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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Industry survey work published in 2026 found that many social housing providers do not feel fully prepared to meet the new statutory duties imposed by Awaab's Law. The Section 10A deadlines under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 came into force on 27 October 2025. Months in, sector readiness is uneven. For tenants, that gap between the law and what landlords can actually deliver is exactly what helps prove a claim when a deadline gets missed.
What the survey found
A 2026 white paper from the window-and-door manufacturer Shelforce surveyed private landlords, housing associations, and council housing teams on damp and mould. More than 70% agreed that poor building fabric, including windows, doors, and ventilation, is a major cause of damp and mould, and many providers reported they did not feel fully ready for the new duties. Other industry surveys around the same period reported similar patterns: investigation processes broadly in place, completion-stage workflows much weaker.
Three structural gaps came up repeatedly across the surveys.
1. Out-of-hours contractor capacity. The 24-hour emergency-hazard investigation deadline is the single biggest stress point. Most large landlords already had daytime damp-and-mould response in place by 2024. Out-of-hours and weekend response is the gap. The 24-hour clock under Section 10A does not care that it is Sunday.
2. The written-summary-of-findings duty. The 3-working-day requirement to send the tenant a written summary of findings after an investigation is a new procedural obligation. Many landlords had inspection workflows in 2024 but did not routinely produce a written summary. Surveys suggest this is the most common Awaab's Law deadline currently being missed.
3. The 5-working-day completion window after the investigation ends. Investigating fast is one thing. Completing the works fast is another. Materials lead times for some repairs (custom windows, structural elements, replacement boilers in unusual specifications) often exceed five working days. Landlords with weak contractor-management functions are missing this deadline.
What this means in practice for a tenant
The fact that many landlords are not fully ready is not surprising. New statutory duties always have a bedding-in period. What matters is the practical consequence for a tenant whose case falls to a landlord that is not ready.
Procedural gaps become claim evidence. If your landlord investigates inside 10 working days but does not produce the written summary inside the next 3 working days, that is a documented breach of Section 10A LTA 1985. Same if the summary arrives but the works do not get done within the next 5 working days. Each missed deadline is itself useful evidence in any future disrepair claim, call us free on 0800 030 4669.
Categorisation choices are evidence too. The regulations require the landlord to make a written categorisation decision: is this an emergency hazard (24 hours to investigate) or a significant hazard (10 working days)? Some landlords are categorising everything as "significant" to buy more time. Where the hazard meets the emergency definition (significant and imminent risk of harm) and the landlord categorised it as significant, that categorisation decision can be challenged.
Sector-wide unpreparedness lowers the bar for severe-failing findings. Where a landlord misses a deadline against a backdrop of widespread sector unpreparedness, an independent ruling is more likely to find severe failings rather than mere service failure. Several rulings in the first six months have shown this pattern.
What to do if you are reporting a hazard now
The practical implication of the survey data: be precise in your reports, because vague reports give an unprepared landlord room to misclassify.
- Use the words "emergency hazard" or "significant hazard" explicitly in your written report. The regulations require the landlord to make a categorisation decision. Putting the word in your report forces a written reply.
- Ask for the written summary of findings. After any inspection, write to the landlord asking for the Section 10A written summary. If they have not produced one, that is a missed deadline.
- Track the completion deadline separately. A landlord can meet the investigation deadline and miss the completion deadline. Set a calendar reminder for the 5-working-day window after the investigation concludes.
- Document everything in dated writing. Phone calls do not count. Every contact with the landlord should be in email, online portal, or text. Take screenshots.
- If a deadline gets missed, act quickly. A missed Section 10A deadline is a documented statutory breach you can act on without waiting. Get advice from us, Shelter, or Citizens Advice on your options.
What the published rulings have said
Independent reviews of severe failings have pointed to patterns like these:
- Landlords who completed inspections inside 10 working days but missed the 3-working-day written-summary requirement
- Landlords who categorised genuinely emergency hazards as significant to buy more time
- Landlords who treated the start of works (a contractor visit) as completion of works
- Landlords who failed to offer alternative accommodation when the home could not be made safe
If your case fits any of those patterns, you may have a strong disrepair 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. 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. 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 and not guaranteed; every case is different.
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