![\"Mold](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_JS251428064.jpg\")
Breathing in mould spores can cause allergic reactions like sneezing or rashes (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\nLib Dem MP Susan Murray said local authorities and housing associations were skint as a result of SNP Government budget cuts.Breathing in mould spores can cause allergic reactions like sneezing or rashes (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Thousands of Scots are being forced to live in mouldy homes amid claims the SNP Government has left the social housing sector “to rot”.<\/p>\n
Figures uncovered by the Lib Dems show 15,000 cases of mould and damp were recorded in local authority and housing association properties across the country in a single year.<\/p>\n
Wheatley Homes, the housing association responsible for Glasgow\u2019s social housing stock, recorded 5,196 cases of mould in 2025 alone.<\/p>\n
The Lib Dems warned that people living with mould are more likely to suffer from respiratory illnesses, infections, allergies or asthma.<\/p>\n
The SNP Government said it was committed to helping tenants by implementing Awaab’s Law in March.<\/p>\n
![\"Two-year-old](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1_Parents-Faisal-Abdullah-and-Aisha-Amin-with-Fatima-two-and-Baraa-five-months.jpg\")
Two-year-old Awaab Ishak died after he was exposed to mould at his family’s home in Rochdale(Image: MEN Media)<\/p>\n
The regulation is named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak<\/a>, who tragically died due to health complications caused by the severe amount of black mould in his family home in Rochdale, Lancashire.<\/p>\n When passed, it will force social housing landlords in Scotland to investigate and fix mouldy properties<\/a> within a fixed time period.<\/p>\n But the Lib Dems said action was needed now.<\/p>\n Susan Murray, MP for Mid Dunbartonshire, said: “These figures show that the SNP are leaving Scotland to rot. For many years, the SNP have made brutal cuts to council budgets, denying local authorities the resources needed to improve housing for some of their most vulnerable residents.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Swimmers set for New Year loony dooks in seas and lochs ‘polluted with raw sewage’<\/a>READ MORE: Cat bans to seagull gate: The maddest moments from Scottish politics in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n “Mould and damp can result in serious health issues for everyone having to live with it. This has only been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis, which has caused many Scots to stop heating their homes as regularly as they otherwise would.<\/p>\n “Scottish Lib Dems have a realistic plan to deliver change with fairness at its heart. We would end more than two decades of SNP contempt for local government and roll out an emergency insulation programme to make homes cheaper and easier to heat.”<\/p>\n A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Everyone in Scotland deserves the right to live in a warm, safe and secure home, free from disrepair \u2013 and of course the overwhelming majority of homes are free from damp and mould.<\/p>\n “But we recognise there is more to do. That is why, subject to Parliament\u2019s agreement, we are committed to implementing Awaab\u2019s Law in the rented sector from March 2026, starting with damp and mould. This will ensure landlords promptly address issues that are hazardous to tenants\u2019 health.”<\/p>\n It is estimated that at least one in 10 homes across Scotland suffer from problems with damp, condensation or mould.<\/p>\n But the figure could be far higher due to the issue being poorly recorded among properties in the private rental sector, which are not yet covered by Awaab’s Law.<\/p>\n The Scottish Government said it was committed to and will consider how to implement Awaab\u2019s law for private tenants, using existing powers, after engagement with the private rented sector.<\/p>\n Many landlords still wrongly blame tenants\u2019 lifestyles for the incidence of mould and damp – and claim improved ventilation or heating the property properly could avoid it.<\/p>\n