Awaab’s Law sets strict deadlines for social landlords to act on hazards, and electrical faults are among the most urgent. We’ve been through the government’s guidance to show what counts as an emergency, and what it means for electricians and contractors
Since 27 October 2025, social landlords in England have had to investigate and make safe any emergency hazard within 24 hours of it being reported under Awaab’s Law. From 30 November, Phase 2 extends the regime to significant electrical hazards too.
How Awaab’s Law guidance defines an emergency
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Phase 2 triage guidance describes an emergency electrical hazard as one where there is an imminent risk of injury from electricity. It gives three examples:
- Exposed live parts, damaged socket outlets, or defective electrical equipment that could cause electric shock or burns, or create a fire hazard
- Situations with a clear and immediate risk of electric shock, which the guidance says means many electrical hazards are likely to be emergencies
- Electrical hazards in places readily accessible to children or other vulnerable occupants
By contrast, a significant hazard is one that does not pose an imminent danger but could cause serious harm. Think deteriorated installations needing remedial work, or defects that are not immediately dangerous but may become so if left.
The reasonable landlord test
Neither category is defined by a checklist. The test is what a reasonable landlord would do: could and would they make the hazard safe within 24 hours (an emergency) or 15 working days (a significant hazard)? The guidance says landlords should weigh the tenants’ circumstances, the severity of the hazard and the scale of works, but not their own budget or staffing.
It also says landlords should consider temporary measures that make a hazard safe while a permanent fix is arranged. The guidance gives no electrical-specific example of this, but for contractors the practical question is likely to be what can be made safe on the day, and what needs a follow-up visit.
The government’s worked examples of Awaab’s Law
The electrical section of the guidance sets out three scenarios.
Emergency: a tenant reports a damaged socket outlet with accessible live conductors. The household includes two children, one under five. The guidance says the immediate risk of shock is clear, and that young children make contact more likely. It describes this as an emergency requiring immediate action.
Significant: an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) carried out under the 2020 electrical safety regulations records several C3 observations, so no remedial work is required. However, the tenant is pregnant and has a two-year-old, and is worried about the lack of a surge protection device and an older-style consumer unit without modern safety features. The electrician strongly recommended addressing both. The guidance treats this as a significant hazard because of the number of improvements recommended and the vulnerability of two occupants.
Out of scope: an EICR records a C3 for a consumer unit that does not meet the latest edition of BS 7671. There is no damage, overheating or deterioration, and the installation is otherwise satisfactory. The guidance says this belongs in general improvement and maintenance work, not on an Awaab’s Law clock.
Who is more at risk?
The guidance lists examples of circumstances that should push a landlord towards treating a hazard as more serious. The list is not exhaustive:
- Children, particularly those under five, who may touch equipment without understanding the danger
- People of any age with learning disabilities, some neurodivergent conditions, or dementia
- Pregnancy, where shock may present additional risks to both parent and unborn child
- Tenants who rely on medical equipment that needs charging, such as a CPAP machine or an electric wheelchair
What isn’t covered?
Risks from electrical appliances that are not part of the building are out of scope. The guidance does add that appliances, especially those containing lithium-ion batteries, can still be a fire risk and should be managed appropriately.
Where electrical and fire hazards overlap
A sparking socket or switch also appears in the guidance’s fire section, which lists electrical sparks from light switches and sockets, and overloaded plugged-in appliances, as examples of uncontrolled ignition sources. The guidance’s advice on overlaps is practical. Landlords should not worry about which hazard category applies, and should concentrate on making the problem safe.
Questions landlords are expected to ask
The guidance suggests prompt questions for triage, including:
- Is there an immediate risk of someone touching an exposed live part?
- Have any switches in the consumer unit tripped, and has power failed in all or part of the home?
- Are there young children, anyone relying on medical equipment, anyone who is pregnant, or anyone else the tenant is worried about?
These are guides for conversation, not a mandatory checklist.
What it means for contractors
Several points in the guidance bear directly on electrical contractors working for social landlords.
- Investigations and remediation should be carried out by someone with the necessary skills, qualifications and experience. For electrical hazards, the guidance says that would likely be a qualified electrician.
- EICR codes can support triage. C1 means danger present and immediate remedial action required, and C2 means potentially dangerous and urgent action required. C3 and further investigation (FI) codes do not on their own make an installation unsatisfactory.
- Where Awaab’s Law timelines are shorter than those under the electrical safety regulations, which require inspection and testing at least every five years, landlords should follow the shorter timeline.
- A fault that appears between inspections is still covered, even if the installation was previously judged safe.
For contractors, the likely consequence is more short-notice call-outs and more demand for clear, prompt reporting. The guidance repeatedly stresses the importance of landlords keeping records of reports, investigations and remedial action, and contractors should expect to be asked for that evidence.
To read more about Awaab’s Law, click here.
