[1] Described by the government as a "landmark law",[1] the act makes changes following the Grenfell Tower fire and the Death of Awaab Ishak.

[3] The Grenfell Tower Fire in June 2017, which caused 72 deaths,[4] brought significant attention and criticism to the standards and safety of social housing,[5] as well as accusations of not listening to tenants' concerns and complaints.

[11] The story led to a year-long investigation by the news channel, which highlighted that the poor conditions were far more widespread, affecting "thousands" of social housing tenants.

[13] In November 2022, a critical coroner's report was published, following the death of toddler Awaab Ishak two years earlier.

The cause of death being prolonged exposure to mould in his home, added further momentum to social housing reforms.

[18]The act is intended to enable a new, proactive approach to regulating social housing landlords, ensuring standards are met on matters such as safety, transparency and tenant engagement.

Previously, this ‘test’ was a barrier to the Regulator of Social Housing getting involved unless they had reason to believe residents were at risk of a ‘serious detriment’.

Where the regulator does find breaches of standards, the £5,000 limit[23] on the fines, which can be imposed, is amended by Section 36 and Schedule 3, paragraph 6 of this Act to be ‘unlimited’.

They take the form of an amendment to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 which will empower the Secretary of State to make secondary legislation which will bring detail and the measures into force at a later date.