Awaab's Law timescales explained for social landlords

What applies, and from when

From	What is covered
27 October 2025	Phase 1: every emergency hazard, plus significant damp and mould hazards.
30 November 2026	Phase 2 adds significant hazards from excess cold, excess heat, falls (on the level, on stairs and between levels), structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards, and domestic hygiene (including personal hygiene and food safety).
No date set	Phase 3: the remaining hazards in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, except overcrowding.

The clocks

Phase 2 uses the same timescales as phase 1. A working day excludes weekends, Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays in England and Wales. The 24-hour clock for emergencies runs through nights and weekends.

Duty	Emergency hazard	Significant hazard
Investigate	Within 24 hours of becoming aware	Within 10 working days of becoming aware
Make safe (safety work)	Within the same 24 hours	Within 5 working days of the investigation ending
Written summary to the tenant	Within 3 working days of the investigation ending
Supplementary preventative work	Start within 5 working days; if that is not reasonably practicable, as soon as it is and within 12 weeks
Alternative accommodation	Offered if the home cannot be made safe in time

Simplified from the regulations. A tenant can also ask for a physical inspection, which sets its own 10 working day clock. Check the regulations for the detail.

When the clock starts

The duties begin when the landlord becomes aware of a potential hazard. The phase 2 guidance says that can happen in many ways: a tenant reporting it, someone reporting on their behalf (a representative, a friend, a neighbour), a routine inspection, a third party or a regulator. Whether a contractor's knowledge counts as yours depends on the contract, and the guidance suggests taking legal advice on it.

The guidance sets no special rule for reports made in the evening or online. The safe assumption is that a report your channels accept may start the clock, so a damp report made through a web form on a Friday night needs to be seen and sorted by severity, not left in a queue until Monday.

What to capture at the first contact

The quicker a report reaches the right severity, the more of the clock is left for the work. Most of what triage needs can be asked at the first contact:

Where the problem is, how big it is, and how long it has been there
Who lives in the home, and any vulnerabilities: age, health conditions, disability. The guidance says a tenant does not need medical evidence, and reports should generally be taken at face value
Photos, where the tenant can take them
When the home can be accessed, and how the tenant prefers to be contacted
For phase 2 hazards, the specifics that decide severity: no heating or hot water, exposed wiring, a loose stair rail

What to keep on record

The regulations require the written summary and some documents, but the guidance goes further and recommends keeping:

A record of the actions taken under Awaab's Law
Every attempt to get access, as evidence of reasonable endeavours
When the written summary was given to the tenant
The condition of the hazard before work starts, with photos where needed

Records like these are what a board, the Regulator of Social Housing or the Housing Ombudsman will ask to see when a case is questioned.

Scotland and Wales

Scotland brought in its own damp and mould duties for social landlords on 6 October 2026. In Wales, responding to hazards has been part of the Welsh Housing Quality Standard since 1 April 2026. The detail differs from England, so check the guidance for your nation.

Where an assistant helps

Syntalyze puts a guided journey on your website that asks a tenant the triage questions above, sorts the report by hazard and severity, and opens the case with the clock already running. The deadlines for every open case sit on one dashboard, staff take over with a summary of what the tenant said, and every contact is recorded. It works in front of your contact centre and alongside your housing management system, at any hour.

See it for housing associations

This guide is general information, not legal advice. It reflects the regulations and guidance as published on 22 October 2026.

Awaab's Law timescales: what social landlords must do, and by when