Social landlords maintaining good quality, safe and warm homes will be in the best position to comply with all their legal obligations. Providing an effective and efficient service for their tenants (and all their residents) is integral to their social purpose.

Many tenants have responsible landlords who take care of their interests and maintain good quality social housing. However, still too many live in damp, cold and mouldy properties that harm their health and their life chances. Tenants’ legal protection has been strengthened by new powers given to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) and the Housing Ombudsman (HOS). The introduction of Awaab’s Law will further strengthen this.

What will Awaab’s Law require?

Awaab's law' will require landlords to fix reported health and safety hazards in specified timeframes. This will become an implied term in social housing tenancy agreements. These measures, along with other provisions from the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, were expected to come into force in 2024 following a Consultation. A timetable for implantation has yet to be published.

Awaab's Law is proposed to take into account the 29 health and safety hazards set out by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). This operates by evaluating the potential risk of harm to an actual or potential occupier from their living environment and is a means of rating the danger posed by a health and safety hazard. Under Awaab’s Law hazards are those that pose a significant risk to the health or safety of the actual resident of the dwelling, meaning a hazard may not be at category 1 level to be in scope of Awaab’s Law. This is to address instances where a particular resident is at a greater risk from hazardous conditions. For example, a resident with asthma may be at greater risk from a home affected by damp and mould. An HHSRS assessment does not take the actual resident into account when establishing if a hazard is at category 1 level.

To determine whether a hazard poses a significant risk and is therefore in scope of Awaab’s Law, landlords need to use their judgement and existing processes for triaging repairs. They should also utilise any available information to determine whether there is a risk to residents, such as information about their vulnerability or age. They should also factor in evidence from third parties – for example from registered healthcare providers, social workers, or schools – into their assessment.

How can landlords prepare?

While the guidance to support the introduction to Awaab’s Law has yet to be published, the public consultation set out what is likely to be required. Landlords should review how well their housing management and repairs service match these requirements so as to identify any areas that might need to be improved. An important priority is for landlords to know who is living in each of their homes and any conditions, such as asthma or restricted mobility, that could make them more vulnerable to particular hazards. They also need to have an up-to-date, accurate and comprehensive record of the condition of each home to assess whether there are hazardous conditions for their residents. Many landlords are already doing this as a result of the new powers given to the RSH and HOS. Landlords should also ensure that they can carry out HHSRS assessments and understand its guidance on hazards. While there has been greater focus on damp and mould after the Awaab tragedy, there are many other hazardous conditions that pose a safety risk, such as those that can cause falls.

What is the impact of falls on social housing?

Falls are the biggest cause of accidental injury in the home, 80% of hospital admissions for accidental injury to people aged 65 and over in the UK. At least one in three over-65s, and half of over-80s, experience at least one fall every year. RoSPA estimates over 200,000 falls are suffered by older adults in England’s housing association households every year. Over half of social homes house someone with a long-term illness or disability, particularly limited mobility. The English Housing Survey reports that the number of over-65s lacking the adaptations they feel they need has grown by over 100,000 in the past 10 years.

What is expected of social landlords?

Recent damp and mould case law (known as Awaab’s Law) demonstrates how property condition may be implicated for its ill-health effects on vulnerable tenants. All Category 1 hazards can be considered under this law, including falls. By proactively addressing the risk of a fall, social landlords have the opportunity not only to avoid potential litigation but to ensure that homes are safe, secure, and appropriate. This aligns them with expectations defined in The Charter for Social Housing.

Under renewed scrutiny from the RSH since April 2024, social landlords are now assessed on their ability to recognise, respond, and record the vulnerabilities of their tenants. While collating and maintaining up-to-date records poses a challenge, having this information places social landlords in the best position to understand the holistic needs of their tenants. They can factor vulnerabilities into housing and adaptations policy, and examine how well their current stock meets tenants’ needs. This should inform how future housing is designed.

What resources are there?

RoSPA developed a toolkit aimed at reducing the impact of tenant falls in social housing, as an outcome of a hugely successful pilot at Trent & Dove housing association. The model combines staff training, home safety checks and effective partnership working to address the risk of falls. This has facilitated a measurable reduction in the number of falls.

What is the NHMF doing to help the sector?

The NHMF promotes best practice in the social housing maintenance sector and its mission is to be the centre of excellence for improving property performance. It is committed to championing innovation to deliver excellence in maintenance and asset management (an organisation automatically becomes a member of the NHMF when it subscribes to the M3NHF Schedule of Rates and selected modules).

The NHMF Annual Conference will focus on Healthy Homes (Damp and Mould) as one of its five key areas (others are Fire & Building Safety, Net Zero, New Technology and Skills &Training). The overall theme is "Clarity". The Plenary on Creating Healthy Homes will have an update on Awaab’s Law.

In addition, the NHMF’s Best Practice website publishes briefings on asset management and repairs and maintenance, including links to all the relevant legislation and guidance. The NHMF Awards recognise best practice and provide useful case studies to help the sector learn and improve.