The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Baroness Taylor of Stevenage) (Lab)

My Lords, before I begin on the instrument, I need to declare an interest for this piece of business. My daughter works for Settle housing association. I pay tribute to the work of the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, on this issue. I know she cared about it as much as I do and worked very hard in the department when she was there to make sure that this piece of work came forward. I would like to express my thanks to her for that. In speaking to the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025, known as Awaab’s law, I will also speak to the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) (Amendment) (Extension to the Social Rented Sector) Regulations 2025. The Government are clear that homes must be safe. We are determined to drive a transformational and lasting change in the quality of social housing, making sure that tenants feel safe and that landlords have clarity on requirements. These regulations are an important step. I begin with Awaab’s law. Awaab Ishak was just two when he died in December 2020 due to prolonged mould exposure in his family home. Awaab’s death was tragic. There is nothing more painful than losing a child. How much more pain his parents must have knowing that, if they had been listened to and their social landlord had acted responsibly, their son’s death could have been avoided. Awaab’s parents repeatedly raised concerns, and their social landlord failed to act. His parents have campaigned tirelessly since then, and I want to thank them sincerely. Awaab’s law will make sure that tenants’ complaints are taken seriously and that landlords respond in a timely manner with empathy, dignity and respect. It is my sincere hope that it will build trust between landlords and tenants. For too long, tenants’ complaints about damp and mould have been treated at best with delay and failure to act and, at worst, by pushing the blame back at tenants, often using the term “lifestyle issues”—a term I banned at my council. We must do better. The regulations imply terms into tenancy agreements requiring social landlords to investigate and remedy significant damp and mould and emergency hazards within set timeframes. Significant hazards must be investigated within 10 working days, with written summaries sent to tenants in three days and action taken in five. Emergency hazards must be made safe within 24 hours. If these timescales cannot be met, landlords must provide suitable alternative accommodation until it is safe to return. Additional works to prevent hazards from recurring must begin as quickly as possible, with a 12-week backstop from investigation, and completed within a reasonable timeframe. Once the regulations are in force, landlords must comply, and tenants can take legal action for breach of contract if they do not. The regulations take into account genuine uncontrollable circumstances preventing compliance or if landlords can prove they used all reasonable endeavours to comply with requirements. These initial regulations focus on damp and mould, emergency hazards. I will return in 2026 and 2027 with further regulations to extend the law to additional hazards. This allows us to act now, tackling the 7% of socially rented homes in England suffering from damp while testing this first phase with tenants and landlords to make sure we get things right before moving to subsequent phases. This phased approach does not reduce landlords’ existing duties to ensure that their properties are free from dangerous hazards. We will monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of Awaab’s law, adding future phases to deliver the best outcomes. I now move on to the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) (Amendment) (Extension to the Social Rented Sector) Regulations 2025. Private landlords are already required to check the electrics in their properties. We must now ensure that social housing tenants have the same protections. Electrical faults in homes can be extremely dangerous. This reform will mean that tenants will know their electrics are safe. It will drive up standards and reduce deaths and injuries caused by electrical faults. The new requirements will come into force for new tenancies in November and for existing tenancies next year. All landlords will have to test the electrical installations in their properties at least every five years, to make sure that safety standards are met and repairs carried out. The regulations also go further, requiring landlords to check electrical equipment they provide. Local councils will have the power to require remedial works, if necessary, and can arrange the works themselves if action is not taken by the landlord. Additionally, these regulations raise the maximum financial penalty to £40,000 for landlords, private or social, who do not comply. I wish to draw the attention of the Committee to the fact that a correction slip has been issued for this statutory instrument. Regulation 11 stated that it inserts a Regulation 12B in the 2020 regulations. It should read “12A”. To summarise, these new requirements are not an additional burden to the many landlords we know already take a proactive approach to keeping homes safe. Clear standards and requirements of social landlords, and timelines to meet them, eliminate uncertainty for everyone and help make sure that tenants can live in the safe homes they deserve. Both these sets of regulations have received consistent support from across the House and the sector. I am confident that I bring robust regulations to the House, strengthened by consultation. Subject to the approval of Parliament, Awaab’s law is due to come into effect from October this year and electrical safety requirements for social tenancies from November. I commend these draft regulations to the Committee.