Awaab’s Law Phase 2: New Social Housing Repair Deadlines From 30 November 2026

In Brief

Awaab's Law Phase 2 is due to take effect in England on 30 November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval of the draft amendment regulations. It will extend the fixed response deadlines for significant hazards in social housing beyond damp and mould to excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards, and domestic and personal hygiene and food safety. The rules will continue to require social landlords to respond to all emergency hazards within 24 hours.

The change affects local authorities, housing associations and other registered providers of social housing. It does not currently impose the same Phase 2 regime on private landlords. Social landlords should now test their triage, contractor, out-of-hours, record-keeping and alternative accommodation systems. Tenants should understand what must happen after a hazard is reported and should keep evidence of reports, inspections and incomplete work. OTS Solicitors' landlord and tenant solicitors advise social landlords and tenants on housing conditions, disrepair, complaints, urgent repairs and related court proceedings.

The statutory timetable is only part of the legal analysis. Whether a condition is an emergency or significant hazard depends on the condition itself, the risk of harm and the circumstances of the people living in the property. A missed deadline may support a complaint or legal claim, but it does not give every tenant an automatic or identical right to compensation.

What Is Changing Under Awaab's Law on 30 November 2026?

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published its Phase 2 landlord guidance and hazards annex on 13 July 2026. The government also published the draft amendment regulations and consolidated Phase 2 text intended to bring the wider hazard categories into the regime from 30 November 2026. As at 16 July 2026, those amendment regulations are subject to the draft affirmative procedure and require parliamentary approval before they become law.

Phase 1 came into force on 27 October 2025. It covers all emergency hazards and significant damp and mould hazards. The government's official Awaab's Law collection confirms that the Phase 1 guidance remains operative until 11:59pm on 29 November 2026. The Phase 2 guidance is intended to apply from the following day.

Issue	Phase 1: current position	Phase 2: due from 30 November 2026
Emergency hazards	All emergency hazards are already covered.	All emergency hazards remain covered.
Significant hazards	Significant damp and mould hazards.	Damp and mould plus excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards, and domestic hygiene hazards.
Main purpose	Rapid investigation and safety work for urgent risks, with fixed damp and mould timescales.	A broader operational safety framework applying the same core timetable to additional serious hazards.
Housing covered	Almost all social housing in England occupied under a tenancy and let by a registered provider, subject to statutory exceptions.	The same social housing scope. Phase 2 does not currently extend these duties to the private rented sector.

Who must comply?

Awaab's Law applies to registered providers of social housing in England, including local authorities and private registered providers such as housing associations. It applies to almost all social housing occupied under a tenancy. The government guidance says it can include social temporary or supported accommodation where the property is occupied under a tenancy.

The regime does not generally apply to accommodation occupied under a licence, long leasehold or owner-occupied accommodation, or low-cost home ownership arrangements such as shared ownership. Landlords should still check their other repairing, fitness, safeguarding and health and safety obligations where Awaab's Law does not apply.

Which Hazards Are Added in Phase 2?

Phase 2 is intended to extend the significant-hazard requirements to seven broad categories. The categories should not be treated as a checklist that automatically determines severity. Landlords must assess the actual risk to the household, using the Phase 2 hazards guidance alongside competent professional judgment where required.

Excess cold and excess heat

The condition of the heating system, insulation, windows, ventilation and the ability to control indoor temperature may all be relevant. The risk can be more serious for babies, older people and tenants with respiratory, cardiovascular or other health conditions. A routine heating repair may become an emergency where the household's circumstances create an immediate serious risk.

Falls and structural collapse

Phase 2 includes falls on the level, on stairs and between levels, as well as structural collapse and falling elements. Examples may include dangerous stairs, missing or defective handrails, unsafe flooring, unstable ceilings, loose masonry or serious structural movement. The correct response will depend on the immediacy and seriousness of the risk.

Fire, explosions and electrical hazards

Unsafe electrics, exposed wiring, defective installations, fire risks and explosion risks may require urgent action by appropriately qualified contractors. An automated repairs category should never delay escalation where the information indicates an immediate risk to life or serious injury.

Domestic hygiene, personal hygiene and food safety

This category can include serious sanitation, washing, drainage, pest, waste or food-storage risks arising from defects, disrepair or lack of maintenance for which the landlord is responsible. Landlords should not dismiss damp, pest or hygiene reports as a tenant 'lifestyle' issue without a proper investigation of the building and the household's circumstances.

What Are the Awaab's Law Repair Deadlines?

The deadlines run from the landlord's awareness of a potential hazard or from the conclusion of an investigation, depending on the duty. The 24-hour emergency period begins immediately. For the working-day deadlines, day one is normally the day after the triggering event.

Stage	Emergency hazard	Significant hazard	Important point
Investigation	Complete the investigation within 24 hours of becoming aware of a potential emergency hazard.	Complete the investigation within 10 working days of becoming aware of the potential significant hazard.	Triage is part of the process and does not pause the statutory clock.
Relevant safety work	If an emergency hazard is identified, complete the work needed to make the property safe as soon as reasonably practicable and within the applicable 24-hour period.	If a significant hazard is identified, complete relevant safety work within 5 working days after the investigation concludes.	If the home cannot be made safe in time, suitable alternative accommodation must be secured at the landlord's expense.
Written summary	Provide a summary within 3 working days after the investigation where the regulatory requirement applies.	Provide a summary within 3 working days after the investigation where the regulatory requirement applies.	A summary may not be required if all required work is completed within that 3-working-day period, but the tenant must still be told that the work is complete.
Supplementary preventative work	Begin, or take steps to begin, work needed to prevent recurrence within 5 working days after the investigation.	The same 5-working-day requirement applies.	If work cannot begin within 5 working days, it must begin as soon as reasonably practicable and within 12 weeks.
Completion and updates	Complete preventative work within a reasonable period and keep the tenant informed.	The same requirement applies.	Temporary measures do not remove the need to address the underlying cause where further work is required.

The 24-hour emergency-hazard duty

Where a social landlord has reasonable grounds to believe there is an emergency hazard, it must investigate and, if the investigation confirms an emergency hazard requiring relevant safety work, make the home safe within 24 hours. The 24 hours run continuously rather than by reference to working days. Weekend, evening and public-holiday reporting arrangements therefore need to be capable of identifying and escalating urgent hazards.

Ten working days to investigate significant hazards

A potential significant hazard must be investigated within ten working days of awareness. An investigation may sometimes be carried out remotely where the available photographs, video or other evidence are sufficient. However, if the tenant specifically requests an in-person investigation, the guidance describes circumstances in which a renewed in-person investigation must be arranged.

Three working days for the written summary

The written summary should identify whether a significant or emergency hazard was found, the hazard identified, the action required and target times for beginning and completing that action. If the investigation concludes that no action is required under the regulations, the summary should explain why. The guidance recognises limited circumstances where no written summary is required because all work needed to make the home safe and prevent recurrence has already been completed within the three-working-day period. Landlords should still communicate the result and retain a clear record.

Relevant safety work and supplementary preventative work

Relevant safety work is the immediate work required to make the property safe. Supplementary preventative work addresses the underlying cause and reduces the risk of the hazard recurring. For example, temporary heating may reduce an immediate excess-cold risk, but further work may still be needed to repair the heating system, windows or insulation.

Landlords should not close a repair simply because a short-term measure has reduced the immediate danger. Their records should distinguish the safety action taken, the remaining root-cause work, the target date and responsibility for completion.

When Does the Clock Start?

Awaab's Law duties begin when the landlord becomes aware of a potential significant or emergency hazard. That may happen through a telephone call, online repair report, complaint, inspection, housing officer, maintenance employee or other route. The statutory timetable is not postponed until the matter is entered into the formal complaints system or allocated the correct repairs code.

The guidance also indicates that awareness held by another employee of a local authority or, depending on the arrangements, a contractor acting for the landlord may be attributed to the landlord. Social landlords should therefore define clear escalation obligations across call centres, housing management, complaints, safeguarding, contractors and out-of-hours services.

Repeat reports and material changes

A repeat report should not automatically be treated as a duplicate and closed. A material change in the condition, risk or household circumstances may require a fresh investigation. Systems should link earlier reports while ensuring that new information triggers appropriate re-triage.

Household vulnerability

The same defect may create a different level of risk for different households. Landlords should consider children, age, disability, pregnancy, respiratory illness, mobility, mental health, medication and other relevant circumstances. Information should be handled lawfully and sensitively, but it must be available to the people making triage and repair decisions.

When Must a Social Landlord Provide Alternative Accommodation?

If relevant safety work cannot be completed within the applicable deadline, the landlord must secure suitable alternative accommodation for the household at its own expense. This is not limited to booking any available room. Suitability should be assessed against the household's actual needs, including disability access, medical treatment, caring responsibilities, schooling, location and household composition.

The landlord should record the options considered, the reasons the accommodation was considered suitable, the period for which it is offered and arrangements for necessary transport or other practical support. If a tenant refuses an offer, the reason for refusal and any further steps should be documented rather than assuming that the landlord's responsibility has ended.

Awaab's Law Phase 2 Compliance Checklist for Social Landlords

Social landlords should use the period before 30 November 2026 to test the full operating model rather than relying on a revised repairs policy alone.

Governance and triage

• Nominate an accountable Phase 2 lead and define senior escalation routes.
• Map every new hazard category to an emergency and significant-hazard pathway.
• Make sure triage captures the condition, risk, household circumstances and exact time of awareness.
• Test evening, weekend and public-holiday arrangements against the continuous 24-hour emergency duty.
• Do not allow automated coding to override professional or safeguarding escalation.

Contractors and service levels

• Rewrite service-level agreements around the statutory investigation and safety-work deadlines.
• Require contractors to escalate suspected emergency hazards immediately.
• Maintain competent backup contractors for electrical, fire, heating and structural risks.
• Prevent a case from being closed solely because of one failed access attempt or contractor cancellation.
• Audit subcontractor records, photographs, attendance times and completion descriptions.

Written summaries and audit trails

• Create a clear written-summary template that records findings, actions and target dates.
• Preserve reports, recordings, inspection notes, photographs, risk decisions and tenant updates.
• Record temporary safety measures separately from permanent or preventative work.
• Link recurring reports and explain any change in triage or prioritisation.
• Retain evidence of reasonable efforts to obtain access and to arrange alternative accommodation.

Accommodation and communication

• Maintain a tested emergency accommodation and decant procedure.
• Build disability, medical, school and caring needs into suitability assessments.
• Tell tenants what immediate safety action has been taken and what remains outstanding.
• Give updates when appointments, diagnoses or permanent repair dates change.
• Provide complaints and escalation information in an accessible format.

Can a Landlord Rely on Contractor Delay or Access Problems?

Using an external contractor does not transfer the landlord's statutory responsibility. Warranty arrangements, shortages or contractor delay may explain operational difficulty, but the landlord remains responsible for meeting the legal requirements through alternative arrangements where necessary.

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 provides a reasonable-endeavours defence. That is not the same as a general exception whenever access or contractor capacity is difficult. A landlord relying on the defence would need evidence of the steps taken, the urgency given to the case, attempts to engage the tenant, alternative contractors considered and any offer of suitable accommodation.

Access issues should be handled proportionately. Landlords should use clear communication, offer reasonable appointments, consider disability or communication needs and preserve records. Immediate safeguarding or emergency concerns may require a different response from an ordinary failed repairs appointment.

What Can a Social Housing Tenant Do if a Deadline Is Missed?

If you are a social housing tenant, keep the original report, photographs, videos, medical information and every update from the landlord. Record when the landlord first became aware, when an inspection took place, what work was completed and whether the danger remained.

1. Follow up in writing and identify the hazard, the date it was reported and the deadline you believe has been missed.
2. Ask for the written investigation summary and details of the safety and preventative work planned.
3. Explain any immediate health risk or household vulnerability and request suitable alternative accommodation where the home cannot be made safe in time.
4. Use the landlord's formal complaints procedure and preserve the complaint reference and response.
5. Consider escalating the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman when the landlord's procedure has been completed or the applicable escalation requirements are met.
6. Obtain urgent legal advice where there is immediate danger, significant ill health, repeated non-compliance or a need for an injunction.

Awaab's Law operates through an implied term in relevant social housing tenancy agreements, so a tenant may be able to bring court proceedings for breach. Separate claims may also arise under repairing and fitness obligations. OTS Solicitors' housing disrepair solicitors advise on evidence, complaints, urgent repairs, fitness claims, compensation and the defence of disrepair allegations.

Missing a statutory deadline does not establish the same remedy or compensation in every case. Liability and value depend on matters such as the tenancy terms, the condition, notice, duration, loss, injury, expert evidence, causation and the steps taken by both parties.

Does Awaab's Law Phase 2 Apply to Private Landlords?

No. The Phase 2 regime described in this article concerns social housing in England. Private rented sector tenants do not currently obtain the November 2026 social-housing deadlines merely because their home has damp, cold, electrical defects or another hazard.

Private landlords may nevertheless have repairing duties under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, obligations under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 and responsibilities arising from local authority enforcement under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. The government has powers and future plans concerning extension of Awaab's Law to private renting, but those future arrangements should not be presented as current law.

OTS Solicitors' View on Awaab's Law Phase 2

Phase 2 moves Awaab's Law beyond a regime commonly associated with damp and mould and turns it into a wider operational safety framework. The legal risk will not sit only with the repairs team. Call handlers, housing officers, complaints staff, contractors, safeguarding teams and decant services may all affect when the landlord becomes aware and whether the deadlines are met.

The strongest preparation is to test real scenarios from first report to permanent resolution. A policy may look compliant while the operational process fails because an out-of-hours report is not escalated, a contractor does not identify vulnerability, a written summary is not generated or alternative accommodation cannot be sourced.

For tenants, the key question is practical: what should the landlord do, and by when, after becoming aware of the hazard? Clear reports, objective evidence and a reliable chronology can be important whether the matter is resolved through the repairs process, a complaint, the Housing Ombudsman or court proceedings.

Frequently Asked Questions About Awaab's Law Phase 2

When does Awaab's Law Phase 2 start?

The government intends Phase 2 to take effect on 30 November 2026. As at 16 July 2026, the amendment regulations have been laid in draft and remain subject to parliamentary approval. Phase 1 guidance continues until 11:59pm on 29 November 2026.

What new hazards are covered?

Phase 2 is intended to add significant hazards involving excess cold, excess heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards and domestic hygiene, including personal hygiene and food safety. Damp and mould remains covered.

How quickly must an emergency hazard be dealt with?

The landlord must investigate within 24 hours of becoming aware of a potential emergency hazard and, if an emergency hazard requiring relevant safety work is identified, make the property safe within the applicable 24-hour period. The landlord should act sooner where the circumstances require.

How quickly must a significant hazard be investigated?

A potential significant hazard must be investigated within ten working days of the landlord becoming aware. If a significant hazard is identified, relevant safety work must normally be completed within five working days after the investigation concludes.

When must the written investigation summary be provided?

Where the written-summary duty applies, it must be provided within three working days after the investigation concludes. The guidance recognises a limited exception where all work needed to make the home safe and prevent recurrence is completed within that period. The tenant should still be told what has been completed.

What is the 12-week deadline?

The 12-week period concerns the start of supplementary preventative work where it cannot begin within five working days. The landlord must still take steps to begin the work within five working days and must begin it as soon as reasonably practicable and no later than 12 weeks. Immediate safety work has a separate, much shorter deadline.

Must the landlord provide alternative accommodation?

Suitable alternative accommodation must be secured at the social landlord's expense where relevant safety work cannot be completed within the applicable deadline. Suitability depends on the needs of the individual household.

Can a tenant claim compensation?

Potential remedies depend on the facts and legal cause of action. A missed deadline may support a complaint or court claim, but it does not create a fixed compensation tariff. Evidence of duration, loss, health impact, causation and the landlord's response may all be relevant.

Do the rules apply if the problem was caused by the tenant?

A hazard resulting from a tenant's contractual breach may fall outside the Awaab's Law repair requirements. However, landlords should not rely on assumptions about 'lifestyle' and still have wider duties to keep homes safe. The cause and responsibility should be properly investigated.

Can a private tenant rely on these Phase 2 deadlines?

Not under the social housing Phase 2 regime. Private tenants may have other repair, fitness and enforcement rights and should obtain advice on the legal route that applies to their tenancy.

Contact OTS Solicitors

Social landlords, housing associations and property managers can seek advice on Phase 2 readiness, repairs procedures, complaints, contractor arrangements and the defence of housing-condition claims. Social housing tenants can seek advice on urgent hazards, missed deadlines, alternative accommodation, complaints and disrepair remedies. Call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.