At Gentoo, we know how important it is to feel safe in your home. We prioritise providing warm, safe and decent homes for our customers. This has always been a priority at Gentoo, with our continuous investment work in our customers’ homes.
What is Awaab's Law?
This month, a new law called Awaab’s Law comes into effect on 27 October. It sets out clear rules for how quickly housing providers like us must respond when customers report serious issues in their homes, including damp, mould, and other health hazards.
Awaab’s Law is named after Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old boy who sadly died in 2020 after prolonged exposure to damp and mould in his home.
The law was created to make sure no one in social housing lives in unsafe conditions. Housing providers must act fast on health and safety issues in residents’ homes and make homes safe within strict timeframes.
What does the new law mean?
At Gentoo, we always respond to emergency hazards in our customers’ homes within 24 hours. As a customer of Gentoo, we’d like to make you aware we will continue to respond this way and carry out relevant safety work within this timeframe.
From 27 October, Awaab’s Law means we now legally have to respond within strict timeframes when you report serious problems in your home, especially anything that could affect your health, like severe damp or mould.
If something in your home could pose a risk or hazard, we must investigate it within strict timeframes and get it fixed as quickly as possible. If we can’t make your home safe straight away, we’ll make sure you have somewhere safe to stay in the meantime. We will also keep you updated throughout the process and give you clear information on what’s happening and how to stay safe.
What do we do at Gentoo?
At Gentoo, we fully support the law and have further enhanced the way we deal with damp, mould and other emergency repairs to meet the new standards.
- We’ve strengthened our dedicated damp and mould team through additional resource
- Our colleagues have refreshed their training and have completed new, specialist training to prepare for Awaab’s Law.
- We are consistently reviewing our policies and procedures. We have created an Emergency and Significant Hazards in Social Homes Policy to ensure we are dealing with issues as best we can and meeting all legal requirements.
- We aren’t relying only on customers to tell us about safety issues in their homes. Colleagues and contractors are proactively checking for hazards during every visit to a customer’s home.
Marc Edwards, Executive Director of Property at Gentoo said: “At Gentoo, the safety of our customers has always been our top priority. We fully support Awaab’s Law and believe it’s a vital step forward for the housing sector. We’ve enhanced our approach to damp, mould and safety issues and are fully prepared for the changes.
Our commitment remains the same; to respond quickly, act responsibly, and ensure every customer lives in a warm, safe and decent home.”
What should you do?
It is important you report emergency repairs to us as quickly as possible so we can make sure your home is safe.
An emergency repair could include severe damp and mould, an uncontrollable water leak or a power outage, for example.
You can find a full list of emergency repairs in our Repairs and Maintenance Standard.
It is important you report emergencies to us by calling 0191 525 5000. Our phone lines are open 24/7 for emergencies.
You can find handy guidance on our website for reducing the chance of damp and mould in your home.
Thank you for helping us keep your home safe.
