Awaab's Law Phase 2: What Changes in 2026
From 30 November 2026, Awaab's Law will extend beyond damp and mould to a much wider set of hazards, on the same statutory clocks. Here is what's being added, why it's a step change in caseload, and how to prepare your teams now.
Phase 1 in sixty seconds
What's already in force
Since 27 October 2025, social landlords in England must investigate significant damp and mould hazards within 10 working days, give tenants a written summary within 3 working days of the investigation concluding, complete safety works within 5 working days, and make emergency hazards safe within 24 hours, with alternative accommodation at the landlord's expense where a home can't be made safe in time.
Full detail, including record-keeping duties and the lifestyle-blame warning, is in our complete Awaab's Law guide.
The hazards Phase 2 adds
Government guidance confirms Phase 2 extends the requirements to the following significant hazards, drawn from the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS):
Excess cold & excess heat
Unsafe cold or overheating, including risks associated with heating, insulation and excessive indoor temperatures.
Falls
Falls associated with baths, on level surfaces, on stairs and between levels. Falls are the most common cause of home injury in England, so this category alone adds significant case volume.
Structural collapse & explosions
Structural integrity failures and explosion risks, including gas-related deficiencies.
Fire & electrical hazards
Fire safety deficiencies and electrical hazards, issues already flagged regularly in routine inspections that will now carry statutory deadlines.
Hygiene & food safety
Domestic and personal hygiene and food safety hazards, including sanitation failures affecting health.
Phase 3 planned for 2027
The planned final phase would extend Awaab's Law to all remaining HHSRS hazards where they present a significant risk of harm, with the sole exception of overcrowding.
What stays the same: the clocks
Phase 2 extends the repair-deadline framework to additional significant hazards. Apply the amended regulations and current guidance when assessing each case:
- 24 hours to investigate and make emergency hazards safe
- 10 working days to investigate a potential significant hazard
- 3 working days to give the tenant a written summary after the investigation concludes
- 5 working days to carry out safety works where a significant hazard is found, from the investigation concluding
- Alternative accommodation at the landlord's expense where the home cannot be made safe in time
Supplementary preventative work must begin, or steps to begin it must be taken, within five working days of the investigation concluding. If it cannot start then, start as soon as reasonably practicable and within 12 weeks; complete within a reasonable period. This is not an extension of safety-work deadlines.
Why Phase 2 is the step change, not Phase 1
Phase 1 covers significant damp and mould hazards plus emergencies. Phase 2 broadens the range of reports that teams must assess against statutory deadlines:
Far more cases on statutory clocks
Falls, heating failures, electrical issues and fire safety defects are everyday repair reports. A large share of your open caseload will suddenly carry legal deadlines, running simultaneously, in working days.
Classification at the point of report
A loose stair rail triggers falls timescales; a failed boiler triggers excess cold timescales. Teams must recognise which reports start a statutory clock the moment they come in, not days later at review.
Vulnerability raises the stakes
The significance of a hazard depends partly on who lives in the home. Cold, fire or fall risks can escalate to emergencies where residents are very young, elderly, pregnant or unwell.
The Housing Ombudsman has urged providers to treat the period between October 2025 and Phase 2 as a practice run: embed the discipline now on damp and mould, because the same evidence trail, triage and documentation standards are about to apply across a far wider caseload.
How to prepare before 30 November 2026
The providers that handle Phase 2 well will be the ones that built the muscles during Phase 1. Practical steps to take now:
- Perfect your damp and mould discipline first. Phase 1 is the template: evidence-led investigation, accurate diagnosis, statutory-quality written summaries and a complete audit trail. Whatever is shaky now will break under Phase 2 volume.
- Train triage at the point of report. Call handlers and housing officers need to recognise which report types start statutory clocks, across all the new categories, from day one.
- Audit your stock data for Phase 2 hazards. Most providers hold damp and mould data; far fewer have systematic assessments of cold, fall, electrical and fire hazard prevalence across their stock.
- Stress-test deadline tracking. Can your systems track working-day deadlines across multiple hazard types simultaneously, and produce a complete evidence trail for any case quickly?
- Build vulnerability awareness into every assessment. Teams should be recording household vulnerability and understanding how it changes hazard severity and response times.
Phase 2: frequently asked questions
When does Awaab's Law Phase 2 come into force?
Which hazards does Phase 2 cover?
Will the timescales be the same as Phase 1?
Does Phase 2 apply to private landlords?
Build the capability before the caseload arrives
We help councils and housing associations build the diagnostic accuracy, triage discipline and defensible reporting that Awaab's Law demands, starting with damp and mould, the foundation for everything Phase 2 adds.
Or call 0808 501 4090 · info@federationofdamp.co.uk
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