestyle lectures or cosmetic treatments.

6. Regulatory scrutiny. With complaints high and media attention intense, superficial policy edits risk enforcement, compensation, and reputational harm.

What to change—an operational playbook

1) Write a dedicated Awaab’s Law procedure (don’t bury it in “Repairs v12”). Include:

• Day-zero capture (how and when you become aware), clock-start rules, and working-day counters.

• A triage matrix to decide emergency vs significant with clear thresholds and examples.

• Golden timers: 24h emergency completion; 10-day investigation; 3-day summary; 5-day safety work; 12-week start for longer works.

• Escalation for missed milestones.

2) Re-engineer your contact centre & CRM.

• Force-pick hazard type; auto-start timers; auto-create the written summary task; generate tenant-facing letters/SMS in plain English.

• Build a compliance dashboard showing live breaches/risks by patch and contractor, with alerts before each deadline.

3) Procure capacity for the clocks you’ve just accepted.

• Rapid-response damp/mould, leak detection, electrical safety, and temporary heating/ventilation measures.

• A panel of contractors with guaranteed 24h emergency attendance and 5-day safety remediation SLAs; an escalation path if the first contractor fails.

4) Pre-plan decants.

• Frameworks or block-booked temporary accommodation; travel/food allowances; furniture/storage vendors.

• Decision rules for when to decant vs when temporary measures make it safe to stay.

• A communications script and expense policy to keep residents informed.

5) Fix root causes at scale.

• Targeted ventilation upgrades, insulation and thermal-bridge remedies, damp-proofing, leak prevention; prioritise worst stock.

• Consider humidity/temperature sensors and proactive inspection regimes.

6) Train everyone.

• Front-line, surveyors, contractors, housing officers, and complaints handlers: hazard recognition, scripts, photographic evidence standards, and the evidence pack you’ll need if challenged.

7) Governance & assurance.

• Monthly Awaab’s Law breach review, internal audit sampling, and board reporting.

• Align with Decent Homes and prepare for PRS extension under the Renters’ Rights Bill.

Insurance: what isn’t (and is) likely to respond

Awaab’s Law is a compliance duty. That has real consequences for how insurance interacts:

• Not a substitute for compliance. Policies typically won’t cover fines/penalties or the cost of complying with the law (e.g., bringing properties up to standard or routine remediation of long-term damp/mould).

• Property damage policies often exclude gradual damp/mould, unless damage is the direct result of an insured peril (e.g., a sudden escape of water) and the wording is extended accordingly.

• Liability covers (e.g., Property Owners’/Public Liability) may respond to third-party injury/illness claims where negligence is alleged, but robust Awaab’s Law compliance and documentation will be central to your defence.

• Management Liability/D&O may cover certain defence costs for senior decision-makers (subject to terms/exclusions).

• Legal expenses may support defence/claims handling, not routine compliance work.

• Alternative accommodation: the statute expects you to fund decants when you can’t make a home safe in time. Do not assume your policy pays; cover is typically limited to insured-damage scenarios, not statutory time-limit breaches.

• Contractor risk transfer: check your contractors’ PL/PI limits, damp/mould endorsements, and response SLAs align with your new duties.

Action with your broker: map gap risks (decant costs without insured damage; damp/mould exclusions; evidence standards; aggregator deductibles), review sub-limits and endorsements, and consider practical extensions or alternative structures where available.

Key dates & who’s affected

• 27 October 2025: Phase 1 goes live for social landlords in England—emergency hazards (24h) and significant damp/mould timelines apply.

• 2026: Regulations expand to additional hazard categories.

• 2027: Full HHSRS (except overcrowding).

• PRS extension: Government intends to extend Awaab’s Law to private rentals via the Renters’ Rights Bill following consultation.

The bottom line

Treat Awaab’s Law as a new operating model—not an appendix. The timeframes, documentation and decant duty make that unavoidable. If you build the right triage → fix → evidence → learn loop now, you’ll protect residents, cut claim risk, and be ready when the PRS extension arrives. The message is clear: no more bolt-ons.

This article provides general information for UK landlords—not legal advice. Always consult your legal advisers and your insurance broker about your specific position.

Research Resources

UK Government & Parliament

• DLUHC — “Awaab’s Law: Draft guidance for social landlords” (25 Jun 2025). gov.uk

• GOV.UK news release — “Awaab’s Law to force landlords to fix dangerous homes” (6 Feb 2025). gov.uk

• Hansard — Housing Safety: “Awaab’s Law” and Electrical Checks (Commons debate, 25 Jun 2025). hansard.parliament.uk

• House of Commons Library — “Renters’ Rights Bill 2024–25” briefing (3 Oct 2024). House of Commons Library

• GOV.UK — “Guide to the Renters’ Rights Bill” (16 Jan 2025). gov.uk

Regulators & Sector Bodies

• Housing Ombudsman — Awaab’s Law (key topics hub, updated 2025). Housing Ombudsman

• Housing Ombudsman — Statement on Awaab’s Law (6 Feb 2025). Housing Ombudsman

• National Housing Federation — Awaab’s Law explainer/timelines (7 Feb 2025). National Housing Federation

Trade Press & Analysis

• Inside Housing — “Landlords warned that bolting Awaab’s Law on to existing policies will not work” (recent). insidehousing.co.uk

• Inside Housing (Comment) — “Lessons from the Ombudsman: 16 steps to prepare for Awaab’s Law” (17 Jul 2025). insidehousing.co.uk

• Kennedys Law — “Awaab’s Law – Phase 1 to come into force in October 2025” (9 Jul 2025). Kennedys Law

Practice Notes (Local Authority)

• London Borough of Tower Hamlets — “Update: Preparing for Awaab’s Law – Phase 1” (Sep 2025, committee paper PDF). towerhamlets.moderngov.co.uk

Tenant-Facing Guidance (context)

• Shelter England — “Awaab’s law: upcoming changes to the law on damp and mould” (professional resources). Shelter England