The ‘Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025’ also known as Awaab’s Law, were laid in Parliament on 25 June 2025. Subject to parliamentary approval, the Government intends to bring the regulations into force for social landlords on 27 October 2025. 

Guidance has been provided for social landlords and further guidance for tenants will be produced before the regulations come into force.

The application of Awaab’s Law will be fact-specific and therefore, social landlords will need to make their own judgement as to what Awaab’s Law may require in any particular case. Clear internal policies with the right governance and oversight to ensure they are applied and fit for purpose will be essential to ensure consistent application of Awaab’s Law. 

Overview

• On receipt of a report of a potential hazard, social landlords must review the information about the hazard as against the resident’s specific circumstances and make an initial assessment as to whether the issue is a potential ‘significant’ or ‘emergency’ hazard which would fall under Awaab’s law.
• If deemed an emergency hazard, the social landlord must investigate within 24hours. Then works must be done to make the property safe within 24hours. If this cannot occur, then suitable alternative accommodation must be offered. A written summary of the investigation must be provided within three working days of the inspection.
• If the initial assessment concludes there may be a potential ‘significant’ hazard, but not an emergency hazard, the social landlord must investigate any potential significant hazards within ten working days of becoming aware of them. A written summary of investigation must be provided within three working days of inspection. Any required works must begin within 5 working days of the investigation concluding.
• If steps cannot be taken to begin work in five working days, this must be done as soon as possible, and work must be physically started within 12 weeks.
• Works must be satisfactorily completed within a ‘reasonable time period’. Again this is to be determined when considering the tenant/occupier's specific circumstances.
• The tenant should be kept updated throughout the process and provided with information on how to stay safe.
• The hazard does NOT have to be at category 1 level under HHSRS to be in scope.

Awaab’s law will apply to almost all social housing properties occupied under a tenancy. Exceptions are:

• temporary accommodation, supported accommodation, or other housing occupied under a licence; and
• long leaseholds or other owner-occupied accommodation and low-cost home ownership homes, including shared ownership.

Awaab’s law does not cover cladding or ‘Acts of God’. It will extend to communal areas and gardens if those are areas for which the social landlord is responsible.

Takeaways

• Review all relevant policies - We strongly recommend that clients now review all relevant policies and procedures, paying specific attention to those covering repairs, access and decanting. 
• Are managing agents involved? Consideration should be given to situations where managing agents are involved to ensure notification is effective. Managing agreements should be reviewed. 
• Review internal systems - A review of internal systems should be carried out to ensure they comply with UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, noting that GDPR places special restrictions on the collection and recording of health data.
• Review your stock - Review your stock to ensure that you hold good quality information about your homes and who is living in them. Ensure that you have accurately recorded any details that have been shared with you, including any circumstances that might make a tenant/occupier more vulnerable to a specific hazard, and information on how best to contact the tenant and any reasonable adjustments, for example relating to languages or support needs. 
• Review your complaints procedure - Review your complaints procedure to ensure that it complies with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaints Handling Code. Specifically, it should include information about how to raise a complaint or challenge a social landlord’s decision and how to contact the Housing Ombudsman Service.
• Inform tenants - Inform tenants of your preferred ways to report potential hazards. Consideration should be given as to whether social media platforms are an appropriate way to report potential hazards, if they are not monitored 24/7.
• Review contractor agreements - Review existing contractor agreements to confirm they are consistent with Awaab’s Law.
• Review decant arrangements - Review decant arrangements to ensure sufficient properties/availability.
• Train staff on touch points - Train staff to ensure that all touch points with tenants and occupiers count so that you are able to keep information on the occupants in properties updated.
• Train staff on the HHSRS hazards - Train your staff on the HHSRS hazards together with Awaab’s Law and your obligations under the Regulations.
• Who will be responsible for carrying out the investigations and reports? Decide who will be responsible for carrying out the investigation and preparing the report for each of the HHSRS hazards, noting that lighting and noise (which will come into force in 2027) may fall outside the parameters of your repairs team.
• IT systems - Ensure that your IT systems are sufficiently advanced and work in conjunction with each other so that Awaab law complaints can be cross referenced against Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims.

Next steps

At Anthony Collins, we can support you in navigating these takeaway actions. Please contact me for further information.