Awaab's Law - DocTech Create DocuWare Forms to Help Clients Stay Compliant

Awaab's Law is a UK legislation named after Awaab Ishak, a young boy who died due to prolonged exposure to mould in his social housing home. 

Awaab's Law

Awaab’s Law comes into force from October 2025 and mandates that social housing landlords in England must investigate and fix reported damp, mould, and emergency repairs within strict timeframes. The law aims to ensure social housing tenants live in safe and healthy conditions. 

The requirements coming into force on 27 October 2025 are as follows (Credit NHF):

• If a social landlord becomes aware of a potential damp and mold hazard in a social home, they must investigate within 10 working days to ascertain if there is a hazard. 
  
  
• The landlord must provide residents with a written summary of the investigation findings within three working days of the investigation concluding.  
  
  
• If it is found that the damp and mould hazard poses a significant risk of harm to the health or safety of a resident, the social landlord must make the property safe (using temporary measures if necessary) within five working days of the investigation. Supplementary work needed to prevent serious hazards reoccurring must be completed within 12 weeks and overall repair works must be completed within a reasonable time period. 
  
  
• In an emergency situation, the social landlord must investigate and action any emergency repairs as soon as reasonably practicable and, in any event, within 24 hours. 
  
  
• If the property cannot be made safe within the specified timescales for Awaab’s Law, then the social landlord must offer to arrange for the residents to stay in suitable alternative accommodation, at the social landlord’s expense, until it is safe to return.  
  
  
• Landlords must keep clear records of attempts to comply with these requirements, including records of all correspondence with the resident(s) and any contractors. If the landlord is unable to meet these requirements for reasons beyond their control, they will be expected to provide a record of the reasons that prevented them from doing so.   

In 2026, requirements will expand to a wider range of hazards beyond damp and mould. This will include excess cold and excess heat, falls, structural collapse and explosions, fire and electrical hazards, and domestic and personal hygiene and food safety. 

Then in 2027, the requirements of Awaab’s Law will expand to apply to the remaining hazards as defined by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), where they present a significant risk of harm, but excluding overcrowding. 

This poses Housing Providers with a real need to be efficiently compliant and one of our social housing clients in the north west came to us to see how we could help with them.

Digital Forms 

We have built some sample forms as below detailing how DocuWare Digital Forms can be used to assist landlords in staying compliant by offering transparent reporting and generating tasks based on the level or grading of the report findings.

These web forms for the submission can be filled out by laptop, tablet, iPad or phone.

The DocuWare digital forms contain drop down select fields and lists. The data can be generated from your existing data sets such as using the property database.

There are Opt Out options also on the form to close off areas of the forms.

Prioritisation notes are added to show up on the forms if staff want to refer to the guidelines.

The inspector can pick from a list of area, condition grading, defect identified. Yes or No selection will make the form data and questions change as they are dynamic.

There is the ability to add photos to prove there is or isn’t a defect as evidence.

The forms can include multiple area inspection area capabilities.

In this case the completed form is submitted and actually creates 2 forms in DocuWare – one none editable version as proof of the inspection and one which is editable so it can be updated. This is by choice of the client.

The forms can include multiple area inspection area capabilities.

In this case the completed form is submitted and actually creates 2 forms in DocuWare – one none editable version as proof of the inspection and one which is editable so it can be updated. This is by choice of the client.

Tasks are created based on the data entered – DocuWare is calculating due dates and tasks for management of the defects reported based on the priority reported. You can have email reminders and alerts if required.

There are multiple options for how these forms and the rules around them can be set up.

Standard advice leaflet or documentation can be generated based on the report finding to go to the customer with the report based on the data selected.

This documentation will also be stored to DocuWare so there is evidence of what was reported and communicated to the customer.

There is also an option to attach a relevant advisory leaflet on winter fuel and any other related information for the customer.