By Billy Gaddi,Jordan Shepherd

Copyright dailyrecord

Reports of mould and damp in homes across Scotland have skyrocketed as thousands of tenants pay the price for a ‘total failure’ that is ” wreaking havoc” on their lives. Since 2019, Scotland has saw reports of mould and damp increase by 200 percent among social tenants, with areas like Glasgow seeing a stark increase of 500 per cent, a Glasgow Live investigation has revealed. The data, obtained through Freedom of Information Requests to every local authority and housing association, shows that reports have skyrocketed from 8,712 to 26,514 across Scotland and 758 to 4,609 in Glasgow. However, the true number of people living in mouldy homes is expected to be much higher, with multiple social housing providers only recently starting to gather data and the numbers do not include private tenants . Reports have increased exponentially in the last five years, with the Central Belt having the worst problem. Edinburgh, Glasgow and Renfrewshire made up the top three respectively, with East Ayrshire and Fife following closely behind. Poor quality housing, lack of information on how to deal with dampness , skyrocketing energy bills, lack of maintenance and the age of housing stock have all been blamed for the rise in reports. In February, we told the story of a disabled woman who told how she has been ‘left suicidal’ living in a mould-infested flat for almost two decades. Sarah McEwan, from Pollok, moved into her Levernside Avenue property in May 2007. By November, she says that the ‘entire house was black’ with mould . Speaking then, she said: “I was born with dislocated hips and living here over the past 18 years has taken me to my breaking point. I had silent pneumonia and took a bad chest infection and the GP said it could be caused by dampness and breathing in mould. “I remember waking up one morning and I couldn’t breathe. I am meant to get a hip replacement on the 20th of January. It was meant to be on the 16th of December but I was coughing up blood. Sometimes I wake up and it is like I am choking. “People can’t believe I live like this. I burst into tears because when I go to see family because they all say I smell damp.” In April, we told how a mum-of-four, who was fleeing domestic abuse, was placed in a mouldy house despite having two disabled children. Weeks after moving in, she says that the family discovered parts of the house – including the floors – were damp to the point that mushrooms had started growing. Speaking about the impact, the mum said: “It nearly broke me and my partner up with the stress of it all. His mental health went downhill, and we were fighting all the time. A spokesperson for Maryhill Housing Association said at the time: “We are fully aware of this matter and acknowledge that there are things we could have done better with regards to the condition her new home.” This comes as Awaab’s Law will come into force for the social rented sector from October 27. The law means social landlords in England will have to address all emergency, damp and mould hazards that present a significant risk of harm to tenants. The legal measure was named after Awaab Ishak who died in 2020, after being exposed to mould in his home in Rochdale. The law will be implemented in Scotland’s rented sector from March 2026, subject to Parliament’s agreement. As a result, social housing residents in Scotland will be given greater protection against issues of disrepair in their homes, such as damp and mould. Stephanie Mander, Social Justice Policy Manager, Citizens Advice Scotland said: “The scale and severity of these issues, and more importantly, the real-life impact on people’s physical and mental health is profound. We welcome work in this area being taken forward by the Scottish Government – there needs to be bold and urgent action to address repairs and significant investment to deal with damp and mould, so that everyone has a safe, secure and sustainable home.” Stella Rooney, Glasgow City Chair of Living Rent tenants’ and community union said: “It is disgusting that mould and damp cases have continued to skyrocket in Scotland’s social housing stock, despite the clear health impacts. “We all deserve to live in warm, safe, homes and it’s especially shocking to see social landlords failing their tenants on repairs, leaving them exposed to mould and damp. Mould and damp ruin tenants’ lives, causing serious physical and mental health issues, destroying belongings and creating social isolation. “The Scottish Government needs to properly commit to a zero tolerance approach. Yet time and time again, social landlords leave tenants in mouldy homes for years, often blaming the tenants themselves for the disrepair. This is a total failure of social landlords’ duty of care, and tenants are suffering. “We welcome the inclusion of Awaab’s law in the housing bill, which gives landlords strict timeframes to fix mould and damp and penalties for those that don’t comply, but too often tenants have been let down by poor enforcement of existing legislation. “Tenants need to know that if they report mould and damp they will get the repairs they need and compensation they deserve. And councils and housing associations need to be held accountable with real penalties if repairs are not completed on time. “Without government action, mould and damp will continue to wreak havoc with people’s health and homes. This government needs to force landlords of all tenures to eradicate damp and mould in their properties or else tenants will continue to pay the price.” A spokesperson for the Scottish Housing Regulator said: “The Scottish Government introduced the Scottish Housing Quality Standard in 2004 and this requires social landlords to ensure that their tenants’ homes meet specific standards including being free from damp. All social landlords are required to report their compliance with the Scottish Housing Quality Standard to us annually in their Annual Return on the Charter. “Following consultation, we will require all social landlords to provide further information to us on the average length of time to resolve cases of damp and/or mould, how many cases were reopened and the number of open cases at the year end. Social landlords will submit this information which will also be broken down by whether the cases were caused by condensation or structural issues in their next Annual Return on the Charter in May 2026 and we will publish the outcomes from this.”