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Awaab’s Law is Coming to Scotland — Are You Ready from a Data & Process Perspective?

Updated: Feb 9

Why early thinking matters, how UK & Scottish approaches differ, and 5 practical tips for Civica Housing Cx teams


Over the last few weeks the draft Scottish regulations implementing an Awaab’s Law-style regime were laid before the Scottish Parliament (see: Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026). You can read the draft legislation here:🔗



Before we get into the detail — a friendly reminder: this is draft legislation. Things may change before it becomes law. I’m an IT consultant specialising in Civica Housing Cx, not a legal expert. But, because I work with a number of Scottish housing associations on data, workflows and reporting, I wanted to share what I see as the practical implications — especially from a data, process and reporting perspective.


Why this matters now — capture data first, report later


A recurring theme in conversations with clients over the last year has been preparing for this moment, more-so the implementation south of the border in October 2025. Waiting until reporting obligations are in force to start capturing the data is a recipe for rushed, poor quality insight.


By thinking now about:


  • how you capture data surrounding damp & mould processes

  • the quality and consistency of that data

  • how it flows through your system processes


…you stand a much better chance of implementing compliant, useful reporting when the regulations land.


That’s especially important in Civica Housing Cx because:


  • Case and task paths generally underpin how information is structured — every time you change a path, or version, reporting can break or become inconsistent if not managed carefully.

  • Data is often distributed across cases, tasks, repair orders, CRM Comms, Communications, Notes...need I go on....

  • Poorly structured data leads to false positives and false negatives in reporting.

  • Good reporting often does not just reflect how good your processes are — it reveals where they’re not working.


I remember one of my first 'influential' Managing Directors would quote "if it's not in the system it didn't happen". Reporting shouldn’t be a box ticking exercise. It should give you insight — and that means capturing the right data, consistently - that can help identify and resolve process issues.


Quick note on UK vs Scottish legislation


Both the UK (England) and the Scottish draft aim to make landlords act swiftly on damp and mould — but the legal frameworks differ:


👉 England (UK instrument)

  • Built on a hazards-based model (like HHSRS)

  • Focuses on risk and severity

  • Requires investigation, remediation and sometimes rehousing where health risk is identified


👉 Scotland (draft)

  • Built on a standards-based model (e.g., Repairing Standard + “substantially free from damp and mould”)

  • Defines fixed timelines for investigation, reporting and repair

  • Applies across both social and private rented sectors


Both approaches share:


  • 10 working days to investigate after awareness

  • 3 working days to write up investigations

  • 5 working days to start repairs where needed


…but they spring from different legislative logics, which impacts how cases are assessed and reported. I've never had the pleasure of writing legislation, but I would imagine the motivation behind said instruments, is common - improve the quality of homes and reduce risks to residents. Processes can go so far, but reporting helps with the safety net, and the intervention.


So, what about reporting?


As of the January 2026 ARC, damp and mould is already covered via Indicators 31–33:


  • Average time to resolve damp & mould cases (by cause)

  • % of resolved cases reopened (by cause)

  • Number of open cases at year end


These indicators focus on outcomes, not statutory compliance


Putting my money where my mouth is, I can see the following appearing some time in 2026.


  • % of damp & mould investigations completed within 10 working days

  • % of investigation outcomes issued within 3 working days

  • % of cases where repairs commenced within 5 working days


Do you agree?


What are the key bits of data associations will need?


To be ready for when the regulations take effect (expected autumn 2026), you need to be thinking about capturing at least:


🔹 Notification/awareness triggers

  • Tenant report

  • Officer or contractor identified

  • Inspection result

  • Third-party report

🔹 Investigation results

  • Investigation type

  • Date investigation completed

  • Findings (structured — not free text only)

  • Health & safety classification (if relevant)

🔹 Response actions

  • Repair required (Y/N)

  • Repair categorisation (priority, type, cause)

  • Planned start date vs actual start date

  • Notes on delays / exceptions

🔹 Communication logs

  • Tenant notification of findings

  • Tenant follow-ups

  • Alerts or reminders to officers

🔹 Outcome & closure data

  • Repair completion date

  • Confirmation of resolution

  • Tenant feedback / satisfaction on case handling

🔹 Audit trail / version history

This is critical: every task path change or workflow variant must be documented so your reporting platform knows what version applied to which cases. Otherwise, the moment you update your task path, you risk:

  • Broken reports

  • Missing data

  • Inaccurate data


5 Top Tips for a Practical, Simple Implementation


This is not about over-engineering a system — it’s about being useful, implementable and

aligned to process realities.


1. Start with a minimum viable dataset

Don’t collect everything under the sun - users just won't populate it. Incomplete data is worse that wrong. Capture just what you need to:

  • Track progress against statutory timeframes

  • Identify bottlenecks in investigation or repair

  • Monitor tenant communication

Less is more if it’s clean and reliable.


2. Avoid free-text silos

Free text makes reporting so difficult - less so with modern AI semantic models and LLMs but, but totally avoidable. Wherever possible:

  • Use drop-downs

  • Use structured fields

  • Use consistent codes/field names across task paths

This will save endless data cleanup later.


3. Lock down task path changes

Every time you change a version or template in Cx:

  • Be intentional

  • Document what changed

  • Version the template

  • Record affected reports

If you don’t, your reporting will break or yield inconsistent trend data. Cx helpfully stamps the version in place at the time for you against a case - but you need to be mindful of this.


4. Integrate with your repairs process

Don’t think of damp & mould as a “special reporting bolt-on". The complexity will increase when the need arises to pull data from both cases and repairs in the same report - ok if the repairs were spawned from the case - less easy if not.

  • Link to conditions and outcomes

  • Be part of normal workflow rather than an exception

Focus on process alignment first, reporting second — good data follows good process.


5. Build reporting you can trust

Dashboards are useless if they’re inaccurate. Ensure:

  • You validate your data sources

  • You reconcile and validate the reports

  • You build trend reports, not just single snapshots


Remember you can't give someone trust, users need to check a good enough sample size of output in a report, and understand it in order to then trust it.


Putting it all together


All of this takes time — and associations have other priorities (emergencies, day-to-day repairs, tenant satisfaction, compliance with other standards, etc.). Obviously, don't put all your eggs in one basket with damp & mould reporting at the cost of other areas.


If you’re using Civica Housing Cx and want to think through:


  • Data design

  • Workflow changes

  • Reporting strategy

  • Case / task version control

  • Implementation planning


…and feel lost, you won't be alone! I’ve helped numerous organisations navigate the challenges with damp and mould process and reporting — and I’m happy to give you some pointers on how to get started.


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