Awaab’s Law Phase 2: Guidance for Social Landlords

Awaab's Law began with damp and mould, but the 2026 changes go much further. Social landlords who treat Phase 2 as simply “more of the same” could be taken by surprise - the scope, the pace, and the operational demands are all stepping up, and the organisations that prepare early will be the ones that weather the transition smoothly.

Phase 1 of Awaab's Law came into force on 27 October 2025. It set clear, tenant-focused timescales to investigate and fix damp and mould hazards. It also promised emergency repairs would not take more than 24 hours. For many landlords, that responsibility naturally landed with repairs and damp and mould teams, who took it on as their own and built processes around it.

 From 2026, Phase 2 will change this significantly. The requirements will expand well beyond damp and mould to cover a much broader range of major hazards in social housing, including excess cold and heat, fire and electrical risks, and structural issues, as well as slips, trips, and falls in and around the home.

Starting 30 November 2026, Awaab’s Law will be broadened to cover the following hazards, when they pose a substantial risk of harm:

• excess cold

• excess heat

• falls, slips and trips

• structural collapse

• fire and explosions

• electrical hazards

• domestic hygiene

A third phase is expected in 2027. It will extend the same duties to almost all remaining hazards. Overcrowding will be the only exception. Taken together, this represents one of the most significant shifts in social housing compliance in recent years, and landlords who have only prepared for damp and mould will need to broaden their thinking considerably.

What is the Significance of The Changes to Awaab's Law?

The fundamental government message remains the same: landlords must be capable of identifying, examining and fixing serious hazards within set timeframes, while keeping tenants clearly updated at every stage. What is evolving is the breadth of coverage and the practical operating capacity required to deliver on it.

In real terms, this signals a move away from an overly reactive repairs mindset toward one grounded in proactive hazard detection. Simply waiting for a tenant to flag an issue is no longer sufficient. Landlords now have a responsibility to lead with a proactive approach rather than a reactive one, implementing systems that can spot early signs of hazards before they escalate into something dangerous.

This shift has real implications for how organisations are structured internally. Where damp and mould responsibilities could often sit with a single specialist team, Phase 2's wider hazard list touches nearly every part of a landlord's operation: asset management, electrical compliance, fire safety, health and safety, and day-to-day repairs will all need to work from the same playbook and the same statutory clock. Landlords that continue to manage these areas in isolated silos may find it far harder to hit the required timescales consistently, simply because information about a hazard doesn't reach the right team quickly enough. 

Data plays an increasingly important role here too. Landlords who can draw on a single, reliable source of stock condition data - one that flags when a boiler, a handrail, or a fire door is approaching the end of its safe working life - will be far better placed to catch hazards before a tenant ever needs to report them. Those relying on scattered spreadsheets, out-of-date surveys, or systems that don't talk to one another will struggle to build the proactive picture Phase 2 demands.

An example of a standard investigation. Credit: Government Guidance

Here's how that might play out in practice: say a standard investigation takes place on working day 10 and turns up a significant hazard. From that point, the landlord needs to:

• Ensure the property is made safe no later than 5 working days after the investigation has concluded.

• Provide the tenant with a written summary within 3 working days, so they’re not left uncertain about the next steps.

• Start, or clearly progress toward, any additional preventative works required to prevent the hazard from returning, also within 5 working days.

That said, the practical difficulty of meeting these timescales will vary considerably by hazard type. A missing handrail can often be fixed within days. A structural issue or a widespread electrical fault may require specialist contractors, parts, or scaffolding, making the 5-working-day safety window far harder to hit without forward planning, pre-agreed contractor arrangements, and a stock of common materials held ready. 

Regulators and tenants alike will expect a clear audit trail showing when a hazard was reported, when it was investigated, and when each statutory deadline was met. Building this record-keeping into everyday systems now, rather than trying to reconstruct it after the fact, will save considerable time and stress once the clock is genuinely running on live cases.

How Ecosafe Support Social Housing Providers

At Ecosafe Group, we're already working with landlords who are getting ahead of the November 2026 deadline. Much of that work focuses on hazards most likely to trigger a Phase 2 investigation. This includes slips, trips, and falls, which are now clearly in scope.

Together, we're helping landlords look closely at:

• Floor finishes and transitions in homes and shared areas can cause trips and falls. Uneven surfaces and poor joins between floor types are common trip triggers.

• Check handrails, balustrades, and stair edges in blocks to ensure they meet current standards and maintenance requirements, not just that they exist.

• External access routes, ramps and steps that could contribute to falls, especially in poorly lit or exposed areas.

• How quickly reported hazards are logged, inspected and resolved, making sure processes can realistically hit the 3-day and 5-day statutory windows once Phase 2 takes effect.

The good news is none of this has to wait until November. The landlords who’ll feel most assured when Phase 2 comes into force will be those who use the coming months to review their properties against the updated hazard categories, tighten up inspection and reporting routines, and embed preventative jobs into day-to-day maintenance, rather than relying only on last-minute emergency repairs. Early engagement also gives landlords time to test their processes against real cases, refine referral pathways between teams, and identify gaps in contractor capacity before the statutory clock is running.

Ultimately, this is about more than ticking a compliance box. It's about catching the everyday things - a missing handrail, an icy path to the front door - before they have the chance to hurt someone.

If you have further questions, or would like more information on our services, please contact sales@ecosafegroup.co.uk