Legal reference
The statutory hazard-response timeframes for the private rented sector
From 2027, the statutory hazard-response framework already in force in social housing extends to the private rented sector.
The origin
Section 100 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and Schedule 4 Part 1 insert sections 2A and 2B into the Housing Act 2004, applying the framework to private rented homes. The framework takes effect in the private rented sector once the Secretary of State makes the supporting regulations under HA2004 s.2A, expected in 2027. Until then, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 reasonable-time standard continues to apply. Harvey W James operates to the Awaab's Law timeframes voluntarily pre-2027 on every managed property.
Awaab's Law is named after Awaab Ishak, the two-year-old child who died in December 2020 from prolonged exposure to mould in social-rented accommodation. The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 introduced the statutory framework for social housing, and the Renters' Rights Act 2025 has now extended it to the private rented sector. The framework sits inside the Housing Act 2004 alongside the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), the existing hazard-assessment regime that local authorities use to rate housing conditions.
The mechanism is statutory hazard categorisation plus statutory response timeframes. A hazard is categorised by severity; the landlord must investigate and respond within the timeframe set in regulations; failure to respond within the timeframe is itself a breach, separate from any underlying disrepair.
The clock
The timeframes set out in the supporting regulations are expected to be as follows. They differ by hazard severity.
24 hours to investigate and begin emergency-hazard repair. Emergency hazards include loss of heating, water or power; uncontainable leaks; gas leaks; security failures (a door or window that will not lock); and any hazard that presents a serious and immediate risk to health or safety.
10 working days to investigate a significant hazard, with the relevant safety work carried out within 5 working days of that investigation. Significant hazards include damp, mould, structural defect, unsafe electrics, and other Category 1 hazards under the HHSRS that are not immediate emergencies but require timely action.
Alternative accommodation where a hazard renders the property temporarily uninhabitable and it cannot be made safe within the applicable timeframe.
The timeframes run from the point at which the landlord (or the landlord's agent) is on notice of the hazard. A tenant's written report, an agent's inspection note, a contractor's report, or a third-party referral all count as notice. The landlord cannot reset the clock by disputing the report — the obligation to investigate is triggered by the notice itself.
The obligation
The operational requirement breaks down into four parts.
The landlord (or the agent acting for them) must have a route through which tenants can report hazards at any hour, including outside business hours for emergencies. For managed tenancies, that is the agent's emergency line. For self-managed tenancies, the landlord's own contact details must be in the prescribed-information disclosure and must work.
Within 24 hours of notice of an emergency hazard (or within 10 working days for a significant hazard), the landlord must investigate. That means attending the property, instructing a contractor to attend, or taking a documented decision based on existing evidence. A tenant's written report alone is not a substitute for investigation.
The repair must be completed within the same window, or — where the repair cannot reasonably be completed in time — the landlord must take reasonable steps to make the property safe and document why a longer period is required. The documentation matters: a landlord who simply misses the timeframe with no record of the reason is in breach.
Date and time of notice, date and time of investigation, contractor instructions, attendance records, repair completion records, and any decisions about alternative accommodation. The documentation is the evidence base if a tenant escalates the matter to the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman or pursues a Rent Repayment Order.
The tenant's part
For managed properties, the route is simple. Repairs and hazards go to aftercare@harveywjames.com, or call our line at 020 3865 1500. For an out-of-hours emergency (loss of heating, water, electricity; uncontainable leaks; gas leaks; security failures), call the emergency line at any hour — do not wait until business hours.
Three things help the response.
If a hazard is reported and the response falls outside the timeframe without a documented reason, the tenant's route is the Internal Complaints Procedure and then the external redress route appropriate to the complaint — the Property Redress Scheme for complaints about us as the agent, the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman (live from late 2026) for complaints about the conduct of the landlord.
The wider standard
Until the Secretary of State makes the regulations under HA2004 s.2A, the governing standard in the private rented sector is the implied repairing covenant under sections 11 and 12 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 — the landlord must keep the structure and exterior in repair and the installations for water, gas, electricity, heating, and sanitation in proper working order, and must do so within a reasonable time of being on notice of any disrepair. "Reasonable time" is a question of fact, judged against the severity of the disrepair and the practical difficulty of the works.
The reasonable-time standard remains in force after Awaab's Law takes effect. The Awaab's Law timeframes are statutory minimums for the categories they cover; they do not replace the LTA 1985 repairing obligation, they sit alongside it.
Also under section 100 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and Schedule 4, the Decent Homes Standard — long applied to the social-rented sector — extends to private rented properties from 2035. A property meets the Decent Homes Standard if it meets the statutory minimum standard for housing in England (no Category 1 hazards under the HHSRS), is in a reasonable state of repair, has reasonably modern facilities and services, and provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort. Properties that fail the standard will face enforcement action by the local authority and potential restrictions on letting.
Awaab's Law and the Decent Homes Standard are complementary, not duplicative. Awaab's Law governs the response time to a specific hazard. The Decent Homes Standard governs the baseline condition a property must meet to be lawfully let. A property that meets the Decent Homes Standard may still develop a hazard that triggers Awaab's Law obligations; a property that breaches the Decent Homes Standard is also likely to be breaching the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 repairing covenant.
If the clock is missed
Three routes are likely to apply in parallel once Awaab's Law is in force in the private rented sector.
Local authorities can already issue improvement notices, prohibition orders, and hazard awareness notices under the Housing Act 2004 where a Category 1 hazard is identified. Awaab's Law gives them an additional basis for action where the landlord has failed to respond within the statutory timeframe. Civil penalties up to £30,000 per breach are available under existing HA2004 enforcement provisions.
The PRS Ombudsman (Part 2 Chapter 2 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, live from late 2026) handles complaints about the conduct of private landlords. The Ombudsman can direct apologies, compensation up to £25,000, and remedial works. A landlord who has missed an Awaab's Law timeframe is plainly within the Ombudsman's jurisdiction.
Where the failure to respond to a hazard also constitutes a separate housing offence — for example, breach of an improvement notice — the tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order of up to 24 months' rent under Part 2 Chapter 4 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025. See ETC v2.1.5 §75 and the Internal Complaints Procedure for the conditions and process.
Related pages
For the full post-RRA regulatory framework, see The Renters' Rights Act 2025. For the operational pitch for landlords, see the Landlords page. For the full tenant-rights explainer, see the Tenants page. For the complaints procedure and the two external redress routes, see the Internal Complaints Procedure. For specific questions, see the FAQ. For terminology, see the Glossary.
Contacts & registers
This page reflects Harvey W James' operational understanding of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (in particular section 100 and Schedule 4 Part 1), the Housing Act 2004 (in particular sections 2A and 2B as inserted by the RRA), the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 sections 11 and 12, and the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. It is not legal advice. The Awaab's Law timeframes set out above are the expected timeframes published by MHCLG; the operative timeframes will be those set in the Secretary of State's regulations under HA2004 s.2A when made. For the published Act text refer to legislation.gov.uk; for your specific situation seek independent legal advice. Last reviewed against Essential Terms and Charges v2.1.5 (7 May 2026).
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