By Cem Savas, Co-Founder & CEO, Plentific
The housing sector is standing at a turning point. With Awaab’s Law set to come into effect in October 2025, providers face an urgent challenge: delivering safer homes, faster, under greater financial and regulatory pressure than ever before.
But this is also a moment of opportunity. With the right use of AI, data, IoT, and intelligent workflows, we can not only meet compliance deadlines. We can do more. We can redefine how service delivery looks like for the future.
At Plentific, we sit at the intersection of residents, contractors, and technology. Over nearly a decade, we’ve partnered with more than 100 housing providers, supported 1.6 million UK properties, and worked alongside over 5,000 SME contractors.
One clear lesson stands out: housing providers are no longer just asset managers. Increasingly, they are becoming technology-driven organisations, where success depends on data intelligence, integrated workflows, and the ability to adapt fast.
Without this shift, providers risk being trapped in reactive cycles chasing repairs, firefighting compliance failures, and straining already stretched supply chains.
Awaab’s Law Is a Turning Point.
The law introduces strict timelines:
24 hours to investigate and make safe emergency hazards.
10 working days to investigate significant hazards.
This is not simply a regulatory deadline. It turns out to be a moral deadline. It forces us to ask: will we lead with intent, or wait for failure to happen?
Yet the reality is stark:
3.5 million homes currently fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard.
Damp and mould cases are rising sharply.
Disrepair claims are increasing, with reputational and legal risks escalating.
Supply chains are under unprecedented strain, from main contractors to in-house teams.
Old models of reactive service delivery will not survive under this pressure.
From our work across the sector, we see four key pillars driving the transformation needed:
Data as the Core Asset Unlocking insights from resident reports, IoT sensors, and historical workflows to anticipate and prevent issues.
IoT & Condition Monitoring Embedding sensors for damp, mould, fire safety, or Legionella, and integrating data seamlessly into contractor workflows.
AI-Enabled Workflows From smart triage bots and remote diagnostics to dynamic scheduling and outcome-based orchestration, AI enables faster, smarter decisions.
Resident-Centric Communication Using plain language, translation tools, and multi-channel communication to ensure residents feel heard, respected, and supported.
Together, these create an intelligent ecosystem. One where contractors, SMEs, and housing providers work in sync through data-driven platforms.
Nobody says transformation is easy. The sector faces structural barriers: outdated procurement strategies, fragmented IT systems, supply chain shortages, and resistance to change.
But these barriers can and must be overcome. Leading providers are already building data teams, innovation functions, and AI pilots. IoT devices are becoming more affordable, enabling scale adoption. Contractors are upskilling faster using AI-driven training.
The cost of inaction is greater than the challenge of change.
And the good news. This is not a vision for ten years from now. The tools exist today:
Smart triage & remote diagnostics reduce unnecessary site visits.
Dynamic scheduling matches jobs flexibly to in-house teams, contractors, or SMEs.
Right-first-time logistics ensure the right materials are on-site at the first visit.
IoT integration detects hazards early and routes alerts directly to contractors and residents.
Outcome-based workflows automate compliance and streamline end-to-end service.
These solutions are already helping providers cut costs, unclog supply chains, and improve resident satisfaction.
Ultimately, technology is not just about efficiency. It is about trust. Residents repeatedly tell us they don’t feel heard. AI and intelligent workflows can help rebuild that trust: through better communication, faster response times, and proactive prevention.
Awaab’s Law is a chance to reset how we serve residents. It’s not about adding layers of admin or ticking boxes. It’s about using data and technology to put people first.
Awaab’s Law is a catalyst for change. But our responsibility doesn’t end there.
Today we are building the tomorrow. To create the homes and services residents deserve, we must first understand the challenges of today. We have fragmented systems, stretched supply chains, growing resident expectations. Only by confronting these realities we can design a future where housing is proactive, data-driven, resident-focused, and resilient.
At Plentific, we believe the future of housing lies in open systems, predictive data, empowered contractors, and intelligent workflows that ensure safe, decent homes for all.
The journey starts now.
👉 Download the State of Social Housing Report 2025 to explore the four forces shaping the sector and how we can collectively build the future of housing.
