Summary of recent housing announcements

Quick Links 

• Awaab's Law - Consultation and Introduction in October 2025
• Decent Homes Standard
• Rent Convergence
• Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans
• Competence and Conduct Standard
• Electrical safety in the social rented sector - proposals to extend regulations
• Get in touch

Last week saw several important developments in the housing sector, ranging from policy shifts to government responses that may impact both current and future projects. Below is a summary of these key updates, providing insights into the latest changes and their potential implications. If you have any questions about the updates, please reach out to our team. 

Awaab’s Law – Consultation and Introduction in October 2025

The Government has published its draft (non-statutory) guidance, alongside the laying of regulations (‘Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025’) confirming that from October 2025, all social landlords will need to address all emergency hazards and damp and mould within set timescales. This is phase 1 of the Regulations, which in 2026 will expand to include further hazards such as excess cold and heat, structural collapse, fire hazards and domestic hygiene, and in 2027 will expand again to include all remaining Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) hazards (except overcrowding), where the hazards present a significant risk of harm.

There are set timescales for which social landlords will need to be investigate and carry out works, along with expectations to consider providing temporary accommodation to residents where relevant safety works cannot be completed within specific timescales. 

A link to our recent article can be found here.

For more information, get in touch with Sarah Orchard or Louise Mansfield

Decent Homes Standard

On 2 July 2025, the Government announced the long awaited consultation on the reformed Decent Homes Standard (DHS) for both social and privately rented homes (the latter being introduced by the Renters’ Rights Bill – which is current at the Report Stage at the House of Lords and is anticipated to be enacted in Autumn 2025). 

It is proposed that the new DHS will:

• Update the definition of disrepair;
• Revise the list of building components which must be kept in a reasonable state of repair;
• Revise the Government’ approach to facilities;
• Introduce a window restrictor requirement;
• Consider a new home security requirement;
• Consider a requirement for floor coverings for new tenancies;
• Streamline and update the thermal comfort requirements;
• Introduce a new standard for damp and mould. 

The Government has confirmed that the proposals should be considered alongside the consultation on minimum energy efficiency standards.

The Consultation is open until 11.45pm on Wednesday 10 September 2025 and can be submitted here.

For more information, get in touch with Sarah Orchard. 

Rent Convergence 

Also on the 2 July 2025, we saw the ministerial announcement of a consultation around their proposals to implement a social rent convergence as part of the Government’s 10 year rent settlement for social housing. 

The proposals are for social rent properties, which are currently let at below ‘formula rent’ to increase by an additional amount each year (over and above the CPI+1% limit) until they converge with formula rent. This was following feedback on the earlier consultation on the future social housing rent policy that the level of investment in new and existing social housing was needed and could not be unlocked without the convergence being implemented. 

The consultation scope confirms, “The details of precisely how, and at what level, this mechanism will be implemented will be confirmed at Autumn Budget in 2025, taking account of the benefits to the supply and quality of social housing, the impact on rent payers and the impact on the government’s fiscal rules. To inform that decision, this consultation focuses on how convergence should be implemented.”

The Consultation is open until 11.45pm on Wednesday 27 August 2025 and views can be submitted here.

For more information, get in touch with Sarah Orchard. 

Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans

The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 introduce new obligations on building owners and managers, in high-rise and higher risk residential buildings, to address the fire safety concerns for vulnerable tenants and residents who would have difficulties evacuating a building by themselves, in the event of a fire. 

This follows the recommendations made in the Grenfell Tower Phase 1 Inquiry Report, surrounding Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans and actioning evacuation plans through legislation. 

Residents with disabilities and vulnerabilities will be entitled to:

1. A person-centred fire risk assessment to consider their specific individual risk and ability to evacuate in the event of a fire 
2. The measures that could be reasonably and proportionately introduced to mitigate against their risks 
3. A written statement recording what residents should do in a fire 
4. Information shared with their local Fire and Rescue Service so they are aware of where vulnerable residents reside, and can support their evacuation or rescue, in the event of a fire 

These obligations will come into force on 6th April 2025. 

The government have also published a toolkit which supplements the new Regulations. It sits separately from the Residential PEEP policy in that it is intended as a resource accessible to all Responsible Persons, even if their building falls outside the scope of the Residential PEEPs policy. This can be found here.

If your organisation is impacted by these new Regulations, get in touch with Louise Mansfield.  

Competence and Conduct Standard

It has been announced that the new Competence and Conduct Standard will come into force in October 2026 – it is understood that there will be a transition period to give providers an opportunity to ensure they will comply with qualification requirements. This is intended to be 3 years for larger registered providers (own 1,000 or more units of social housing) and 4 years for smaller providers (i.e. own less than 1,000 units).

Mr Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing and Planning in his statement of 2 July 2025 has said: The new requirements will improve professionalism within the sector, ensuring tenants receive a good service and are always listened to and treated with respect and dignity.

Under the new standards, it is understood that registered providers will need to:

• ensure staff engaged in the delivery of services in connection with the management of social housing have the necessary skills, knowledge and experience – they must also exhibit the required behaviours;
• implement a code of conduct – and ensure this is embedded
• have a policy detailing how they will achieve requisite staff performance; and
• comply with the Government’s policy statement on qualifications requirements for social housing.

Registered Providers will need to start considering the drafting of new policies and a code of conduct and identifying those who will need to undertake specific qualifications in order to be compliant.

For more information, get in touch with Rachel Newman.

Electrical safety in the social rented sector - proposals to extend regulations

The Government has announced that the legal requirement for landlords to test electrical installations in residential properties every 5 years will be extended to social housing. At present, the requirement, perhaps surprisingly, only applies to private landlords under the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. Social landlords will also be required to provide certificates to tenants and complete any remedial works identified within 28 days. PAT testing will also be required on all electrical appliances that are provided by social landlords as part of a tenancy (not appliances that belong to tenants), every 5 years or more frequently if a risk assessment deems it necessary. 

The Government has acknowledged that social landlords can have difficulty in gaining access to properties. The Government has confirmed that the legal requirements will not be breached if the social landlord can show they took all reasonable steps to carry out checks and complete remedial work. Guidance on what reasonable steps might include will be published, but an initial example is the landlord keeping copies of all communications with tenant and electricians as they tried to arrange the work. 

The Government have stated that they intend to introduce these legal requirements as soon as possible, however draft regulations to implement these requirements as well as confirmation as to when these requirements will come into force are awaited. Whilst many social landlords already follow these requirements as best practice and in order to comply with wider duties to ensure their properties are safe (which the Government acknowledge), those that don’t will need to make sure arrangements (including funding and resource) are in place to comply with the new requirements. 

For more information, you can read our article here or get in touch with John Cox, Louise Mansfield or Sarah Orchard if you have any further questions.

Get in touch 

Sarah Orchard 
Sarah.Orchard@bevanbrittan.com
0370 194 1314
07825854038

Louise Mansfield 
Louise.Mansfield@bevanbrittan.com
0370 194 5065
07436037389

Rachel Newman
Rachel.Newman@bevanbrittan.com
0370 194 1626
07789912877