Awaab’s Law has been in force for social landlords since October 2025, covering damp, mould and emergency hazards. On 30 November 2026 it moves into phase 2, and the same strict timescales will apply to seven more types of hazard. If you manage, repair or maintain social housing, that’s a big change to how reports need to be handled, and it’s only a few weeks away.
Here’s what’s changing, what the timescales are, and what we’d suggest getting in place now.
A quick recap: what Awaab’s Law is
Awaab’s Law is named after Awaab Ishak, the two-year-old who died in 2020 after long exposure to mould in his family’s social housing flat in Rochdale. It sets legal deadlines for social landlords to investigate and fix hazards once they’re aware of them, and to keep tenants informed along the way.
Phase 1 applied those deadlines to damp and mould, plus any emergency hazard that poses an imminent risk to health or safety. Phase 2 widens the list.
The seven hazards added from 30 November 2026
Phase 2 brings in seven more hazard categories from the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS):
- Excess cold, such as broken heating, poor insulation or draughty windows
- Excess heat, such as homes that overheat with no way to cool them
- Falls, including falls on the level, on stairs and between levels
- Structural collapse and falling elements
- Fire and explosions
- Electrical hazards
- Domestic hygiene, including pests, refuse, personal hygiene and food safety
Phase 3 will follow, extending the rules to the remaining HHSRS hazards, apart from overcrowding. The government expects that in 2027, but hasn’t set a date yet.
The timescales landlords must meet
The deadlines are the same as phase 1. What changes is how many types of report they now apply to.
- Emergency hazards: investigate and make safe within 24 hours of becoming aware of the hazard.
- Significant hazards: start investigating within 10 working days.
- Written summary: give the tenant a written summary of the findings within 3 working days of the investigation finishing.
- Safety work: begin the work needed to make the home safe within 5 working days of the investigation finishing.
- Further preventative work: begin within 5 working days where possible, and otherwise as soon as reasonably practicable, within 12 weeks.
Landlords also need records that show when a report came in, how it was categorised, when it was investigated, what was done, what the tenant was told and when the work was finished. If it isn’t written down, it’s very hard to show the deadlines were met.
Why phase 2 is a bigger step than it looks
Damp and mould are usually reported as damp and mould. The new hazards are less obvious. A tenant might call about a loose stair rail, a heater that keeps tripping the electrics, a pest problem in a shared bin store or a bedroom that’s too hot to sleep in. None of those calls will mention Awaab’s Law, but each one could now start the clock.
That puts a lot of weight on the people who take the first call or visit the property: call handlers, housing officers, surveyors and repairs operatives, including contractors working on a landlord’s behalf. They need to recognise a hazard, judge whether it could be an emergency and pass it on quickly and in the right way.
What to do before 30 November
- Read the phase 2 guidance. The government published updated landlord guidance and a phase 2 hazards annex in July 2026. Your policies should reflect it.
- Update your policies and processes. Check how reports are logged, triaged and escalated, and make sure the new hazard types are covered from first contact to sign-off.
- Train frontline and repairs teams. Everyone who might receive or assess a report needs to know the seven new hazards, the timescales and what to do next.
- Brief your contractors. Make sure the companies you use understand their part in meeting the deadlines and in record keeping.
- Check your records. Make sure your systems can capture every step, with dates, so you can show what happened and when.
- Plan tenant communication. Written summaries need to be clear and sent on time, so templates and sign-off routes help.
How we can help
At arlo, we work with housing associations, local authorities and contractors to make Awaab’s Law part of everyday work rather than a last-minute scramble. Our support includes:
- Role-based Awaab’s Law training, from repairs teams to senior leaders
- HHSRS and hazard awareness training, so teams can spot, assess and escalate the new hazard types
- Compliance health checks covering your policies, processes, records and team knowledge, with clear, prioritised actions
- Ongoing health, safety and HSEQ support
There’s still time to get your teams ready for 30 November. Find out more about our Awaab’s Law training and compliance support, or get in touch and we’ll talk you through the options.