Awaab's Law gives social landlords 24 hours to investigate and make safe an emergency hazard. That has put real pressure on out-of-hours repair teams. Here is what tenants should expect.
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Since Awaab's Law came into force on 27 October 2025, social landlords have had just 24 hours to investigate and make safe an emergency hazard. The government's own guidance says landlords need pre-arranged 24-hour contractor cover to meet it, and that has put real pressure on out-of-hours repair teams. For tenants, the practical effect is mostly positive: emergencies are being attended faster. But "attended" is not the same as "fixed", and that distinction matters for any future claim.
What the pressure looks like
The 24-hour emergency-hazard deadline under Section 10A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 has created a workload spike for repairs contractors. In practice that shows up as:
- Out-of-hours contractor capacity is the limiting factor at most large landlords. Many were already short of capacity before Awaab's Law.
- Some landlords are categorising any reported hazard as emergency to be safe, which has overloaded the priority queue and pushed genuine significant hazards down the list.
- Some are categorising hazards as "significant" rather than "emergency" to buy themselves 10 working days rather than 24 hours. This is a permitted decision under the regulations but can be challenged.
- A small group of landlords have started using the alternative-accommodation duty to manage demand: where the home cannot be made safe in 24 hours, the landlord must offer somewhere else. Some are using this as a temporary release valve.
The two-tier reality on the ground
Six months in, the picture is a two-tier one.
Investigations are happening faster. Across the larger landlords, the 10-working-day investigation timescale for significant hazards is being met in the substantial majority of cases. The procedural part of Awaab's Law (get someone out, confirm in writing) is mostly working.
Repair completion still lags. Getting a contractor on site within 10 working days is one thing. Completing the works within 5 working days of the investigation ending is another. Materials lead times, planning permission for structural work, and contractor availability all push completion dates beyond the statutory window.
Independent statutory rulings in the first six months have specifically pointed to this gap. Severe-failing findings have been issued against landlords who met the investigation deadline but missed the completion deadline by several weeks.
What this means for tenants reporting hazards now
Three practical things.
1. Use the right language when you report. The regulations use specific terms: "emergency hazard" (24 hours to investigate) and "significant hazard" (10 working days to investigate, then a written summary in 3 working days, then works completed in 5 working days). If you write "emergency hazard" in your report, you force the landlord to make a written categorisation decision.
2. Ask for the written summary of findings. The written summary is a statutory requirement under Section 10A. If your landlord investigates but does not send you a written summary within 3 working days, that is a breach and a useful piece of evidence.
3. Track the completion deadline separately. The investigation deadline and the completion deadline are different statutory clocks. A landlord can meet one and miss the other. Most landlords meet the first. Many miss the second. The completion miss is often the one that wins a maladministration finding.
How enforcement is tightening
Since Awaab's Law came in, the direction of travel on enforcement has been clear:
- Complaints that cite a missed Awaab's Law deadline are taken more seriously.
- A missed statutory deadline is treated as a named breach, not just a vague "unreasonable delay".
- Landlords can be named in published decisions when they fail.
This means a tenant who has been ignored for months stands on firmer ground now than before the law came in. If your landlord missed an Awaab's Law deadline, you may have a claim, call us free on 0800 030 4669.
The 2026 phase: more hazards in scope
The second phase of Awaab's Law is due in late 2026. It adds these hazard categories to the in-scope list:
- Excess cold (heating breakdowns in winter)
- Excess heat
- Fire safety
- Hygiene hazards including active pest infestations and waste accumulation
- Structural collapse
After Phase 2, a tenant reporting an active rat infestation, a chronic broken boiler in winter, or an unsafe staircase will trigger the same statutory deadlines that currently apply only to damp, mould, and emergency hazards.
Where Support for Tenants fits
We help tenants who have been through the Awaab's Law process and either had the deadline missed or had the hazard "investigated" without the works being completed. If your case fits, we can refer to a panel solicitor on a no-win-no-fee basis. On no win, no fee terms you pay nothing up front, and the solicitor's fee only comes out of your compensation if you win, never out of your own pocket.
If your landlord is still inside the statutory deadlines, our advice is to wait and document everything. If the deadlines slip, you have a stronger case.
Read the full Awaab's Law explainer | Free call: 0800 030 4669
Support For Tenants is a trading name of Cyntex Group Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a Claims Management Company. FRN 1020217. Registered in England and Wales.
Reviewed against current housing law for England and Wales as at 23 May 2026. Checked by our SRA-regulated panel solicitors. This is general information, not legal advice for your specific case. Any compensation figures or ranges shown are illustrative only and not guaranteed; every case is different.
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