Damp, mould, and all emergency hazards covered since 27 October 2025.
Who it's for
Four kinds of organisation, one evidence trail.
The obligations differ. What each of them needs to be able to show, a year later and to somebody sceptical, does not.
Where the regime stands
What is in force, and what is coming.
Day Zero is the day you become aware. Day 1 is the next working day.
Excess cold, heat, fire, electrical, and structural hazards added.
Defensible complaint records
Private landlords
For private landlords: gather the same standard of evidence before the regime extends to the private rented sector, and settle disputes on measurements rather than opinion.
The statutory regime does not yet apply to the private rented sector, but the evidential standard courts and mediators expect already does.
A disrepair claim turns on what you can show about the property's condition over time, not on what either side remembers.
The same fortnight of data settles the condensation-versus-defect question that most disputes are actually about.
Consistent portfolio workflow
Managing agents
For managing agents: run every complaint through one workflow, so what you did and when you did it is the same story across every landlord you act for.
You act for several landlords with different processes, and the inconsistency is what creates exposure.
One workflow per complaint means the record looks the same whoever handled it and whichever landlord it belongs to.
Handover, escalation and reporting stop depending on which member of staff dealt with it.
Continuous data beyond inspection day
Building specialists
For surveyors and building specialists: put continuous measurement behind your professional judgement, instead of a single spot reading taken on the day you happened to visit.
A spot reading captures the day you visited, and the day you visited may not be representative.
Continuous data puts a defensible basis under a professional opinion, especially where the cause is contested.
The measurement record and your own findings sit in one document rather than two.
Whatever you are responsible for, the question is the same.
Can you show what the property was doing, what you did about it, and when?
Deadline-aware investigations
Social housing
For social landlords: structure each case around risk, evidence, resident communication and the deadlines that govern the response.
Awaab's Law Phase 1 has applied since 27 October 2025, with hard deadlines measured from different events.
The Housing Ombudsman looks for continuous measurement, resident vulnerability considered on the record, and an audit trail that was written as things happened.
Phases 2 and 3 widen the hazards covered during 2026 and beyond, so cases opened now need rules versioned by their awareness date.