The merchant sector has a vital role to play in helping housing providers ensure compliance with Awaab’s Law Phase 2. Lyndon Johnson, Managing Director at Huws Gray Partnership Solutions, explores what the changes mean for the sector.
With Phase 2 of Awaab’s Law coming into force on 30 November, Huws Gray Partnership Solutions — as a leading merchant partner for the UK’s social housing sector — is highlighting the importance of a responsive, resilient supply chain in helping social landlords meet tighter repair requirements and tackle the causes of hazards, not just their symptoms.
The introduction of Phase 2 of Awaab’s Law will place significant new demands on social landlords and their repairs and maintenance teams, with seven additional hazard categories coming into scope including excess cold and heat, electrical hazards, falls, fire and explosion, structural collapse and domestic hygiene.
For landlords, the challenge will not simply be identifying hazards and responding within the required timescales. Where a significant hazard is identified, the legislation also requires preventative work to address the underlying cause and reduce the risk of the problem recurring.
That comes against a backdrop of significant investment in existing social housing stock. According to the Regulator of Social Housing, private registered providers spent £10 billion on repairs and maintenance in 2024/25 — an increase of 13% on the previous year — with investment in existing homes forecast to average £10.9 billion a year over the next five years.
More recent quarterly data puts spending on repairs and maintenance at £9.4 billion in the 12 months to December 2025, 7% higher than the previous year.
The scale of the challenge is also evident in the condition of the housing stock. The latest English Housing Survey found that 2.3 million homes had an HHSRS Category 1 hazard in 2024, while 1.4 million had a problem with damp. In the social rented sector, 7% of homes were affected by damp.
“A robust merchant supply chain is therefore a fundamental part of getting repairs right first time. It is easy to focus on the contractor carrying out the work, but there is a whole chain behind that process which needs to work effectively.”
Lyndon Johnson, Managing Director at Huws Gray Partnership Solutions, said: “The implementation of Awaab’s Law Phase 2 represents a significant change in the way social housing repairs need to be approached. It is not simply about getting somebody through the door quickly. It is about understanding the problem, putting it right properly and taking steps to prevent it from happening again.
“That puts considerable pressure on every part of the repairs and maintenance supply chain. If a contractor has diagnosed an issue but cannot source the right materials quickly, valuable time can be lost. Equally, if the focus is solely on the immediate repair without considering the wider condition of the property, landlords risk facing the same issue again further down the line.”
Lyndon continued: “A robust merchant supply chain is therefore a fundamental part of getting repairs right first time. It is easy to focus on the contractor carrying out the work, but there is a whole chain behind that process which needs to work effectively.
“Having confidence in product availability, delivery, technical support and the consistency of materials across a programme can make a real difference, particularly when teams are working to tight timescales. It also allows landlords to think beyond the immediate repair and plan more effectively for preventative work, rather than repeatedly responding to the same issue.”
The Government’s Phase 2 guidance reinforces this focus on addressing underlying problems. Where a hazard results from a structural defect or deficiency, such as poor design or missing components, landlords are expected to address the root cause rather than simply remedying the immediate symptom.
For Huws Gray Partnership Solutions, this underlines the importance of looking across the entire property maintenance cycle. As a specialist partner to the social housing sector, it provides access to products and expertise across areas including plumbing and heating, electrical, roofing, insulation, drainage, kitchens and bathrooms.
A joined-up approach to supply can help landlords and contractors reduce procurement complexity, improve consistency across programmes and ensure the materials required for both responsive and planned works are available when they are needed. It can also help bridge the gap between responsive repairs and preventative maintenance, allowing recurring issues to inform longer-term investment and intervention.
With around 823,000 homes recorded as having serious condensation or mould in 2024 alone, the need to move from repeated reactive intervention towards addressing underlying defects and deficiencies is clear.
Lyndon added: “Awaab’s Law is raising the importance of getting repairs right first time, but the implications go beyond the immediate repair deadline. For landlords, contractors and suppliers, it is about having the right people, processes, products and supply chains in place to create safer, more reliable homes over the longer term.
“That joined-up approach will become increasingly important as landlords balance the requirements of Awaab’s Law with the wider challenges facing existing housing stock, from improving energy efficiency to maintaining ageing properties.”
