Voicescape’s Lewis Murray explores how housing providers can stay on the right side of Awaab’s Law by enhancing data management and communication tools
Awaab’s Law came into force on 27 October 2025, meaning social housing providers now face legally binding timeframes for investigating and resolving hazards, including damp and mould.
With unlimited fines and the threat of enforcement action against landlords who fall short, the legislation represents the most significant shift in social housing compliance in over a decade.
For housing providers already stretched by resource constraints and unprecedented levels of disrepair claims, the challenge is immense. Against this backdrop, digital intelligence will determine whether providers can operationalise compliance at scale.
Understanding the new requirements
Under Awaab’s Law, the clock starts ticking the moment a landlord becomes aware of a potential hazard – whether through tenant reports, routine inspections, or notifications from contractors or staff.
Under Phase 1, social housing landlords will be required to investigate all concerns of damp and mould and to attend to emergency repairs. Providers will need to investigate potential emergency hazards within 24 hours and potential significant hazards within 10 working days.
If a significant hazard is confirmed, relevant safety work must be completed within five working days, with tenants receiving a written summary of findings within three working days.
Tenants will be able to hold their landlords to account by taking legal action for breach of contract if they fail to meet this timeline, with redress available through formal complaints procedures, the Housing Ombudsman, and the county court.
The scope will expand further in 2026 for Phase 2 to cover excess cold and heat, falls, and hygiene hazards, with further hazards added in 2027 for Phase 3. Housing providers therefore need systems that meet requirements today while being able to scale with these expanding obligations tomorrow.
The critical role of early intervention
With higher expectations to intervene earlier to prevent no-access cases, providers need strong visibility across their entire portfolio.
Data and automation can help identify potential breaches before they occur by flagging properties with recurring issues, highlighting patterns in tenant behaviour, and alerting teams when response deadlines are approaching.
Automated communication workflows integrated with CRM systems ensure every hazard report triggers a verifiable response sequence. These can include acknowledging reports immediately, confirming and rescheduling appointments, sending reminders, informing tenants of repair schedules, and scheduling follow-ups to check if issues have returned.
By automating these touchpoints, providers ensure consistent, timely communication – a critical requirement under Awaab’s Law. More importantly, they free up staff capacity for meaningful interactions with vulnerable or high-priority residents who need personal attention.
Building an unbreakable audit trail
In certain circumstances, social landlords will have a defence for any failures if they can evidence, with good clear records, that they have taken all ‘reasonable endeavours’ to comply with their requirements. This makes precise, comprehensive record-keeping even more critical.
Technology provides crucial compliance support by tracking and time-stamping every interaction. From the first report to resolution, digital systems create a robust audit trail demonstrating responsiveness, accountability, and due diligence.
This becomes particularly vital in no-access cases, where providers must show they’ve made multiple attempts to arrange access within given timeframes.
Transparent communication builds trust
Intelligent tech platforms can also help strengthen tenant trust. For example, automated communications can keep tenants informed throughout the entire process, providing clear advice on staying safe, updates on progress, and realistic timescales for resolution.
Beyond transactional updates, these systems can deliver educational content to help tenants prevent hazards from developing. Guidance on ventilation, heating during winter, and avoiding moisture buildup can reduce repeat issues while demonstrating the landlord’s proactive commitment to tenant well-being.
That said, while education is important, damp and mould issues must not be directly attributed to ‘tenant lifestyle.’ The government guidance is very clear that it’s “unacceptable” for landlords to make such assumptions or to withhold investigation or remedial action on this basis.
Focusing resources where they matter most
High response rates from automated communications lead to fewer missed appointments and clearer self-reporting of issues. What’s more, by capturing real-time feedback through campaigns, providers can gain better insights into tenant needs, concerns, and satisfaction.
This data helps officers make evidence-based decisions and easily identify which tenants require manual intervention. Rather than spreading resources thinly across all cases, teams can then prioritise where their time will have the greatest impact.
Live engagement data, meanwhile, can highlight properties where issues are worsening or tenants are unresponsive, enabling proactive identification of high-risk cases and better informed decisions about inspections and interventions.
Real-world impact: Thirteen Group’s experience
When Thirteen Group had a sharp rise in damp and mould reports alongside significant increases in no-access cases, it lacked clarity on case resolution and whether customers still needed support.
Recognising the urgent need for change ahead of Awaab’s Law, the provider adopted Voicescape Engage to automate tenant engagement.
Thirteen now saves approximately 20 hours weekly on first calls alone and has reduced the need for callbacks by over 50%. It can automatically identify and close cases where support is no longer required, maintain a clear audit trail for the Housing Ombudsman, and free up staff capacity for meaningful interactions with those who need it most.
Moving beyond compliance
Taken as a whole, the introduction of Awaab’s Law is both a challenge and – if appropriate technology and processes are embraced – an opportunity.
As landlords embrace automation to meet legal duties, the next challenge will be ensuring transparency and fairness in AI-driven decision-making. The same data that drives compliance today can, if governed responsibly, form the foundation for predictive maintenance and healthier homes tomorrow.
Lewis Murray is senior account manager at Voicescape
Image credit: Fevziie – Shutterstock
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