Introduced in October 2025, Awaab’s Law is a piece of legislation designed to protect those living in social housing by ensuring providers and landlords investigate and fix serious health issues in their houses.
Why the law exists
The Regulations were named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who sadly died in 2020 as a result of a severe respiratory condition caused by poor living conditions in his home, with prolonged exposure to mould being a key factor.
Awaab’s parents had complained to their social landlord for three years prior, but to no avail. Living in a hazardous environment causes serious health and safety concerns, but no remedial action was taken.
The initial guidance improved protections for tenants and forced social landlords to address all emergency hazards, as well as all damp and mould hazards that present a “significant risk” to tenants. Phase 2 goes significantly further in what it covers.
What Phase 2 of Awaab’s Law covers
Phase 2 comes into force from 30 November 2026, and aims to extend the law to encompass the following hazards, where they present a “significant risk of harm.” These include: excess cold or heat, structural defects, risks of falling, fire risks, and hygiene issues including pest infestations.
These issues represent some of the most common complaints in social housing, and many of them have a direct connection to the condition of the property’s external fabric, roofline, and structure.
Structural defects, excess cold caused by poor insulation or outdated or broken windows, and fall hazards caused by disrepair are all areas of concern that can be affected by the condition of the property’s exterior face, and all of these can be a reportable hazard.
Timeframes for repair works
The Regulations have also set out the timelines in which housing providers and landlords are required to address the hazards reported. These are the maximum statutory timeframes in which action must be taken, however, it is said that landlords and providers should “act more quickly if circumstances require.” These are legal requirements, and not to be treated as guidelines.
Day Zero is classified as the day that the potential hazard has been reported and the landlord is made aware of this. There is then an assessment based on all available information to determine whether the issue is classified as ‘significant’ or ‘emergency’, or if it is covered by Awaab’s Law.
Emergency hazards must be investigated and the relevant safety work completed within 24 hours of the report.
Significant hazards must be investigated within 10 working days, with a written summary of findings to be provided to the tenant within three working days of the investigation concluding. After that, the relevant safety work must begin within five working days.
Where there is supplementary preventative work required, this must begin within five working days of the investigation concluding, or as soon as reasonably practical. At most, this is a 12-week deadline.
If safety work cannot be completed within those timescales, suitable alternative accommodation must be arranged for the tenant at the landlord’s expense.
What the new guidelines mean for planned maintenance
For housing providers that run planned maintenance programmes, Phase 2 of Awaab’s Law makes it clear that critical repairs cannot be deferred and that preventative maintenance is more important than ever.
Once a tenant reports an issue, the countdown for the 10-working day investigation timeline starts.
The most effective way to manage compliance with Awaab’s Law for housing providers is to be ahead of any potential issues through proactive inspections, planned maintenance programmes, and utilising contractors that understand the issues. This helps address the root cause of problems before they become reportable.
Several of the hazards covered by Phase 2 are directly linked to the work we carry out at DMD Installations. Excess cold and damp issues can arise from deteriorating cladding, fascias, soffits and guttering; structural defects can be linked to failing rooflines or cladding; potential fall hazards are tied to external fabric falling into disrepair. All of these areas are where planned maintenance programmes can prevent these from appearing in the first place.
How DMD Installations can help you prepare
We have a wealth of experience delivering planned maintenance contracts and responsive repairs for housing associations and local authorities across the East of England since 2003, working across roofline, cladding and roofing programmes from single-site works, all the way to contracts that span thousands of properties.
If your organisation is reviewing its maintenance programme ahead of Phase 2 of Awaab’s Law, get in touch to talk through your requirements and what this means for you.