Onward Homes – Awaab’s Law Critical Friend Support

Onward Homes (Onward) is one of the largest registered providers of social housing based solely in the North West of England, with 35,000 homes across Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside, and Lancashire.  

Project Overview

Onward appointed our consultancy team to provide comprehensive support in preparing for and ensuring compliance with Awaab’s Law. Our role was to help ensure that their teams, processes, and resources were fully equipped to meet the new requirements.

Phase one of Awaab’s Law came into force on 27^th October 2025, introducing strict time frames for landlords to address damp and mould and emergency hazards. The second phase, due to come into force in 2026, will extend these timeframes to a broader range of HHSRS hazards, with further expansion planned for 2027 to cover all remaining hazards, excluding overcrowding.

Many organisations are now adapting their approach to hazard management to ensure that systems, staff, and resources are in place to respond effectively to the evolving requirements.

Our Approach 

Prior to the introduction of Awaab’s Law, Onward appointed us to carry out a series of services to assess and strengthen their readiness and capabilities. This included:

• Resilience Check: Conducted in the months leading up to the Awaab’s Law implementation, this involved a thorough review of Onward’s preparedness. We reviewed:
  • Processes and procedures.
  • A number of jobs and cases they had completed to assess how they were handled.
  • The quality of information they captured and gathered from a data and records point of view.
  • Reporting, KPIs, and their contractor management (including internal delivery).
  • Their overall capacity to meet the new changes and time frames under Awaab’s Law.
• HHSRS and Disrepair Training: We delivered training courses to Onward’s new damp and mould team, ensuring all relevant staff understood and were prepared for the time frames, assessments, and potential consequences of non-compliance.

Once the legislation came into force, Onward requested that we continue as a critical friend to ensure their ongoing compliance with Awaab’s Law. This includes:

• Weekly Meetings: Regular discussions with Onward’s teams to review issues, challenges, and sector developments, benchmarking their performance against other organisations and sharing examples of good practice or common challenges to avoid.
• Monthly Summary Reports: Concise reports summarising key findings, discussions, and recommendations to provide them with formal documentation outside of the meetings.
• Case and Audio Reviews: Regular reviews of contact centre recordings and cases to ensure correct categorisation, appropriate responses, and continuous learning from real cases.
• Live Critical Friend Advice: A dedicated Microsoft Teams channel allows Onward staff to raise any daily queries on unique cases, so we can offer immediate guidance and reassurance.
• Training: Planned training sessions will close the feedback loop to ensure Onward is learning from the review process and clarifying areas identified for improvement.

These initial services will last around 6-8 weeks, after which Onward will reassess its position and determine where further flexible support is required.

Our Achievements

We are delivering a comprehensive, end-to-end service, offering strategic advice, staff training, live case support, and ongoing monitoring, to help Onward confidently meet the requirements of Awaab’s Law. This will ensure that Onward is in the best position to ensure sustained compliance and to help them keep their residents safe.

Throughout this project, we have encouraged Onward to operate as though the 2026 hazard requirements of Awaab’s Law are already in force. This approach will ensure they are prepared to expand their approach across the broader range of hazards over the coming years.

Client Testimonial 

"Pennington Choices have been an exceptional partner in guiding us through Awaab’s Law, providing expert advice, practical solutions, and tailored coaching that has increased skills, and built knowledge and confidence across our teams. Their collaborative approach, training, and ongoing critical friend support have strengthened our processes to ensure compliance with the new legislation and, most importantly, keep our customers safe in their homes." - Building Maintenance Manager at Onward Homes