A consortium’s approach to helping development teams manage Awaab’s Law

From a development perspective, Phase 2 of Awaab’s Law will include excess cold and heat, falls associated with baths, stairs and those between levels, structural issues, fire, electrics, lighting, water, asbestos, human-made fibres, carbon monoxide, lead and explosions.

We felt these new regulations were vital, given JV North members will build in the region of 3,000 homes in the next four years, and standards at handover have to be top quality. If not, they become future problems for landlords’ repairs and maintenance teams, lowering tenant satisfaction.

For a rounded approach we partnered with Anthony Collins Solicitors to provide expert legal advice and complemented this with first-hand advice from members about their experiences on site.

“Standards at handover have to be top quality. If not, they become future problems for landlords’ repairs and maintenance teams, lowering tenant satisfaction”

We hosted a special event for members, with a presentation from Anthony Collins followed by a Q&A session. This covered topics including development agreements, defects procedures, warranties, liabilities, losses, hazard reporting, investigations, staff training and data impact assessments.

One of the main benefits of being a member of JV North is the collaborative approach members take to sharing information, data, intelligence and best practice, and the approach to Awaab’s Law is another example, as the session sparked fantastic debate. So much so that we have since formed an Awaab’s Law working group so we can get into greater detail and share learnings to help the consortium deliver even better services going forward.

With members sharing their knowledge and holding open and honest conversations while simultaneously being guided by a leading law firm, we shaped a better way forward. Sharing common concerns and challenges with their peers instead of tackling them in isolation reduces duplication and proves two heads are invariably better than one. 

Operationally, it is vital that effective risk management controls are in place for all aspects of housebuilding, so Awaab’s Law has been added to JV North Board’s risk register. Development teams need to be fully conversed in both immediate and long-term implications of the legislation: how it affects them, the need for it to be part of their daily role and its effects on the responsibilities of contractors.  

This last point is really important, and in recognising this we decided to hold a separate session led by Anthony Collins Solicitors and our members, where we invited contractors who were appointed in August to our new housebuilding framework. 

“Sharing common concerns and challenges with their peers instead of tackling them in isolation reduces duplication and proves two heads are invariably better than one”

This £500m, four-year framework has three specialist contractor lots based on development project values: up to £4m, from £4m to £12m and £12m upwards. In total, just under 20 contractors were invited to the session.

If there is a complaint about a new build property, the law poses a serious challenge for the landlord and it needs managing really carefully. Our members remain responsible for compliance, but how they work with their supply chain to reach this point within the required timeframes is vital because the implications are far-reaching and they want to be fully satisfied.

As well as the legal implications, there are practical matters to consider which are equally important. For example, who is going to be responsible for going out on a Sunday night to fix a front door that won’t close properly, who is making the assessment, who will be able to do this and take into account the tenant’s personal circumstances or spot any vulnerabilities?

The preparation and ongoing work has been warmly received by all our members, as it provides crucial clarity on essential points of law that strengthens their wider organisations’ approach. Members also found it invaluable to be able to discuss their approach with other registered providers, which is part of the added value housing associations in our consortium receive, as they work towards improving the safety of their customers.

John Bowker, chair, JV North