The Housing Ombudsman has urged the sector to overcome its ‘complacency’ towards how it deals with hazards ahead of the introduction of Awaab’s Law. In its latest ‘Learning from severe maladministration’ report, it explains that “Everyone deserves a safe, warm, and decent home.” This means that social landlords maintaining good quality, safe and warm homes are in the best position to meet their legal obligations, which will include Awaab’s Law. 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 has the Ombudsman identified?

There is a degree of complacency in the sector when responding to hazards, which is alarming given the statutory framework has been in place for 20 years. A fundamental flaw in the sector’s approach is a failure to risk assess and triage cases effectively. Some landlords have introduced triaging in response to this report, and the Ombudsman considers that all landlords should consider adopting triaging.

The report highlighted 12 of the 29 HHSRS hazards featured in the cases it examined. It explained that often more than one hazard could be present, signifying the level of disrepair in some properties. Property condition is the top complaint category at the Ombudsman and many cases could contain a hazard. When there is disrepair that leads to a hazard, landlords must undertake a form of health and safety or risk assessment, investigating the hazard and understanding the impact it is having or could have on the household. Sometimes, landlords have failed to identify the need for more urgent action where a hazard is present.

Awaab's law' will require landlords to fix reported health and safety hazards within specified timeframes. This will become an implied term in social housing tenancy agreements. These measures, and others, from the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, were expected to be in force in 2024. A timetable for implementation has yet to be published.

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 will 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, therefore landlords need to use their judgement and existing processes for triaging repairs. They should utilise any available information when determining whether there is a risk to residents, such as their vulnerability or age or evidence from third parties, such as registered healthcare providers.

How can landlords prepare?

Landlords need to be proactive identifying hazards and not wait for an EHO, etc. Awaab’s Law, for example, will be grounded in the existing statutory obligations to respond to hazards and will not replace them. All landlords should tackle damp and mould with a zero-tolerance approach because it can be caused by various factors, such as leaks, which can be complex to deal with and resolve.

Landlords have a responsibility to keep properties free from category 1 hazards, which include excess cold or heat, exposed asbestos, and carbon monoxide. The HHSRS offers landlords a risk-based tool to enable them to consider potential hazards. While there has been a greater focus on damp and mould after the Awaab tragedy, there are many other hazardous conditions that pose a safety risk, such as falls.

When properties become void or vacant, this is an opportunity for landlords to undertake works and remove hazards in line with their voids policy. However, they need to be confident that the necessary works are completed and properly recorded, such as electrical safety.

Landlords must use all tools to address hazards, including legal action, especially if other residents may be exposed to the hazard, such as carbon monoxide. They should review how well their housing management and repairs service match the requirements outlined in the public consultation 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.

What is expected of social landlords?

When considering category 1 hazards, including ill-health effects on vulnerable tenants, social landlords can, by proactively addressing them have the opportunity not only to avoid potential litigation but to ensure that homes are safe, secure, and appropriate. This aligns with the 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?

Ombudsman’s Centre for Learning resources provides a wide range of information, guidance, and case studies, as well as e-learning modules and webinars. In particular it has resources on the following specific topics relevant to preparing for Awaab’s Law.

Damp and mould key topics - reports, podcasts, and case studies

Learning Hub – Need to sign in to access Damp and mould, etc. eLearning and workshops

Knowledge and information management key topics - reports, podcasts, and case studies

Another helpful resource has been published by RoSPA which has developed a toolkit aimed at reducing the impact of tenant falls in social housing. It combines staff training, home safety checks and effective partnership working to address the risk of falls. NHMF has published a related Q&A.

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 (overall theme ‘Clarity’) 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 Plenary 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.