More than half of social housing providers do not feel fully prepared for the introduction of Awaab’s Law, according to a new white paper from Shelforce.
Titled Navigating Awaab’s Law: Compliance, clarity and the critical role of education, the report reveals significant gaps in readiness, confidence and understanding across the sector, despite the legislation representing one of the most important regulatory shifts in decades.
Based on a comprehensive survey of local authorities, housing associations and landlords, the white paper found that 52% of respondents do not consider themselves fully prepared for compliance with Awaab’s Law, instead being partially prepared, still assessing the implications, or not prepared at all.
As a Birmingham City Council–owned manufacturer supplying windows, doors and fire doors to local authority building projects and housing associations, Shelforce is uniquely positioned to understand both the regulatory landscape and the practical challenges faced by the sector.
Howard Trotter, Business Manager at Shelforce, said the findings highlight a pressing need for greater clarity and education.
“Awaab’s Law is a critical moment for the entire sector,” said Howard. “We conducted the survey and produced this white paper to better understand how prepared organisations really are, and the results are concerning. While the direction of travel is clear, there remains real uncertainty about how to implement the requirements in practice.”
Confidence levels also paint a mixed picture, with a third of respondents (33.4%) saying they are not very confident or not confident at all in their ability to comply.
Damp and mould remains the dominant issue, with 73% of respondents expecting it to require the greatest increase in investigation and remediation, while cost was cited as the single biggest barrier to delivering healthy homes.
Broader knowledge gaps were also highlighted, particularly around the full range of Housing Health and Safety Rating System hazards set to be enforced in the coming years.
And with the research identifying tenant communication and engagement as a key area of concern, the paper also seeks to broaden the conversation beyond compliance alone, encouraging housing providers to consider occupier behaviour and education on the wider factors that influence building performance.
“These statistics show that compliance alone isn’t the full story,” added Howard. “There is a clear need for better education, clearer guidance and a more proactive approach to building performance. We need to combine the right processes with the right products and, crucially, the right understanding.”