The Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 came into force in October 2025. More widely known as Awaab’s Law, what’s been the impact on Soha residents in the six months since its introduction?
Awaab’s Law details several requirements of Soha as a social landlord. We haven’t had to change our responses hugely but we have consolidated and strengthened our processes to make sure we can help you quickly if you spot a hazard.
Social landlords must
- make emergency hazards safe within your home in 24 hours
- investigate significant hazards relating to damp and mould in your home within 10 working days
- provide you with a written summary of our findings, outlining what we are going to do to fix the issue, and when, within three days of coming to inspect.
- make your home safe from damp and mould (for example by carrying out a mould wash) within five days of inspection
- start additional work to fix the cause of the issue or prevent it from returning within twelve weeks of your initial call to us
We also have to provide temporary accommodation if we can’t make homes safe within the timescales, and this is one element of our service to residents that has changed notably since Awaab’s Law came into force, says Jude McCaffrey, Head of Housing.
“Residents sometimes might also experience other emergencies, including electrical or gas faults. We are carefully managing our relationships with private providers, as well as our own available housing stock, so that there will always be somewhere to move a resident in to in an emergency. The number of emergency moves made in the last six months already exceeds the number for the previous 12 months. It seems this need is only set to increase because of Awaab’s Law.”
If we or another social landlord doesn’t stick to the timescales Awaab’s Law requires, tenants can take legal action through the courts for a breach of contract (that is, us breaking the tenancy agreement we have with you).
Further elements of Awaab’s Law, covering other hazards in rented social housing, such as electrical ones, will come into effect in the next two phases. It will eventually apply to the private rented market, as well. The Law does not apply to shared ownership homes.
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If you identify something in your home that concerns you, just phone us (or ask someone to call it in for you). We ask you to phone so that you get straight through to someone who can reassure that we’re on the case. Contacting us by emails or social media messages means valuable time can be lost before we can react. A call to Soha won’t cost you anything if you use our Freephone number 0800 014 15 45.