For those of our members who are Registered Housing Providers you will be aware that the Awaab’s Law consultation closed on 5 March 2024.

Once the outcome of the consultation is announced, any changes will be introduced through secondary legislation. With the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill due to be law by the summer and Awaab’s Law expected to be introduced within six months of that, the changes could be in place by the end of the year.

The Almshouse Association responded to the consultation, with our ‘latest news’ item of 1 March 2024 setting out our key concerns which related to timescales. We are also aware that other organisations such as the National Housing Federation and the Chartered Institute of Housing responded to the consultation with similar concerns.

The inclusion of Awaab’s Law within the Act places a spotlight on the severity of damp and mould as a hazard in social housing. This reinforces the obligations placed on all landlords in the Housing Act 2004 to ensure properties are free from serious hazards, as assessed through the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) – see link.

Introduction of time limits

The Government is proposing that Awaab’s Law will introduce timescales across all 29 HHSRS hazards. The HHSRS, which operates by evaluating the potential risk of harm to an actual or potential occupier, is based on the risk to any particular age group and is a means of rating the danger posed by a health and safety hazard.

To recap, the secondary legislation, once introduced, will require social landlords to fix health hazards, including damp and mould, within what the government has said will be “strict new time limits.” The proposed legal requirements for social landlords, if implemented unchanged following the consultation, will mean that hazards must be investigated within 14 days, fixing the hazard should start within a further seven days, and any emergency repairs should be actioned in 24 hours.

Almshouse Charities

Two of our member charities have recently received support from The Almshouse Association in the form of a loan to help support work to rectify damp and mould issues within their almshouses. Both charities, The Frances Geering Almshouse Charity and The William Holmes Almshouses have kindly provided a case study of the issues that they have encountered and their plans to resolve the issues. They will also provide a further update once the works have been completed. It is good to see that this is already a focus for our members.

Whilst awaiting the outcome of the consultation we would recommend that you start assessing:

  • your capacity to meet the timescales proposed
  • whether your record keeping is adequate
  • whether you have access to contractors or for larger charities skilled team members that can appropriately deal with repairs where required
  • your out of hours (weekend) repairs capacity, as the timescales proposed are calendar days, not working days.

Whilst Awaab’s Law will only apply to Registered Housing Providers, one of the objects of The Almshouse Association is to promote the provision, improvement, upkeep and maintenance of almshouses and associated services and facilities. We would therefore encourage all almshouse charities to take an interest in the provisions of Awaab’s Law whether or not you are a Registered Housing Provider.

We will provide you with a further update once the outcome of the consultation is known.

posted 16 May 2024