Awaab’s Law should apply to temporary accommodation in Scotland, MSP says

The rules will require Scotland’s social and private landlords to investigate damp and mould within 10 days, fix any safety problems within five days and give tenants a written report of any findings within three days.

Unlike in England, there will be no requirement to fix emergency hazards within 24 hours or move tenants into temporary housing if issues cannot be fixed in time.

As of September 2025, there were 18,000 Scottish households living in temporary accommodation. According to Shelter, nearly two-thirds of temporary housing in the country is owned by a social landlord.

The Scottish government also recently consulted on a new legally enforceable standard on temporary accommodation, due to the patchwork of different regulations covering temporary housing depending on the original tenure type, such as private or social rented housing or homes of multiple occupation.

Gillian McLees, the recently appointed Scotland director of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), also noted yesterday that there was no mention yet as to whether Awaab’s Law would apply to temporary housing, and said the CIH would look for guidance on this when detail on the regulations is published.

Responding to Mr Griffin’s comment, she explained that the responsibility for homes that are being leased out by councils or private landlords may be “confusing”, so there needs to be “some form of exemption to understand the differences”.

She added: “For example, the housing provider may not be the point of contact for the tenant, while they are responsible for repairs. So making sure there’s a clear communication and responsibility line would be vital.”

Tom Ockendon, a policy lead at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, said the issue was also flagged to the federation by Shelter before giving evidence, and is something it plans to talk to its members about.