The main measures in the act are: The previous measure, set out in the
Housing and Regeneration Act 2008, is removed by
Section 26 of this Act. Previously, this "test" acted as a barrier to the
Regulator of Social Housing getting involved unless they had reason to believe residents were at risk of a "serious detriment". Removing this means that, not only is there is no longer a threshold for reactive enforcement, but there can now be a proactive monitoring of the standards. In practice, this would mean regular planned or short-notice inspections, in the style of
Ofsted, with as little as 48-hours' notice. Where the regulator does find breaches of standards, the £5,000 limit on the
fines, which can be imposed, is amended by
Section 36 and Schedule 3, paragraph 6 of this Act to be ‘unlimited’. It also only covers
social housing, so does not extend to the
private rented sector, although there have been calls for it to do so. Awaab's Law was an addition to the originally tabled
Bill, through an amendment added on 10 February 2023. The amendment was laid by the
Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities,
Michael Gove and, in an announcement of the move, Gove explained the new law, in memory of Awaab Ishak, will "force social landlords to fix their homes within strict new time limits". The law is worded to cover ‘remedying of hazards’, so 'hazards' will include more than just damp and mould. Prescribed hazards are currently listed as part of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (
HHSRS), so could include other matters such as hot or cold temperatures, excessive noise, poor lighting and so forth, where it is hazardous to an occupant's health. The act is the means of implementation of these measures, rather than the measures themselves, so changes do not come into force with the passing of the act. They take the form of an amendment to the
Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 which will empower the
Secretary of State to make
secondary legislation which will bring detail and the measures into force at a later date. , the next step to bring Awaab's Law into effect, will be for the government to publish a
consultation. The government have said this will take place before the end of 2023. It will help decide and set the timescales within which social landlords will have to act to investigate hazards and make repairs. It will also inform how the legislation is best implemented. These timescales, although yet to be decided, have been suggested to be of the order of fourteen days to investigate and a further seven days to carry out the necessary repairs. Once decided, the detail and rules will then be set out in secondary legislation to form part of an occupant's social housing
tenancy agreement, so tenants can hold landlords to account through the courts, for breach of tenancy, if they fail to provide a decent home. ==Related legislation==