Awaab's Law is named after two-year old Awaab Ishak who died in 2020 following prolonged exposure to damp and mould in his home. The law seeks to hold landlords accountable for addressing safety issues promptly and to safeguard tenants from the detrimental effects of substandard living conditions. It will prescribe timescales for social landlords to investigate and carry out repair work for certain hazards that pose a significant risk of harm to the occupiers of the social property.
For more background on the Bill, read our previous blog on Awaab’s Law, or get in touch for the recording of our recent webinar.
Now that the Housing (Scotland) Bill has received royal assent, we provide an update on the intended implementation date and what social housing providers can do to prepare for the law coming into force.
The law in Scotland is due to be implemented from March 2026. As in England, it is intended that it will be implemented in phases, with the first phase imposing timescales for emergency repairs and repairs relating to damp and mould. Thereafter, the requirements will be extended to other hazards such as excess cold and heat, structural collapse, fire and electrical hazards.
The detail of the requirements on social landlords will be set out in regulations (yet to be passed). Implementation has already begun in England and Wales, with landlords required to:
- Investigate and repair emergency hazards within 24 hours;
- Investigate significant hazards within 10 working days and carry out repairs within 5 working days following completion of the investigation; and
- Provide decant accommodation to tenants until the relevant safety work has been completed, where they are unable to comply with the required timescales.
Similar timescales are expected in Scotland.
Legal implications
Where a landlord fails to comply with these timescales, the tenant will be able to take court action against the landlord for breach of the tenancy agreement. It is expected that, as in England, social landlords will have a defence to such claims where they can prove they have used all reasonable endeavours to avoid the compliance failure. For such a defence to be successful, accurate and detailed records of the steps the social landlord has taken to comply with the timescales will be essential.
Practical implications
When the law comes into force, timescales for investigating and repairing certain hazards will be tight.
Social housing providers should consider now what changes they need to make to ensure that when this law comes into force, they are not unnecessarily exposed to potentially costly and disruptive legal action.
First and foremost, they should assess their current stock condition and, where necessary, bring it up to standard.
They should also consider their approach to maintenance, with the traditional, reactive approach likely to be unsustainable. Going forward, providers will have to take more of a proactive and preventative approach to housing management and have systems in place that prioritise early detection and intervention.
However, no matter how robust proactive maintenance systems are, it will never eliminate the need for reactive maintenance and repair work. So landlords should be looking at the systems they currently have in place for investigating potential hazards and carrying out repairs and – where necessary – enhancing and streamlining these so they minimise the risk of claims against them.
If you are a social landlord and have any queries about how the introduction of Awaab's Law will impact you, or for social housing or health and safety support more generally, please get in touch with Fiona McLeod, Amy Anderson or your usual Brodies contact.
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