Poor data quality and legacy systems are major barriers for landlords in complying with Awaab’s Law, a new report has suggested.

The news comes following an increase in media reports of landlords struggling to hit targets around phase one of the legislation, which came into force in October 2025.

The paper, Navigating the New Realities of Quality, Accountability, and Trust in UK Social Housing, which is sponsored by software specialist Mobysoft, says fragmented data sets are leaving landlords struggling to meet the sector’s evolving legislative obligations with over reliance on guesswork to make sure investment is focused on homes where it is needed most.

Phase one of Awaab’s Law came into effect four months ago, with strict timeframes for Landlords to respond to emergency hazards and damp and mould.

Phase two of the law is expected to come into force later this year and see the rules extended to include fire safety, electrical hazards, structural risks, excess cold and heat, falls and hygiene hazards.

The report suggests landlords are already facing bills of more than £11,500 in payouts and repairs for failing to address a single category one hazard in a home.

It provides an analysis of the 100 most recent Housing Ombudsman damp and mould cases and found direct payouts totalling £307,935 – an average £3,079 per case.

Mobysoft’s own research found that this figure is only the tip of the iceberg for landlords, with an average of £8,682 being spent on repairs to remedy a single category one hazard. This is on top of legal bills, decanting costs and service reviews.

The report says that the sector must be quicker to embrace and adopt new technologies, such as AI-powered systems to help spot patterns and identify risks and hazards before they escalate.

Gary Young, Chief Executive at Mobysoft, said: “For the sector, Trust is now the single most valuable currency we hold.

“For landlords, regulators, boards and most importantly tenants, the question is whether we can evidence with confidence and clarity, that we have a firm grip on our operations and are acting decisively in the best interests of communities, to make sure people are living in safe and decent homes.

“Awaab’s Law has been central to this shift in our sector, with a raft of changes to ensure regulation aligns with what really matters to tenants.

“We are overseeing the transition to a new data-driven era for housing. Better information leads to better decisions and where data quality and risk intelligence are of the highest importance to the sector.”