Awaab's Law Phase 2: what changes on 30 November 2026
Seven more types of hazard come inside the legal deadlines. If your home is cold, unsafe electrically, or a fire risk, this is the date that matters.
Phase 1 of Awaab's Law has been running since 27 October 2025, but it only covers two things: emergencies, and damp and mould. That has left a lot of tenants with serious problems outside the deadlines entirely. If your flat has no working heating in January, or the wiring sparks, Phase 1 does not give you a clock to point at.
Phase 2 changes that, on 30 November 2026.
The seven hazard types being added
From 30 November 2026, all of these count as hazards your landlord must act on within the Awaab's Law timescales, where they present a significant risk of harm.
| Hazard type | What that means in a home |
|---|---|
| Excess cold | Broken or inadequate heating, failed boilers, severe draughts, no insulation where the home cannot be kept warm |
| Excess heat | Homes that overheat dangerously, often top-floor flats with windows that do not open properly |
| Falls | Falls on the level, on stairs, between levels, and falls associated with baths. Broken handrails, uneven floors, missing balcony guarding |
| Structural collapse and explosions | Failing walls, ceilings or balconies, and explosion risks including gas |
| Fire | Missing or broken smoke alarms, blocked escape routes, unsafe fire doors |
| Electrical hazards | Exposed wiring, repeatedly tripping circuits, sockets that spark or scorch |
| Domestic and personal hygiene, and food safety | Drainage and sanitation failures, pest infestations, no means of storing or preparing food safely |
Phase 2 does not mean every cold room or every cracked tile triggers a 10-day clock. The test is whether the hazard presents a significant risk of harm to you or anyone living with you. Who lives in the home matters here. The same amount of cold is a different risk to a baby, an elderly person or someone with a respiratory condition, and your landlord is supposed to take that into account.
What does not change
The deadlines stay exactly the same. Phase 2 widens the net, it does not speed anything up.
- Emergency hazards: investigate and make safe within 24 hours.
- Significant hazards: investigate within 10 working days.
- Written findings: within 3 working days of the investigation finishing.
- Safety work: within 5 working days of the investigation finishing.
- Further preventative work: begun within 5 working days and completed within 12 weeks, or as soon as reasonably practicable.
Who is covered also stays the same: tenants of councils and housing associations in England. Phase 2 does not extend Awaab's Law to private renters, shared owners, leaseholders, or anyone living under a licence rather than a tenancy.
What to do between now and November
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Report it now, in writing, anyway
Do not wait for 30 November. Your landlord already has repairing duties that cover cold, electrics and fire safety. Reporting now starts a paper trail, and if the problem is still unfixed on 30 November you are in a much stronger position than someone reporting it for the first time that week.
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Photograph and date everything
Thermometer readings in each room, photos of the wiring or the alarm, dates and times. Cold is harder to evidence after the fact than mould, so a few phone photos of a thermometer over a week is worth a great deal.
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Use the complaints process
Your landlord's formal complaints procedure is free, and you generally need to have gone through it before the Housing Ombudsman will look at your case. Starting it now means you are further along when the new rules bite.
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On 30 November, re-report anything still outstanding
A fresh dated report on or after 30 November puts the problem unambiguously inside the Phase 2 rules and starts a clean clock. Reference your earlier reports in it.
Changes in the law are followed by a wave of cold calls, texts and doorstep visits from claims companies. You do not need to pay anyone to use Awaab's Law. Complaining to your landlord is free and the Housing Ombudsman is free. Never sign anything handed to you at the door, and never agree to a claim over the phone with someone who called you.
Common questions
What is the exact date for Awaab’s Law Phase 2?
30 November 2026. That is when the amendment regulations come into force and the additional hazard types start counting towards the legal timescales.
What hazards does Phase 2 add?
Excess cold, excess heat, falls (on the level, on stairs, between levels, and associated with baths), structural collapse, fire, explosions, electrical hazards, and domestic hygiene, personal hygiene and food safety hazards. Damp and mould and emergency hazards were already covered from October 2025.
Do the timescales change in Phase 2?
No. The same clocks apply: 24 hours for emergency hazards, 10 working days to investigate a significant hazard, 3 working days to write to you with the findings, and 5 working days after that to make the home safe. Phase 2 widens what counts, not how fast.
My home is freezing. Do I have to wait until November 2026?
No. Excess cold only comes inside Awaab’s Law timescales on 30 November 2026, but your landlord already has a duty to keep the heating and hot water system in repair under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and a duty to keep the home fit to live in under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. You can complain now, on those grounds.
Does Phase 2 apply to private landlords?
No. Awaab’s Law applies to registered providers of social housing, meaning councils and housing associations. Private landlords are not covered by any phase of it.