Recent industry survey work suggests many social housing providers do not feel fully prepared for Awaab's Law. Here is what that tells tenants and how it changes the playbook for getting a hazard fixed.
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In short
Industry surveys published in 2026 found many social landlords do not feel fully ready for Awaab's Law. The Section 10A deadlines under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 arrived on 27 October 2025, and months in, readiness is patchy. For tenants, the gap between the law and what landlords can deliver is exactly what proves a claim when a deadline slips.
What the survey found
A 2026 white paper from the window-and-door maker Shelforce surveyed private landlords, housing associations and council teams on damp and mould.
More than 70% agreed poor building fabric, windows, doors, ventilation, is a major cause of damp and mould, and many said they did not feel fully ready for the new duties. Other surveys of the period echoed it: investigation processes broadly in place, completion-stage workflows much weaker.
Three structural gaps came up repeatedly across the surveys.
1. Out-of-hours contractors. The 24-hour emergency deadline is the biggest stress point. Most large landlords had daytime response sorted by 2024; nights and weekends are the gap. The Section 10A clock does not care that it is Sunday.
2. The written summary duty. Sending the tenant a written summary of findings within 3 working days of an investigation is a new procedural duty. Many landlords inspected fine in 2024 but never wrote summaries. Surveys suggest this is the deadline most often missed.
3. The 5-working-day completion window. Investigating fast is one thing; finishing the works fast is another. Lead times for custom windows, structural parts or unusual boilers often pass five working days. Landlords with weak contractor management miss this one.
What this means in practice for a tenant
Unready landlords are no surprise: new legal duties always bed in slowly. What matters is what it means for the tenant whose case lands on one.
Procedural gaps become claim evidence. An investigation inside 10 working days with no written summary in the next 3 is a documented Section 10A breach. So is a summary with no works inside the next 5. Every missed deadline feeds a future claim. Call us free on 0800 030 4669.
Categorisation choices are evidence too. The rules require a written decision: emergency hazard (24 hours) or significant (10 working days)? Some landlords stamp everything "significant" to buy time. Where the hazard truly meets the emergency test, a significant and imminent risk of harm, that decision can be challenged.
Sector-wide unreadiness lowers the bar for severe findings. A deadline missed against this backdrop is more likely to draw a severe-failing ruling than a mere service-failure one. Several first-six-months rulings show the pattern.
What to do if you are reporting a hazard now
The lesson of the survey data: report with precision. Vague reports give an unready landlord room to misfile you.
- Use the words "emergency hazard" or "significant hazard" in the written report. The rules force a categorisation decision, and naming it forces a written reply.
- Ask for the written summary. After any inspection, request the Section 10A summary in writing. None produced means a missed deadline.
- Track the completion deadline separately. Meeting the investigation deadline says nothing about the works. Set a reminder for the 5-working-day window after the investigation ends.
- Keep everything in dated writing. Phone calls do not count. Email, portal or text every time, with screenshots.
- Act fast on any missed deadline. A missed Section 10A deadline is a documented legal breach you can act on at once. Get advice from us, Shelter or Citizens Advice.
What the published rulings have said
Independent reviews of severe failings keep finding patterns like:
- Inspections done inside 10 working days, with the 3-working-day summary missed
- True emergencies stamped "significant" to buy time
- A contractor's first visit counted as works "complete"
- No alternative accommodation offered when the home could not be made safe
If your case fits any of those, you may hold a strong claim. Call us free on 0800 030 4669.
Where Support for Tenants fits
Where a landlord has missed a Section 10A deadline, the case is now stronger than equivalent cases were before October 2025. We refer to a panel solicitor on a no-win-no-fee basis. No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing. We will give you an honest assessment of whether your case is right for a claim.
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, not a promise; every case is different.
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Renting with damp, mould or leaks your landlord won't fix?
No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.