The Transformative Awaab Law to Revolutionize Social Housing Standards
The recent announcement of the Awaab Law marks a significant turning point in the UK government’s efforts to hold social landlords accountable for providing safe and habitable housing. The death of a two-year-old boy in Rochdale due to a respiratory condition caused by extensive mold in his flat has propelled the government to take decisive action in the form of this groundbreaking legislation.
Awaab’s Law, named after the young victim, aims to introduce strict new time limits on social housing providers, compelling them to take swift action to address dangerous hazards such as damp and mold. This move comes as a response to the tragic loss of Awaab Ishak and aims to prevent future such incidents from occurring. The proposed legal requirements for social landlords to investigate hazards within 14 days, begin repairs within a further 7 days, and carry out emergency repairs within 24 hours, send a clear message that negligence in providing safe housing will no longer be tolerated.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has emphasized the urgency and necessity of these measures, noting that Awaab’s tragic death should never have happened. The proposed reforms aim to force social landlords to meet their basic responsibilities within strict new time limits and ensure immediate action is taken to address dangerous damp and mold, thus preventing future tragedies.
Awaab’s father, Faisal Abdullah, has expressed hope that the Awaab Law will prevent other families from enduring the same pain and loss that his family experienced. This sentiment is echoed by social housing activist Kwajo Tweneboa, who highlights the urgent need for comprehensive measures to address the widespread issue of damp and mold in social homes.
The Awaab Law, when implemented, will empower tenants to take their landlords to court if they fail to rectify dangerous hazards, marking a significant step towards improving social housing standards. While there has been notable progress in the quality of social homes since 2010, with non-decent social homes falling from 20% to 10% last year, the government recognizes that more work is needed to ensure the safety and well-being of residents in social housing.
In conjunction with the Awaab Law, the Social Housing (Regulation) Law that came into force last year grants the Social Housing Regulator and tenants stronger powers and rights to hold dishonest landlords accountable. The Regulator will now have new enforcement powers to address bad practices by landlords, including the ability to issue unlimited fines and carry out emergency repairs with just 48 hours’ notice in the most serious cases.
This comprehensive reform also includes addressing the need for tenants to better understand their rights and challenge social landlords when issues arise. The forthcoming publication of the Regulator’s address will provide tenants with the necessary information to exercise their rights effectively, further empowering them in their interactions with landlords.
These legislative changes represent the latest efforts to address the systemic issues identified in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, affirming the government’s commitment to improving the safety and quality of social housing. The consultation on the Awaab Law will be open for 8 weeks, offering stakeholders the opportunity to provide input and shape the implementation of this vital legislation.
Summary
The recent announcement of the Awaab Law signals a pivotal moment in the UK government’s commitment to improving social housing standards. Named after a young victim who tragically lost his life due to hazards in his home, the Awaab Law aims to introduce strict new time limits on social housing providers, compelling them to take swift action to address dangerous hazards such as damp and mold. This legislation represents a significant step towards holding dishonest landlords accountable and ensuring the safety and well-being of residents in social housing. By empowering tenants and providing the necessary enforcement powers to the Social Housing Regulator, the government is actively working to address the systemic issues identified in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire and enhance the quality of social housing across the country.
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New plans to crack down on dishonest social landlords who fail to provide safe housing have been announced today (January 9, 2024), underpinning the government's promise to implement the Awaab Law.
The two-year-old boy from Rochdale died from a respiratory condition caused by extensive mold in the flat where he lived, and the government is taking steps to introduce transformative reforms to social housing to prevent future tragedies.
He Consult Law of Awaab has been launched by the Housing Secretary, who proposes introducing strict new time limits on social housing providers and forcing them to take swift action to tackle dangerous hazards such as damp and mould.
It proposes new legal requirements for social landlords to investigate hazards within 14 days, begin repairs within a further 7 days and carry out emergency repairs within 24 hours. Landlords who do not comply can be taken to court, where they can be ordered to pay compensation to tenants.
Landlords will be expected to keep clear records to improve transparency for tenants, showing that everything is being done to meet the new deadlines so they can no longer hesitate and delay rectifying people's homes.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove said:
Awaab Ishak's tragic death should never have happened. His family has shown courageous leadership, determination and dignity to champion these changes and now is the time for us to deliver on them through the Awaab Law.
Today is about taking stronger, more forceful action against social landlords who have refused to take their basic responsibilities seriously for too long. We will force them to fix their homes within strict new time limits and take immediate action to address dangerous damp and mold to help prevent future tragedies.
Together with the Awaab Law, our landmark Social Housing Law will dramatically improve the quality of life in social housing, giving residents a proper voice to fight those who think they can game the system and ensuring that dishonest landlords face the full penalty. force of law.
Faisal Abdullah, Awaab's father, said:
We hope that Awaab's Law will prevent other families from going through the pain we went through. Landlords must listen to tenants' concerns and we support these proposals.
Social Housing activist Kwajo Tweneboa said:
As we know, many families across the country are still living in damp and moldy homes, creating misery but, more worryingly, putting their health and safety at risk.
I am pleased to see Awaab's Bill reach the consultation stage and hope that it goes far enough to prevent other families from going through the tragedy that Awaab's family had to go through. It is essential that the government can ensure that this law has force and is enforced so that it works as intended.
Through measures announced today, tenants will be able to take their landlords to court if they fail to fix dangerous hazards. This adds to the progress already made to improve social housing standards.
There has been a steady improvement in the quality of social homes since 2010 – with non-decent social homes falling from 20% in 2010 to 10% last year – but the government recognizes there is more work to do.
He Social Housing (Regulation) Law that came into force last yearIt will give the Social Housing Regulator and tenants stronger powers and rights to hold the small minority of dishonest landlords to account.
The Regulator will also have new enforcement powers to root out bad practice by landlords, including issuing unlimited fines and entering properties with just 48 hours' notice to carry out emergency repairs in the most serious cases.
As part of the changes to implement the Awaab Law, the government recently Asked what more tenants need to better understand their rights and challenge social landlords when things go wrong. – the address to the Regulator will be published in the coming weeks.
This is the latest step in addressing the systemic issues identified in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire: not just the safety and quality of social housing, but also the way landlords treat tenants.
More information
The consultation on the Awaab Law will be open for 8 weeks and more details on how to respond can be found in the consultation document.
After analyzing the responses, we will introduce secondary legislation so that the Awaab Law comes into force as soon as practically possible.
The government continues to engage with the social housing sector, residents and experts to tackle unsafe homes. We publish monthly updates on work to improve the quality of social housing in England; Watch the last update.
More details on the government reforms can be found in the social housing quality page.
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