By Tom Robins, Chief Executive, Switchee (October 2025)
On 27 October 2025, Awaab’s Law - part of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 - comes into effect across England and Wales. It is named in memory of Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old boy who died because of the poor conditions in his home. His tragic death forced the housing sector to confront a painful truth: that systems and processes had failed to protect him - and that he was not alone.
Awaab’s Law is rightly described as a landmark. It creates a statutory duty for social landlords to investigate and resolve serious hazards, such as damp and mould, within strict timeframes. But let’s be clear: this law should be a backstop, not a benchmark. If we treat it as the standard to aim for, we will fall short of the change the sector urgently needs to deliver.
Awaab’s Law is rightly focused on managing clearly defined HHSRS risks, and that foundation is critical. But that is only half the story. Alongside this, the legislation introduces a lesser-discussed requirement for landlords to understand the vulnerabilities of the people living in their homes. This represents a U-turn on the expectation that everyone is treated the same, as landlords will be expected to respond differently to each case in a way that reflects the resident’s unique needs.
For years, affordable housing stock has been treated primarily as an asset management challenge. Awaab’s Law shifts that focus. Housing providers are now expected to see residents not just as occupants of properties, but as individuals whose circumstances and vulnerabilities should shape how issues are addressed. That is a significant change from the traditional one-size-fits-all approach.
From where I sit in the sector, as a partner working alongside housing providers, the direction of travel is clear. We need to understand the performance of people's homes and how residents are interacting with their homes. It is the combination of the resident and the home that shapes outcomes. Only then can providers deliver solutions that are truly bespoke. One size does not fit all - and in truth, it never has.
Most residents will have a good outcome in most homes. Awaab’s law asks us to think differently, though. How can all residents have a good outcome in all homes?
The legislation also highlights a fundamental misunderstanding about how certain risks unfold. Though legislated to be fixed in the same timeframes, damp and mould are not like broken windows. You cannot simply fix them once and close the job. Mould is organic; it grows back unless you tackle the underlying causes, check it has not returned, and build prevention into your response.
The new legislation shines a light on one of the challenges of our sector. The Regulator of Social Housing focuses on the process journey. The Housing Ombudsman focuses on the person’s journey. Both matter, but it is usually the resident who falls through the cracks between the process journeys. If mould recurs several times, over several years, with no proof it is resolved, the Ombudsman is clear: that is one continuous failure, not three separate jobs. That is a human-centred perspective, and it is one our sector urgently needs to adopt if we want to avoid repeating the same mistakes - and not one that is present in the legislation at the moment.
Another underappreciated shift in Awaab’s Law is how it treats overheating, underheating, and, by extension, fuel poverty. At Switchee, we have been talking about underheating for a while now, but for the first time, these are no longer social issues for landlords to simply be aware of. In no uncertain terms, these risks are now the responsibility of the housing provider. An underheated home with a vulnerable tenant is now a problem that must be resolved within a mandated timeframe in the same way as a broken window.
This changes everything. It means housing providers must play a direct role in tackling fuel poverty, not as charity but as a duty. The legislation has a far-reaching effect on the responsibility of a social landlord.
The government has injected new funding into the sector, and its message is blunt: you have more money than most, so get on with it. The sector’s response is equally blunt: two decades of underfunding cannot be reversed with two years of catch-up cash. Both views are true. But neither changes the fact that the expectations of housing providers are shifting in profound ways.
At Switchee, our mission is simple: to improve the quality of life for people living in rented homes. We have long said that one size fits none. The majority of tenants will be fine in the majority of homes, but the smaller proportion of residents living in the poorest-performing homes will drive the majority of the cost, complexity, and impact. These are the people and homes where focus is needed most, and the direction in which Awaab’s Law rightly pushes us.
I believe Awaab’s Law is both a wake-up call and a test. Compliance is non-negotiable. But if compliance is all we aspire to, then we will have missed the point, and in turn, failed the residents whom we are here to serve.
This legislation is not just about fixing risks. It is about recognising people. It is about moving from a reactive, asset-first mindset to a proactive, resident-first one. That is the change the sector must deliver - not because the law demands it, but because anything less would be indefensible.
Tom Robins is the Chief Executive Officer at Switchee. Tom has spent his career in scale-up leadership roles; Manufacturing Consulting with Newton, Financial Services Analytics with BIPB, Board Decision Platform SaaS with Board Intelligence and Telecommunications with Community Fibre. Tom has been working with the Housing Sector since 2015 and believes in the power of technology to improve the quality of life for residents while transforming the operating model for providers. Tom is a people-focused leader with success in building and motivating teams. Tom has a MEng from the University of Cambridge in Chemical Engineering and likes messing around in boats when given the chance.
For more information about how Switchee is supporting UK social housing providers in resident-first housing management, contact us today to see how we can help.
