How many socially rented homes have reported damp and mould in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government does not have a reporting system in place to track instances of damp and mould in all socially rented homes.
Data on the presence of mould and damp is collected through the Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS), including from a sample of about 700 social rented homes each year.
Survey results from the SHCS provide an indication of the prevalence of mould and damp in social rented housing. These results are expressed in the following table as percentages of homes with and without mould and damp.
It should be noted that as these results are based on a sample survey, the level of accuracy on the results can vary between +/-1% and +/-3%, as shown in the table. This means that the changes between years in prevalence in mould and damp estimated from the SHCS may not be statistically significant as they are within the margins of error of the survey estimates.
Table 1: Percentage of social sector dwellings with presence of mould and (any rising or penetrating) damp, SHCS 2012 to 2019
Year






No mould or damp


(Accuracy +/- 3%)

Any mould or damp


(Accuracy +/- 3%)

Both mould and damp

(Accuracy +/- 1%)

Only mould


(Accuracy +/- 3%)

Only damp


(Accuracy +/- 1%)

2012
82%
18%
2%
14%
2%
2013
85%
15%
1%
11%
2%
2014
85%
15%
2%
12%
1%
2015
88%
12%
2%
9%
1%
2016
87%
13%
1%
11%
1%
2017
88%
12%
1%
10%
1%
2018
84%
16%
1%
14%
1%
2019
86%
14%
1%
13%
1%
Note: Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. Accuracy based on the margin of error associated with 95% Confidence Intervals.
To derive the corresponding number of homes with and without mould and damp, the percentage estimates from the SHCS can be applied to the social rented housing stock figures published by Scottish Government (SG).
It should be noted that as these results are based on a sample survey, the level of accuracy on the results can vary between +/-10,000 and +/-20,000 dwellings, as shown in the following table. This means that the changes between years in estimated numbers of dwellings with mould and damp estimated from the SHCS may not be statistically significant as they are within the margins of error of the survey estimates.
Table 2: Estimated number of social sector dwellings with presence of mould and (any rising or penetrating) damp, SHCS 2012 to 2019 and SG social rented housing stock figures 2012 to 2019.
Year




No mould or damp


(Accuracy +/- 20,000)
Any mould or damp


(Accuracy +/- 20,000)

Both mould and damp

(Accuracy +/- 10,000)

Only mould


(Accuracy +/- 20,000)
Only damp



(Accuracy +/- 10,000)
SG Social Rented Stock Total


2012
490,000
110,000
10,000
80,000
10,000
597,000
2013
510,000
90,000
< 10,000
70,000
10,000
596,000
2014
500,000
90,000
10,000
70,000
< 10,000
594,000
2015
520,000
70,000
10,000
50,000
< 10,000
595,000
2016
520,000
80,000
< 10,000
60,000
< 10,000
595,000
2017
520,000
70,000
< 10,000
60,000
< 10,000
594,000
2018
500,000
100,000
< 10,000
80,000
< 10,000
595,000
2019
510,000
90,000
< 10,000
80,000
< 10,000
600,000
Note: Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10,000. ‘<10,000’ denotes any estimates below 10,000. Total Social Rented Stock figures rounded to the nearest 1,000. Accuracy based on the margin of error associated with 95% Confidence Intervals.
In 2019, 86% or 510,000 social sector dwellings were free from any damp or mould.
Though any mould or damp was present in 14% of or 90,000 social sector dwellings in 2019, it is important to note that this doesn’t necessarily mean that its presence was extensive or a serious problem in all dwellings. For example, in 94% of social sector dwellings where mould was present, its extent throughout the whole dwelling was found to be less than 2%, assessed on an area basis on wall and ceilings.
Data from the SHCS on the presence of damp and mould