Awaab's Law: Scotland and Northern Ireland

Awaab's Law — the statutory repair timeframes introduced by the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 — applies to England only. Housing is devolved across the UK, so Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales each set their own rules.

But "doesn't apply" does not mean "nothing is happening." Scotland has its own version of Awaab's Law with very similar timeframes, in force from 6 October 2026 — and, unlike England, it covers private tenancies from day one. Northern Ireland has no confirmed equivalent legislation at the time of writing. Here is the current position for each jurisdiction.

For the full breakdown of the English requirements, see The Complete Guide to Awaab's Law.

Scotland: In Force 6 October 2026

The Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026 (SSI 2026/173) were made on 24 March 2026, after a draft "has been laid before and approved by resolution of the Scottish Parliament". Regulation 1 reads:

These Regulations may be cited as the Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026 and come into force on 6 October 2026.

They work by amending two existing pieces of Scottish law rather than by creating a standalone regime: the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 repairing standard, which governs private tenancies, and the Scottish Secure Tenants (Right to Repair) Regulations 2002, which govern Scottish secure and short Scottish secure tenancies. The Explanatory Note describes the effect as introducing:

time-limits for the investigation and commencement of repairs to damp or mould in private tenancies, Scottish secure tenancies and short Scottish secure tenancies

Regulation 3(2) also adds "the house is substantially free from damp and mould" to the section 13 repairing standard itself.

Scottish timeframes

The Scottish version closely mirrors the English requirements:

Step	Scotland	England
Investigation by competent person	10 working days from notification	10 working days from becoming aware
Written summary to tenant	3 working days after investigation	3 working days after investigation
Commence repair work	5 working days after investigation	5 working days after investigation (make safe)
Maximum completion (substantial damp/mould)	20 working days from the day the repair is commenced (Scottish secure tenancies only)	No fixed maximum (supplementary works: begin within 5 working days, physically start within 12 weeks)

The Scottish timeframes are set out for private tenancies in the new section 14(5)–(9) of the 2006 Act, and for Scottish secure tenancies in the new regulation 8A of the 2002 Regulations. "Working day" for the 2006 Act duties means "any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a day which, under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, is a bank holiday in Scotland" — a different list from the English one.

The 20-working-day maximum does not run from notification. Regulation 4(8) adds "Substantial damp or mould." to the right-to-repair schedule with a maximum period of "20" working days, and regulation 4(6) substitutes a new regulation 10(2) setting when that period starts:

The maximum period starts on the first working day after— ... (c) where regulation 8A applies, the date the qualifying repair is commenced under regulation 8A(5).

So the 20 days runs from commencement of the repair — which is itself due within 5 working days of the investigation completing, which is itself due within 10 working days of notification. The total exposure is therefore longer than 20 working days from the report, not shorter. It is still a Scottish addition the English regulations do not have: England sets a supplementary-works timeline but no hard maximum for completion.

Who it applies to

Both sectors, from commencement — this is the biggest single divergence from England, where Awaab's Law is social-housing-only.

• Private landlords. Regulation 3(3) inserts new duties into section 14 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. The Explanatory Note is explicit: "Regulation 3(3) amends section 14 of the 2006 Act to set out a private landlord's duties to investigate and commence repairs in relation to damp or mould." Compliance is enforced through the repairing standard: regulation 3(4) requires the First-tier Tribunal, when deciding whether the landlord met the section 14(4) duty, to "have regard to whether the landlord has complied with the duties imposed by subsections (5), (6), (8) and (9)".
• Social landlords. Regulation 4(4) inserts a new regulation 8A into the Scottish Secure Tenants (Right to Repair) Regulations 2002, applying the same 10 / 3 / 5 working-day pattern to Scottish secure and short Scottish secure tenancies, plus the 20-working-day completion maximum and the compensation mechanism below.

If you are a private landlord or letting agent in Scotland, these duties apply to you from 6 October 2026.

Tenant compensation (Scottish secure tenancies only)

The Scottish regulations include a compensation mechanism not present in the English version. It sits in the right-to-repair scheme, so it applies to Scottish secure and short Scottish secure tenancies, not to private tenancies. Regulation 4(7) inserts two triggers and their amounts:

• Investigation missed (new reg 12(1A) and (3)): "£15, and ... £3 for every working day, if any, in the period beginning on the day after the day on which the period in regulation 8A(3) ended and ending with the day on which the investigation is completed". Note the endpoint — accrual stops when the investigation finishes, not when it starts.
• Repair not commenced (new reg 12(1B) and (4)): "£15, and ... £3 for every working day" up to the day the qualifying repair is commenced.

The cap is per limb, not per case. New regulation 12(5) reads: "The maximum amount of compensation payable under paragraphs (2), (3) or (4) is £100 and compensation may be paid under each paragraph." A single case that misses both the investigation deadline and the commencement deadline can therefore attract more than £100 in total.

This is a direct financial penalty for non-compliance — unlike England, where enforcement relies on court action and Housing Ombudsman complaints.

What Scottish providers should do now

If you let residential property in Scotland — private or social — the 6 October 2026 commencement gives you a similar preparation window to English providers facing Phase 2. The actions are similar:

• Map your current repairs processes against the Scottish timeframes
• Ensure your tracking system calculates working-day deadlines correctly
• Set up a written summary process (templates, responsible officers, 3-working-day workflow)
• Review contractor response times against the 5-working-day commencement deadline

The deadline calculator uses English bank holidays — Scottish bank holidays differ slightly (for example, St Andrew's Day on 30 November is a Scottish bank holiday but not an English one). Check your working-day calculations against the Scottish bank holiday calendar.

Northern Ireland: No Equivalent Legislation

Northern Ireland has no confirmed Awaab's Law equivalent legislation identified at the time of this review. Housing legislation in NI is set by the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the current framework for housing standards is significantly older.

Current NI housing standards

The main housing legislation in Northern Ireland is the Housing (NI) Order 1981, which sets a basic "fitness standard" for properties (Article 46). The most recent private tenancy legislation is the Private Tenancies Act 2022, commenced in stages from April 2023 — it covers deposit protection, notice periods and certain fitness and safety duties, but sets no repair timeframes of the kind Awaab's Law imposes.

Neither piece of legislation imposes anything like the statutory investigation and repair deadlines that Awaab's Law requires in England or Scotland.

Will NI introduce similar protections?

Housing Rights NI has advocated for the Northern Ireland Assembly to bring forward legislation offering similar protections. However, there are no confirmed plans, no draft legislation, and no announced timeline. Given the pace of housing reform in NI, this is unlikely to change quickly.

For NI housing providers who want to get ahead: the English and Scottish timeframes (10 working days to investigate, 5 to commence repairs, 3 for written summary) represent emerging best practice across the UK. Adopting these standards voluntarily puts you ahead of any future legislative requirements and reduces complaint risk in the meantime.

Wales

Wales is not covered by Awaab's Law. The Welsh Government has its own housing standards framework under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 and the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS). As of March 2026, there is no announced plan to introduce Awaab's Law equivalent timeframes in Wales, though the Welsh Government has referenced the English approach in policy discussions.

Summary: UK-Wide Position

Jurisdiction	Awaab's Law?	Legislation	In force	Applies to
England	Yes	Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023	Phase 1: Oct 2025. Phase 2: 30 Nov 2026	Registered social housing providers
Scotland	Equivalent	SSI 2026/173, amending the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 and the Right to Repair Regulations 2002	6 Oct 2026	Private tenancies, Scottish secure and short Scottish secure tenancies
Northern Ireland	No	None planned	N/A	N/A
Wales	No	None announced	N/A	N/A

The direction of travel is clear: statutory repair timeframes are becoming the UK standard for social housing. England led with Phase 1 in October 2025, and Phase 2 follows on 30 November 2026. Scotland follows on 6 October 2026, and goes further than England by covering private tenancies from commencement. Northern Ireland and Wales have not yet announced equivalent measures, though the broader regulatory direction favours stricter enforcement across all tenures.

For English providers: the requirements are already in force and expanding. See Awaab's Law Guidance for Housing Officers for a practical summary, and use the Phase Checker to see which hazard types are covered under each phase.

If you want automated deadline tracking for Awaab's Law compliance, join the HazardClock waitlist — we are building an affordable compliance tracker for providers under 5,000 units.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm your compliance obligations against the guidance published by your jurisdiction's government: GOV.UK (England), SSI 2026/173 and gov.scot (Scotland).

Sources

• Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 (c. 36) — legislation.gov.uk
• The Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026 (SSI 2026/173) — legislation.gov.uk
• Awaab's Law to come to Scotland — gov.scot
• The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 – Repairs for Registered Social Landlords — TC Young
• Renters' Rights Act and what it could mean in Northern Ireland — Housing Rights
• Housing (Wales) Act 2014 — legislation.gov.uk