Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/1042) (“the 2025 Regulations”), also known as “Awaab’s Law”, which prescribe requirements with which a landlord of social housing is required to comply by virtue of the covenant implied by section 10A(2) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (c. 70).

Regulation 3(2) amends the definitions of “significant risk of harm” and “imminent and significant risk of harm” in the 2025 Regulations which feed through into the definitions of “significant hazard” and “emergency hazard” in that instrument. As amended, “significant hazard” and “emergency hazard” are now defined as meaning a relevant hazard that poses a risk of harm to the health or safety of an occupier of a social home that a reasonable landlord with the relevant knowledge would make safe within 15 working days or within 24 hours respectively.

Regulation 3(3) amends the definition of relevant hazard in regulation 3(2) of the 2025 Regulations. Its effects are: (a) to expand the definition of ‘significant hazard’ to include excess cold, excess heat, domestic hygiene, falls, electrical, explosion and structural collapse hazards (as well as damp and mould hazards); and (b) to exclude fire hazards from Awaab’s Law if they are caused by a deficiency in any part of premises regulated by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/1541). Those parts are the structure, external walls and any common parts of a building containing two or more sets of domestic premises together with doors between domestic premises and common parts of such buildings.

Regulation 4 excludes from the definition of “work” any action to put in place residential personal emergency evacuation plans required under the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/797).

Regulation 5 makes a consequential amendment to the transitional provision in regulation 21 of the 2025 Regulations that applies if the landlord became aware of a relevant matter in relation to a social home at a time before the 2025 Regulations began to apply to a relevant matter of that type and in relation to the affected social home.

A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business, the voluntary sector and the public sector is published alongside these Regulations on www.legislation.gov.uk and is also available from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF.