Awaab’s Law Phase 2: Electrical Hazards in Social Housing From 30 November 2026
Updated October 2026.
Phase 2 of Awaab’s Law comes into force on 30 November 2026. For the first time, social landlords will have legally binding deadlines to investigate and fix electrical hazards in their homes, not just damp and mould. We’ve updated this guide with the confirmed date, the timescales, and what housing providers in Surrey and West Sussex should be doing now.
If you’re a housing association, local authority, ALMO or registered provider, this is one of the biggest compliance changes in years. Here’s what’s changing, what it means in practice, and how MS Electrical Solutions can help.
What Changes on 30 November 2026
Until now, a tenant reporting a flickering light or a tripping fuse board could end up as a routine repair ticket that took weeks to resolve. From 30 November, that report starts a legal clock.
Phase 2 extends Awaab’s Law to seven more categories of hazard:
Electrical hazards
Fire and explosion
Falls, including trips
Excess cold
Excess heat
Structural collapse and falling elements
Domestic hygiene, including pests
The definitions of “emergency” and “significant” hazards are also being updated, which affects how quickly you have to act.
The Deadlines Landlords Must Meet
Emergency hazards: 24 hours
If a hazard poses an immediate risk to the tenant’s health or safety, it must be investigated and made safe within 24 hours of being reported.
Significant hazards: investigate within 10 working days
Hazards that are serious but not an immediate danger must be investigated within 10 working days.
Written summary to the tenant: within 3 working days
After the investigation, the tenant must receive a written summary of what was found and what you’re going to do about it.
Safety work: within 5 working days
Work needed to make the home safe must be carried out within 5 working days of the investigation.
Longer-term repairs: started within 12 weeks
Where a permanent fix takes longer, the work must start within 12 weeks.
These are the timescales as reported when the regulations were laid before Parliament in July 2026. Check the final government guidance for your organisation’s exact obligations.
What Counts as an Electrical Hazard?
A useful way to think about it is through the codes on an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report):
C1 – Danger present. Exposed live parts, scorched or burnt sockets and switches, signs of overheating. Treat these as emergency territory: 24 hours.
C2 – Potentially dangerous. Missing RCD protection where it’s needed, damaged cables, old fuse boards with no earth fault protection, missing earthing or bonding. These are likely to count as significant hazards.
A property with an overdue EICR, or with reported faults that haven’t been resolved, is now exposed in a way it simply wasn’t under Phase 1.
Why This Matters Now
Social landlords were already having to complete electrical inspections across their stock, following the extension of the Electrical Safety Standards to the social rented sector. Phase 2 adds legal repair deadlines on top of that. And it lands while the sector is already dealing with the 2026 wave of EICR renewals and the October 2026 changes to BS 7671 and inspector qualifications.
More inspections are due, more remedial work is being triggered, and the consequences of delay are higher than ever. Providers who plan ahead will avoid the scramble. Those who wait for tenants to report hazards will be working against the clock.
The Operational Challenge for Landlords
These requirements are written into social tenancies. If a deadline is missed, tenants can take legal action, and the Housing Ombudsman and the Regulator of Social Housing will look closely at how the complaint was handled.
Most in-house maintenance teams don’t have enough qualified electrical inspectors to attend within 24 hours, investigate properly and issue a written report straight away. An out-of-date contractor list won’t cut it. Providers need a local, accredited electrical contractor lined up before 30 November, not after the first emergency.
What Social Landlords Should Do Now
Audit your EICR position
Know exactly which properties have a valid EICR and which are due or overdue. An overdue EICR is the clearest electrical risk under Phase 2.
Move to planned preventative maintenance
Scheduled inspection and testing is the most effective way to stop an electrical fault becoming a legal emergency.
Line up a 24-hour electrical contractor
Agree response times with a local contractor now, so an emergency report doesn’t become a missed deadline.
Insist on instant digital reporting
You have 3 working days to get a written summary to the tenant. Your contractor needs to issue clear, dated reports when the job is done, not days later. MS Electrical Solutions provides digital certification and reporting on every job.
Check your contractor is properly qualified
From October 2026 the bar for who can carry out EICRs is rising. An electrician who already meets the new standard means you won’t have to re-inspect later.
How MS Electrical Solutions Helps Housing Providers
We work with landlords, property managers and housing providers across Surrey and West Sussex who need a reliable, NAPIT-accredited electrical contractor for compliance-critical work:
Emergency fault finding and make-safe callouts
Planned preventative maintenance schedules tailored to your stock
Prompt remedial works with same-day digital reporting
Emergency lighting, consumer unit upgrades and fire-safety electrical work
Full compliance documentation for your records and tenant obligations
Mark Summerton is fully qualified to the new October 2026 EICR standard and works to current BS 7671 requirements on every job, so your certification is valid and future-proof.
Get Ahead of Phase 2 in Surrey and West Sussex
Don’t wait for a 24-hour emergency to find a reliable electrician. If you manage social or rented housing in Surrey or West Sussex, call Mark on 07508 224603 to discuss response times for your housing stock, or use our Free Electrical Safety Checker to triage your current properties.
What Is Awaab’s Law?
Awaab’s Law is named after Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old boy who died as a result of prolonged exposure to severe mould in a social housing property. In response, the Government introduced legally binding timeframes for social landlords to investigate and fix serious hazards, set out under the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023.
It’s being introduced in phases. Phase 1 came into force on 27 October 2025 and covered damp, mould and emergency hazards. Phase 2, from 30 November 2026, adds electrical hazards and six other categories. Phase 3 is expected in 2027 and will cover the remaining hazards.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Awaab’s Law Phase 2 come into force?
30 November 2026. From that date, electrical hazards in social housing are covered by the same legally binding repair deadlines that already apply to damp and mould.
How quickly do electrical hazards need to be fixed under Awaab’s Law?
Emergency hazards must be investigated and made safe within 24 hours. Significant hazards must be investigated within 10 working days, with a written summary to the tenant within 3 working days and safety work within 5 working days of the investigation. Longer-term repairs must start within 12 weeks.
What counts as an electrical hazard?
Anything that puts a tenant’s health or safety at risk. That includes exposed live parts, scorched or overheating sockets, damaged cables, old fuse boards without RCD protection, and missing earthing. As a rule of thumb, C1 and C2 findings on an EICR are the ones to act on fastest.
Does Awaab’s Law apply to private landlords?
Not yet. It currently applies to social housing only. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 allows the Government to extend it to private rentals, but no date has been confirmed. Private landlords in England must already hold a valid EICR for each rented property and complete any required remedial work within 28 days.
What should social landlords do to prepare for Phase 2?
Audit your EICR position, move to planned preventative maintenance, line up a 24-hour electrical contractor, insist on instant digital reporting, and make sure your electrician meets the new October 2026 inspection standard.
Can MS Electrical Solutions help with social housing electrical compliance in Surrey?
Yes. We’re a NAPIT-accredited contractor providing EICRs, emergency callouts, planned maintenance, remedial works and full digital documentation for housing providers across Surrey and West Sussex. Call 07508 224603 to discuss your portfolio.
