SOCIAL HOUSING & COMMUNITY FACILITIES
THE FM’S ROLE IN SAFER, HEALTHIER HOMES
Peter Thistlethwaite, Technical Manager at MSL Solution Providers, discusses how facilities managers can ensure compliance with Awaab’s Law through regular cleaning audits.
Facilities managers overseeing social housing play a crucial role in ensuring properties remain safe, habitable, and compliant with Awaab’s Law. Enacted in January 2024 as part of the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023, the legislation mandates that landlords must address health hazards – including damp and mould – within strict timeframes to protect tenant wellbeing.
Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has confirmed that the government will introduce powers through the Renters’ Rights Bill to extend Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector. Further plans are in place to take a step- by-step approach, strengthening the law over time to ensure landlords are held accountable for all dangerous hazards by 2027.
The message from policymakers is clear: landlords and FMs must act now. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner reinforced this urgency, stating, 'landlords can’t be allowed to rent out dangerous homes and shamelessly put the lives of their tenants at risk’.
Beyond legal compliance, maintaining healthy living environments is the morally right thing to do. While routine cleaning plays a role in controlling health risks, it does not provide a measurable assurance of hygiene effectiveness.
Structured cleaning audits offer essential oversight, ensuring that cleaning protocols are not only followed but deliver effective results. They enable FM teams to not only document compliance, providing verifiable proof of adherence to legal standards, but also contribute to genuinely safer and healthier homes, improving tenant trust and confidence.
Cleaning audits also offer financial advantages, providing FMs insights on how their budget is being spent and how well cleaning is performed. This offers the opportunity for continued enhancements, learning, and development helping to improve operational efficiency by ensuring cleaning schedules target the right areas.
Early intervention can significantly reduce costs associated with remediation, legal disputes, and reputational damage. By establishing robust auditing systems, FM teams can detect hygiene shortfalls early, preventing minor hygiene concerns from escalating into bigger, costlier, and more stressful issues.
28 | TOMORROW’S FM
MSL Solution Providers, a regulatory and microbiological testing house, offers the CleanSure Hygiene Auditing Solution, helping FMs and landlords validate cleanliness, safety, and compliance, while reinforcing their commitment to tenant wellbeing.
This innovative service enables housing providers and managers to ensure that their rental properties are hygienically clean and safe, and that correct cleaning protocols are being followed. Quick, reliable, and effective,
“Beyond legal compliance, maintaining healthy living environments is the morally right thing to do."
the service includes swabbing surfaces around the property for microbiological testing by post, leveraging MSL’s extensive expertise in microbiology and industrial hygiene.
The process is straightforward, with a report being issued within three to five days of swabs being received. Alongside the results, the client receives a bespoke set of recommendations to help them stay ahead of any potential hygiene problems and maintain compliance. To further support this, MSL can train teams to take samples as part of their cleaning process, providing FM teams with assurance that their work has led to measurable improvements on sites where hygiene issues have previously been raised.
As Awaab’s Law continues to shape housing regulations, facilities managers will play an increasingly proactive role in maintaining tenant health and safety. By prioritising structured and robust cleaning audits, FM teams can ensure compliance, strengthen reputation, and, most importantly, contribute to safer, healthier homes for all.
www.msl.io twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
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