Your procurement guide for Awaab's Law compliance

Damp and mould in Scottish social housing: a procurement guide

The regulations are coming. Is your supply chain ready?

The tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak shone a light on what happens when damp and mould go unaddressed. In England, Awaab’s Law now sets strict timeframes for social landlords to act. Scotland is following its own path, but the destination is the same.

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 gives Scottish Ministers the power to introduce binding regulations on how landlords must investigate and remediate damp and mould. Secondary legislation is still being developed, but the framework is in place and the direction is set. Housing associations and local authorities across Scotland need to be preparing now, not when the detail lands.

What does that mean for procurement? More than many teams realise.

Procurement sits at the intersection of development, planned maintenance and reactive repairs. You have visibility that most departments do not. That makes you well placed to drive the changes needed across your supply chain, your contracts and your organisation, before the regulatory pressure arrives.

This free guide covers six practical steps your procurement team can take today.

What you will find inside:

Download your practical guide covering six key actions for procurement teams:

• Join up the organisation Damp and mould does not sit neatly in one team’s inbox. Procurement can help connect the dots between asset management, repairs and development, making sure everyone is working towards the same outcomes rather than managing the problem in isolation.
• Put your data to work Your contract records, repairs histories and materials spend contain more insight than most teams mine from them. This section shows you how to use what you already hold to identify problem areas, spot patterns and make the case for change.
• Raise the bar on supplier standards Not all contractors are equally equipped to deal with damp and mould effectively. Find out how to use specifications and accreditation requirements to filter for quality and set a higher standard across your supply chain.
• Get suppliers operationally ready Tighter investigation and remediation timeframes will put real pressure on how contractors plan their work. This section covers how to have those conversations now, so your suppliers are not scrambling to adapt when the regulations bite.
• Extract more from your contracts There is often more value available in strategic supplier relationships than procurement teams ask for. This section looks at how to open those conversations and secure commitments that go beyond the baseline.
• Bring in fresh thinking Smaller, specialist firms are developing genuinely useful tools around predictive analytics, sensor monitoring and integrated data. This section looks at how to access that innovation compliantly within Scotland’s procurement framework.

Who this is for

If you work in procurement for a Scottish housing association or local authority and you are thinking about how your team prepares for the incoming damp and mould regulations, this guide is for you. It is also relevant if you manage supplier relationships, oversee maintenance contracts or contribute to procurement strategy for housing services.

Scotland already sets clear expectations through the Scottish Housing Quality Standard, requiring that homes are healthy, safe and free from serious disrepair. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 builds on that foundation. The procurement decisions you make now will shape how well your organisation can deliver on those obligations and, more importantly, how quickly tenants get the safe homes they deserve.

Download your free guide and take the first steps today.