• excess cold

• excess heat

• falls on the level (including falls on the level, falls on stairs, etc, falls between levels)

• structural collapse

• fire and explosions

• electrical hazards

• domestic hygiene (including personal hygiene and food safety).

The focus of this article is on Fire

The key point is that the law applies principally to fire hazards within an individual social tenant’s home. It does not replace the separate statutory regime for fire safety in a block’s common parts. Although it does not automatically apply to private leasehold homes, it provides a useful benchmark for the whole residential block-management sector: clear responsibility, swift escalation and effective action.

Fire: act first

The guidance defines the fire and explosions hazard broadly. It includes uncontrolled fire, smoke and fumes within a dwelling, as well as heat, hot gases and explosions. That covers risks arising from combustion and failures of systems such as boilers, including blast effects, flying debris and structural collapse.

Fire, electrical and gas issues often overlap. A resident may report a sparking socket, overheating equipment, a smell of gas or a failed smoke alarm. The immediate priority is to make the resident safe, not to delay action while deciding the most accurate label for the hazard.

Most fire-related reports falling within Awaab’s Law are likely to be emergencies. Examples include missing or defective smoke alarms, defective in-flat fire detection, unsafe escape arrangements within the home, sparks from fixed electrical fittings, immediate ignition risks and suspected gas leaks. An emergency hazard is one that a reasonable landlord would make safe within 24 hours.

The crucial boundary

Awaab’s Law requires social landlords to identify, investigate and make safe qualifying fire hazards inside an individual tenant’s flat or home.

It does not apply to fire hazards in the common parts of blocks containing two or more homes. This includes shared corridors, stairs, entrance halls and communal plant areas. Examples include:

• A blocked communal escape route.

• A damaged or missing fire door in a shared corridor.

• Failed emergency lighting.

• A compartmentation defect outside an individual flat.

• A defective communal smoke-control or alarm system.

This distinction is essential in mixed-tenure blocks. 

Common parts: who must act?

Common-parts fire safety is principally regulated by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The Responsible Person, must manage fire risk through an ongoing, risk-based process.

That means more than commissioning a fire risk assessment. The Responsible Person must regularly review it, identify hazards and people at risk, put suitable precautions in place, maintain those precautions and ensure escape routes remain clear and usable. Depending on the building, controls may include fire doors, detection and alarm systems where provided, emergency lighting, smoke-control systems, signage and protected escape routes.

The local Fire and Rescue Authority enforces the Fire Safety Order. It can inspect a building and take informal or formal action proportionate to the risk. For a serious risk that is not being adequately managed, it can issue an enforcement notice specifying the improvements required and a deadline of at least 28 days. If the risk is sufficiently serious, it can issue a prohibition notice with immediate effect, restricting access to all or part of the premises.

Where is the hazard?

Main route

Who should act?

Inside a social tenant’s flat, for example, a missing smoke alarm, faulty in-flat alarm or gas leak

Awaab’s Law, alongside other safety duties

Social landlord

Common parts, for example, a blocked stair, damaged communal fire door or failed emergency lighting

Fire Safety Order 2005

Responsible Person

Unresolved common-parts concern

Fire Safety Order enforcement; potentially Housing Act 2004

Fire and Rescue Authority and/or local authority

Timescales and triage

Phase 2 also covers electrical hazards, structural collapse, falls, excess cold and heat, and domestic hygiene. For fire, landlords should assume urgency unless a competent assessment supports a different conclusion.

Stage

Requirement

Potential emergency hazard

Investigate and complete relevant safety works within 24 hours of awareness.

Potential significant hazard

Investigate within 10 working days.

Significant hazard confirmed

Provide findings in writing within 3 working days, then complete relevant safety works within 5 working days of the investigation ending.

Further preventative works

Begin, or take steps to begin, within 5 working days; a 12-week backstop applies where necessary.

The clock starts when the landlord becomes aware of a potential hazard. Awareness can arise through a resident report, inspection, housing officer, contractor, managing agent or another third party. Reporting and escalation routes therefore matter as much as technical compliance.

Triage should take account of the location and condition of the defect, whether the risk is escalating, the resident’s ability to evacuate and the potential impact on neighbouring homes. Limited mobility, sensory impairments, learning difficulties, neurodivergence and other barriers to evacuation can turn an apparently manageable issue into an urgent one.

Practical lessons for blocks

In a mixed-tenure block, a social landlord may receive a report about a common-parts issue controlled by a freeholder or managing agent. The repair may sit outside its direct Awaab’s Law duty, but it should still refer the matter promptly, obtain confirmation of the response and retain a clear record. Passing on a report without follow-up is rarely good risk management.

For managing agents, freeholders and resident directors, five practical controls stand out:

• Publish a clear route for residents to report urgent fire-safety concerns, including out of hours.

• Confirm the Responsible Person and ensure residents and contractors know how to contact them.

• Give frontline staff simple escalation prompts for smoke, burning smells, failed fire doors, blocked escape routes, alarm faults, sparking and gas concerns.

• Ensure contractors can report defects immediately, provide evidence and are authorised to arrange proportionate emergency action.

• Maintain a single, auditable record of reports, decisions, temporary controls, resident communications and completed remedial work.

Temporary measures can be appropriate—such as isolating unsafe electrical equipment, securing a door, removing an obstruction or restricting access—but only if they genuinely reduce the risk. “Make safe” must never mean simply recording the issue for later.

The real test

A current fire risk assessment is essential, but it is not enough on its own. The real test is whether a report of smoke, a damaged fire door, a failed emergency light or a blocked route reaches the right person quickly, is assessed competently and results in effective action. For every party involved in managing a residential block, that is the standard residents are entitled to expect.