Duties that affect how hazard reports are handled: equality, safeguarding, health data and tenant redress.
Vulnerability
GuidanceGuidance (not statutory)
Taking the household's circumstances into account
Whether a hazard is significant or an emergency depends on what a reasonable landlord, with the knowledge it has or ought to have about the occupier's health and circumstances, would make safe within 15 working days or 24 hours.
GOV.UK says landlords should keep accurate, up to date information about their homes and the people living in them, including details tenants share that may show increased vulnerability.
A tenant does not need a specific vulnerability for a hazard to be significant, and there is no requirement to obtain medical evidence. Social landlords should generally take reports of vulnerabilities at face value.
Triage is part of the initial determination and is not a separate step in the timeframes.
Where the Act imposes a duty to make reasonable adjustments, a disabled person must not be put at a substantial disadvantage by a provision, criterion or practice, a physical feature, or the lack of an auxiliary aid, where it is reasonable to avoid that.
Where information is involved, reasonable steps include providing it in an accessible format.
GOV.UK asks landlords to record preferred contact methods and reasonable adjustments, for example about language, communication preferences or support needs, and to take account of the Equality Act and the consumer standards when communicating with tenants.
Source: legislation.gov.ukJurisdiction: EnglandLast checked: 17 October 2026
Safeguarding
LegislationIn force
Safeguarding adults: enquiry by the local authority
Where a local authority has reasonable cause to suspect that an adult with care and support needs is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect and cannot protect themselves, it must make the enquiries it thinks necessary.
Care Act 2014, section 42. This is a duty on the local authority, not on every landlord.
GOV.UK's guidance on access encourages landlords to work with carers, wellbeing teams and support services where tenants have additional support needs and may be unable to advocate for themselves.
GOV.UK also says landlords concerned about a tenant's medical wellbeing should advise them to consult a medical professional or contact NHS 111, or 999 in an emergency.
Source: legislation.gov.ukJurisdiction: EnglandLast checked: 17 October 2026
Read more and further links
Check your own organisation's safeguarding policy and the duties of the local authority in your area.
Data protection
Legislation and guidanceIn force
Recording health information: special category data
Data concerning health is special category data. A landlord needs a lawful basis and, for special category data, a separate Article 9 condition. Collect only what is necessary.
UK GDPR Article 9(1) prohibits processing special category data, which includes data concerning health, unless an Article 9(2) condition applies.
Article 5(1)(c) is the data minimisation principle: personal data must be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the purposes.
GOV.UK's guidance says information about tenants is personal data and may be sensitive, and that the UK GDPR places special restrictions on collecting and recording health data.
Source: legislation.gov.ukJurisdiction: EnglandLast checked: 17 October 2026
A tenant can use the landlord's complaints procedure, then the Housing Ombudsman, and can bring a court claim for breach of the implied covenant. GOV.UK encourages complaints and alternative dispute resolution before court.
Landlords should tell tenants how to complain and how to contact the Housing Ombudsman.
The Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims (England) applies before a court claim.
A tenant can also ask the local authority to act on a hazard under the Housing Act 2004 or a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
17 October 2026: First version. Every item checked against its primary source on this date.
General information, not legal advice. Check the primary source before relying on any item, and take advice from a housing lawyer on your own position.
Zaviira Assure helps housing providers record and evidence their work against these duties.
