Guide · Awaab's Law evidence trail

One hazard case, six systems.

From 30th November 2026, Awaab's Law covers seven more hazard groups, and every case needs a timed trail you can prove. This guide follows one case through the systems it touches, shows where the trail breaks, and sets out the data model that joins it up.

Book a call Run the 10-point evidence check

By Catalyst BI housing data teamLast reviewed 3rd November 202610 minute read

7hazard groups join on 30th November 2026Excess cold, excess heat, falls, fire, electrical, domestic hygiene and structural collapse.

10 daysto investigate a significant hazardWorking days from the landlord becoming aware.

4entities to joinTenants, property, investigation appointments and work orders.

The evidence trail, drawn out

One hazard case. Six systems. Four entities.

Read left to right for time and top to bottom for the four entities in the MHCLG and HACT data standard. Illustrative case built from synthetic data.

TenantsWho reported it, and any vulnerability

PropertyThe home the case attaches to

Investigation appointmentsWhen it was inspected, by whom, what was found

Work ordersWhat was done, by whom, and when

Mon 09:14Resident reports damp and mould in a bedroomContact centreReport received. The record must show this time.

Mon 10:02Case logged and hazard categorised as significantHousing management systemCategorisation recorded

Mon 15:30Investigation appointment bookedScheduling system10 working days to investigate

Thu 11:00Surveyor inspects and records findingsSurveyor appInvestigation concludes

Mon 16:20Written summary of findings sent to residentLetters and CRMWithin 3 working days

Tue 08:45Contractor starts safety worksContractor portalWithin 5 working days

Week 7Further works started and completedContractor portalPhysically started within 12 weeks

Where the trail usually breaksEvery card is a record in a different place. The evidence trail is the join between them.

00The case

What has to happen when a resident reports a hazard?

From 30th November 2026, seven more hazard groups join damp and mould under Awaab's Law. Each comes with fixed timescales, and you must be able to show you met every one, case by case.

24 hoursto investigate and make safe an emergency hazard

Phase 1 has applied since 27th October 2025 to emergency hazards and to damp and mould that presents a significant risk. Phase 2 adds excess cold, excess heat, falls, fire, electrical hazards, domestic hygiene (including pests and refuse) and structural collapse, where they present a significant risk (Anthony Collins). Phase 3, expected in 2027, covers the remaining hazards except overcrowding.

What are the timescales?

Emergency hazards: investigated and made safe within 24 hours.
Significant hazards: investigated within 10 working days of the landlord becoming aware.
Written summary: sent to the resident within 3 working days of the investigation concluding.
Safety works: begun within 5 working days of the investigation concluding.
Further works: where needed, physically started within 12 weeks.

None of this is new to your repairs team. What is new is having to prove it for every case, across more hazard types, from records that were never designed to be joined.

01The journey

Where does one hazard case leave a trace?

In most housing associations, a single damp case touches six systems: the contact centre, the housing management system, scheduling, the surveyor's app, letters and the contractor portal. Each holds part of the evidence and none holds all of it.

6systems a single case typically passes through

The diagram above follows one case from the first phone call to the finished works. Read it left to right for time, and top to bottom for what each record is about.

Each system was bought to do its own job well. The contact centre logs calls. The surveyor's app records findings. The contractor portal tracks jobs. Nobody bought them to produce a single timed record of one case, which is exactly what Awaab's Law now asks for.

What does the evidence need to show?

For each case: when the report arrived, how the hazard was categorised, when it was investigated, what action was taken, what the resident was told and when the works were done. Those six facts sit in different systems in most associations.

Questions to ask your team

If the Regulator asked for every timestamp on one case, how many systems would we open?
Which of those systems uses our property reference?
Who could pull the full trail together today, and how long would it take?

02Where it breaks

Where does the evidence trail usually break?

At three hand-overs: when the clock pauses, when the resident is written to, and when a contractor marks a job complete. They are marked on the diagram, and they are where a case most often cannot be proved.

3hand-overs where most trails break

The clock pauses. If a resident cannot give access, the appointment moves. Unless the reason and every attempt are recorded against the case, the 10 working days look missed. Check how the guidance treats delays like this with your legal adviser, and record what you tried and when.
The letter is sent. Written summaries often go from a letters system or a shared mailbox that does not hold the case reference. The letter exists, but you cannot prove which case it closed, or when.
The contractor finishes. If the contractor's completion does not carry your case reference, you cannot match it back. The work was done on time, and you still cannot show it.

None of these are technology problems first. They are reference problems. Fix the reference and the join follows.

03The model

What does an Awaab's Law data model look like?

Four entities from the MHCLG and HACT data standard: tenants, property, investigation appointments and work orders. Each carries its own timestamps. Joined on one property reference and one case reference, they become a single trail.

4entities in the MHCLG and HACT data standard

Entity	Timestamps it carries	Usually comes from
Tenants	Report received, written summary sent, other updates to the resident	Contact centre, CRM, letters
Property	Case opened against the home, hazard categorised, previous cases at the same address	Housing management system, asset system
Investigation appointments	Booked, attempted, completed, findings recorded	Scheduling system, surveyor app
Work orders	Raised, started, completed, by whom	Repairs system, contractor portal

The standard was developed by MHCLG's Local Digital team with HACT and is still being refined, so check the latest version with HACT (MHCLG Digital). The four entities are unlikely to change. Read our guide to the data standard.

04The clocks

How should you define each clock?

Once, in writing, and in the data model rather than in each report. Teams that define the 10 working days differently will report different answers to the same question, and an auditor will notice.

1written definition per clock, tested in the model

For each timescale, write down three things: the event that starts it, the event that stops it, and what counts as a valid pause. Then build that definition into the data model, test it against real cases and use it in every report.

What should each clock record?

Start: the timestamp and the system it came from.
Stop: the event that ends it, with its own timestamp.
Pauses: each attempt and reason, such as no access, with times.
Status: on track, at risk or breached, calculated the same way everywhere.

With that in place, alerts become possible. A case at risk shows up while there is still time to act, not in next month's report.

Questions to ask your team

Do repairs, compliance and the data team count working days the same way?
Where is each clock calculated today: in the system, a spreadsheet or a report?
Could we show a case's clock history if a resident complained?

05Build once

Can the same model answer STAIRs and TSMs?

Yes. The joined repairs and hazard data you build for Phase 2 is the same data a STAIRs request about repairs will draw on from 1st April 2027, and the same data behind your repairs and safety TSMs. Phase 3 then extends it to the remaining hazards.

2027Phase 3 and STAIRs requests both land

Build the property and tenancy model once and every obligation after it gets cheaper. That is the argument for doing the data work properly now, rather than producing a Phase 2 report by hand and starting again in April.

Read the STAIRs data guide to see how the same model handles a tenant's information request.

06Five checks

What can you check this week, without new software?

Five checks that need an afternoon and an honest answer. Number 3 catches most teams out.

Pick one closed damp case from last month. Try to list every timestamp, from the first report to the finished work, in one document. Note how long it takes.
Count the systems you had to open. Every system is a place the trail can break.
Check your contractor completions carry your case reference. If a contractor's completion cannot be matched to your case, you cannot prove the 5-day or 12-week deadline was met.
Write down when each clock starts, pauses and stops. Then ask repairs and compliance whether they agree.
Ask who is told before a case breaches. If the answer is the monthly report, the alert is arriving after the deadline.

FAQs

Questions about the evidence trail.

Not covered here? Ask us directly.

What changes under Awaab's Law on 30th November 2026?

Phase 2 adds seven hazard groups to the timescales that already apply to damp and mould: excess cold, excess heat, falls, fire, electrical hazards, domestic hygiene (including pests and refuse) and structural collapse, where they present a significant risk. Phase 3, expected in 2027, covers the remaining hazards except overcrowding.

What timescales does Awaab's Law set?

Emergency hazards must be investigated and made safe within 24 hours. Significant hazards must be investigated within 10 working days, a written summary sent within 3 working days of the investigation concluding, and safety works begun within 5 working days. Further works must physically start within 12 weeks.

What is an Awaab's Law evidence trail?

A single, timed record of one hazard case, from the first report to completed works. It joins the tenant, the property, investigation appointments and work orders, so you can show when each step happened and which system it came from, without rebuilding the case by hand.

Why do Awaab's Law evidence trails break?

Usually at three hand-overs: when an appointment moves and the reason is not recorded, when the written summary is sent from a system without the case reference, and when a contractor's completion cannot be matched back to the case. Each is a reference problem before it is a technology problem.

Do we need new systems for Awaab's Law Phase 2?

No. Most associations keep their contact centre, housing management, scheduling and contractor systems and join their data in a governed data layer alongside them. The work is agreeing references and clock definitions, then modelling the four entities once.

Sources

Every date and figure on this page is attributed to a named source.

Anthony Collins Solicitors, Awaab's Law expands againPhase 2 hazard groups and date, Phase 3 scope.
GOV.UK, Awaab's Law: guidance for social landlords, timeframes for repairs in the social rented sectorTimescales and record-keeping. Guidance updated 16th July 2026.
Devonshires, Awaab's Law regulations now in force: what this means for social landlordsPhase 1 start date and timescales.
MHCLG Digital, Delivering a data standard to support Awaab's Law in social housingAugust 2025. The four entities.

This guide explains the data side of Awaab's Law. It is not legal advice. Take advice on your own policy, pauses and exemptions.