When Must My Landlord Rehouse Me? Temporary Rehousing Under Awaab’s Law

When must my landlord rehouse me?

Your landlord must arrange temporary rehousing when it cannot make your home safe in time. Awaab’s Law gives a social landlord a short window to carry out the safety work — the regulations call it the initial remediation period: broadly 24 hours for an emergency hazard, and 5 working days for a significant (non-emergency) hazard, counted from the day after the investigation is completed. Where the landlord is, or is likely to be, unable to finish the required safety work within that window, Part 6 of the regulations is triggered (regulation 15).

It also applies where the investigation concludes that a further investigation is needed and the landlord has reasonable grounds to believe that further investigation will identify safety work it cannot complete within the same window. In short: the duty bites the moment it becomes clear the home cannot be made safe inside the make-safe deadline.

What exactly must the landlord provide?

This is the heart of the duty. In the words of regulation 16(1): “The lessor must secure the provision of suitable alternative accommodation to the lessee's household, at no cost to the lessee, from the time the initial remediation period ends until the appropriate time, unless the lessee refuses an offer to secure such provision.”

Three things matter most there. The accommodation must be suitable; it must be provided at no cost to you — you do not pay for it; and it covers your whole household, not just the named tenant. It runs from the moment the make-safe window ends and continues until what the regulations call “the appropriate time” (see below).

Who counts as my household?

The duty is to rehouse the whole household, defined in regulation 16. The lessee (or, for joint lessees, those occupying the home as their only or principal home), plus any person who normally resides there as a member of the lessee's family in accordance with the lease. A child under 18 is included where a household member has caring responsibilities for them and the child usually stays overnight at the home at least once a week.

That under-18 rule matters in practice: a child does not have to be the tenant’s own child or a permanent resident to be covered — it is enough that someone in the household cares for them and the child normally stays over at least once a week.

How long does the rehousing last?

It lasts until “the appropriate time” — and regulation 16(2) sets out the points at which the duty ends, whichever happens. In plain terms, the rehousing continues until:

• the safety work is completed;
• where the work needs someone else’s consent (for example a freeholder’s) and the landlord has exhausted all reasonable endeavours to obtain it;
• a later investigation concludes the home is not affected by a significant or emergency hazard after all;
• where a further investigation was the trigger, that investigation concludes there is no safety work to do; or
• you give written notice that you no longer wish to be provided with the accommodation.

So the duty is open-ended in the sense that it does not run on a fixed clock — it lasts as long as the home remains unsafe and the work is outstanding.

Can I turn down the offer?

Yes. The duty applies unless you refuse an offer to secure the accommodation, and it ends if you give written notice that you no longer want it (regulation 16(2)(e)). Temporary rehousing is a protection for you, not an obligation on you — if staying put suits your circumstances better, that is your choice to make.

What if I rent privately?

As the box at the top explains, this Part 6 rehousing duty is part of Awaab’s Law and so currently applies to social housing in England only. If you rent privately, it does not yet apply to you — but you can report a serious hazard to your council’s environmental health team, and free advice from Citizens Advice or Shelter will help you find the route that does.

Where this sits in the wider duties

Temporary rehousing is the backstop to the make-safe deadlines, not a replacement for them — the landlord must still complete the safety work as soon as reasonably practicable. Part 6 also requires the landlord to provide safety advice (regulation 17). For the deadlines that set the make-safe window, see the timescales guide and the 24-hour emergency rule; and if your landlord is not meeting its duties, see your legal options.