Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 – An Overview

The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 is an important piece of legislation designed to strengthen the rights and protections of people living in social housing in England.

The Act introduced a much stronger regulatory system for councils, housing associations and other registered providers of social housing, with greater emphasis on the safety and quality of tenants’ homes, accountability of landlords, transparency, complaints and the way tenants are treated.

One of the most significant changes is that the Regulator of Social Housing has stronger powers to investigate landlords and intervene when required standards are not being met.

The Act also provided the legal foundation for Awaab’s Law, which introduces specific timescales within which social landlords must investigate and deal with certain serious housing hazards.

For tenants struggling with damp, mould, leaks, defective heating, structural problems or other serious housing conditions, these changes provide important additional protections.

Housing Disrepair Helpline offers free advice to tenants experiencing housing disrepair. Established in 2015, Housing Disrepair Helpline has helped force landlords to fix more than 25,000 homes and continues to assist tenants who are struggling to get necessary repairs carried out.

Why Was the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 Introduced?

The Act was designed to fundamentally strengthen the regulation of social housing.

The legislation moved regulation towards a more proactive approach, allowing the Regulator of Social Housing to scrutinise landlords rather than relying principally on problems becoming serious before regulatory intervention occurs.

The legislation focuses particularly on:

• The safety and quality of social housing
• Landlord accountability
• Transparency
• Tenant engagement
• Standards of service
• Professional conduct
• Effective complaints procedures
• Stronger regulatory enforcement

The overall intention is to make social landlords more accountable for the condition of their properties and the services they provide to tenants.

Stronger Powers for the Regulator of Social Housing

One of the most important aspects of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 is the strengthening of the Regulator of Social Housing.

The Regulator oversees registered providers of social housing and sets standards that landlords are expected to meet.

The Act substantially strengthened the Regulator’s monitoring and enforcement powers.

These include powers relating to:

• Inspections
• Surveys
• Performance improvement plans
• Emergency remedial action
• Enforcement
• Performance monitoring
• Obtaining information from landlords

This is important because regulation is no longer intended to operate only after serious failures have already occurred.

The Regulator can take a more proactive approach to identifying whether landlords are providing tenants with safe homes and acceptable services.

Inspections of Social Landlords

The Social Housing (Regulation) Act introduced stronger inspection powers.

The Regulator can inspect registered providers to assess how they are performing and whether they are complying with regulatory standards.

This provides another mechanism for identifying systematic problems within social landlords.

For example, where there are widespread failures involving repairs, property safety, communication with tenants or complaints handling, regulatory scrutiny can help identify whether the landlord is meeting the standards expected of a registered provider.

Safety and Quality of Tenants’ Homes

One of the central aims of the new regulatory framework is ensuring that tenants live in safe and good-quality homes.

Social landlords are expected to understand the condition of their properties and take appropriate action to keep tenants safe.

For tenants experiencing housing disrepair, this is particularly important.

Problems can include:

• Damp and mould
• Leaking roofs
• Water penetration
• Defective heating
• Plumbing problems
• Electrical hazards
• Structural defects
• Pest infestations
• Fire-safety concerns
• Defective windows and doors
• Problems with communal areas

Social landlords should have effective systems for identifying and dealing with these types of problems.

Awaab’s Law and the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023

One of the most important protections arising from the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 is Awaab’s Law.

Awaab’s Law is named after Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old child who died in 2020 following prolonged exposure to mould in his social housing home.

Section 42 of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 created the statutory framework allowing regulations to require social landlords to investigate and remedy prescribed hazards within specified periods.

Awaab’s Law subsequently brought these requirements into effect.

From 27 October 2025, the first phase applies to emergency hazards and significant damp and mould hazards in social housing.

This means social landlords now have legally defined responsibilities for dealing with qualifying hazards within specified timescales.

How Quickly Must Social Landlords Act Under Awaab’s Law?

For hazards currently covered by Awaab’s Law, landlords have specific deadlines.

For significant damp and mould hazards, landlords must generally investigate within 10 working days and take the required action to make the home safe within 5 working days following the investigation.

Emergency hazards must be dealt with within 24 hours.

Landlords must also provide tenants with a written summary following an investigation within the applicable timeframe.

If a property cannot be made safe within the required period, the landlord may be required to provide suitable alternative accommodation at no cost to the tenant.

These requirements give tenants much clearer rights when serious housing conditions are reported.

Awaab’s Law Is Being Expanded

Awaab’s Law is being introduced in phases.

Phase 1 came into force on 27 October 2025, covering all emergency hazards and significant damp and mould hazards.

From 30 November 2026, Phase 2 is due to extend the significant-hazard requirements to a wider range of housing hazards.

This phased expansion means Awaab’s Law will become increasingly important for social housing tenants experiencing serious disrepair and dangerous housing conditions.

Better Consumer Standards

The Social Housing (Regulation) Act also strengthened the framework under which the Regulator of Social Housing sets consumer standards for registered providers.

These standards cover important aspects of the relationship between tenants and their landlords.

They include expectations concerning:

• Safety and quality of homes
• Transparency and accountability
• Neighbourhood and community issues
• Tenancy management

For tenants, this provides clearer standards against which the performance of social landlords can be assessed.

Listening to Tenants

Another important principle behind the reforms is that social landlords should listen to their tenants.

Tenants should be able to raise concerns and complaints and expect those concerns to be taken seriously.

This is particularly important with housing disrepair.

A tenant repeatedly reporting damp, mould or a leaking roof should not simply be ignored or passed between departments without meaningful action being taken.

The strengthened regulatory framework is intended to make social landlords more accountable for the services they provide and the way they communicate with residents.

Stronger Complaints Handling

The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 also strengthened the role of the Housing Ombudsman.

The legislation enables the Housing Ombudsman to issue a code of practice on complaint handling and monitor landlords’ compliance with it.

The Ombudsman can also order a landlord to review its policies or practices where an investigation identifies wider problems.

This is important because poor complaint handling can sometimes indicate a wider organisational failure.

For example, if numerous tenants report similar repair problems but those complaints are repeatedly mishandled, the issue may go beyond one individual property.

How Does the Act Help Tenants With Housing Disrepair?

The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 provides tenants with additional protection by strengthening the system surrounding social landlords.

For tenants experiencing housing disrepair, this can mean:

• Stronger regulatory oversight of landlords
• Greater scrutiny of the condition and safety of social homes
• Stronger enforcement powers
• Improved consumer standards
• Better complaints handling
• Greater landlord accountability
• Specific repair timescales under Awaab’s Law for qualifying hazards
• Greater emphasis on listening and responding to tenants

However, the Act does not replace tenants’ existing housing-disrepair rights.

Instead, it operates alongside other important housing legislation.

Other Laws Protecting Social Housing Tenants

A tenant experiencing serious disrepair may potentially have rights under several different pieces of legislation.

These include:

Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 – Section 11

This imposes important repairing obligations on landlords, including responsibilities concerning the structure and exterior of a property and installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation and heating.

Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

This strengthened the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 so that qualifying rented homes must be fit for human habitation at the beginning of and throughout the tenancy.

Housing Act 2004

This provides the framework for identifying housing hazards through the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).

Defective Premises Act 1972

This can provide protection where relevant defects connected with a landlord’s repairing obligations cause personal injury or damage to property.

Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 and Awaab’s Law

These provide additional regulation and, through Awaab’s Law, specific requirements concerning the investigation and remediation of prescribed hazards in social housing.

Depending upon the circumstances, several of these legal protections can potentially apply to the same housing problem.

What Should Tenants Do When Repairs Are Not Being Carried Out?

If you are experiencing disrepair in a council or housing association property, you should normally report the problem to your landlord as soon as possible.

Where possible, make the report in writing and keep evidence.

Useful evidence can include:

• Photographs and videos
• Emails and letters
• Repair reference numbers
• Dates when defects were reported
• Complaint correspondence
• Records of missed appointments
• Inspection reports
• Surveyor’s reports
• Photographs of damaged belongings
• Evidence of additional expenses
• Medical evidence where housing conditions have affected health

If conditions deteriorate, continue to take photographs and report the changes to your landlord.

A clear record can become particularly important if there is later disagreement about when the landlord knew about the problem or what action it took.

How Housing Disrepair Helpline Can Help

Tenants do not necessarily have to deal with persistent housing disrepair on their own.

Housing Disrepair Helpline offers free advice to tenants experiencing housing disrepair. Established in 2015, Housing Disrepair Helpline has helped force landlords to fix more than 25,000 homes and continues to assist tenants who are struggling to get necessary repairs carried out.

Housing Disrepair Helpline can discuss the conditions affecting your property and help you understand the options that may be available.

Where appropriate, Housing Disrepair Helpline can appoint tenants with specialist housing disrepair solicitors who can investigate their circumstances and consider whether the landlord is meeting its legal obligations.

Housing Disrepair Helpline works with different firms of solicitors experienced in housing disrepair. This means that an appropriate specialist firm can be considered according to the particular problems affecting the tenant and their home.

Are You Living With Housing Disrepair?

Social landlords have important responsibilities concerning the condition and safety of their properties.

The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, together with Awaab’s Law and existing housing legislation, has strengthened the framework designed to hold social landlords accountable when standards are not met.

If you are living with damp, mould, leaks, defective heating, structural problems, pest infestations or other serious housing conditions, Housing Disrepair Helpline offers free advice and can help tenants understand the options available for getting their homes repaired.

Housing Disrepair Helpline – established in 2015 and having helped force landlords to fix more than 25,000 homes.