Scottish landlords are preparing for significant changes to damp and mould compliance and reporting requirements. From April, social landlords are required to report damp and mould performance to the Scottish Housing Regulator through the Annual Return on the Charter (ARC). To support this, Aico has enhanced its HomeLINK Case Management platform, enabling landlords to evidence compliance, streamline processes, and confidently meet these reporting obligations. These enhancements also help landlords prepare for upcoming legislation coming into effect in October 2026, widely regarded as Scotland’s equivalent of Awaab’s Law, which will introduce enforceable timescales for investigating and addressing damp and mould.
What’s Changing in Scotland?
The Scottish Government has updated the Repairing Standard, explicitly including damp and mould and introducing fixed legal deadlines for action. Unlike guidance-based approaches in the past, these new requirements are enforceable and evidence-led. In Scotland, the key legislative changes are:
- Damp and mould are now explicitly included in the Repairing Standard
- Fixed legal timescales replace previous guidance
- Applies to both private and social landlords (broader scope than England)
- Compliance failures may result in automatic tenant compensation
- No separate 24-hour emergency category for damp/mould
- No explicit alternative accommodation duty for damp/mould cases
Mandatory Timescales for Landlords
Like Awaab’s Law, Landlords must now comply with mandatory timescales. This means they must investigate damp & mould cases within 10 working days, provide a written summary within 3 working days of the investigation and commence relevant safety works within 5 working days. With these legislation changes, ensuring compliance means landlords must maintain clear records showing:
- When damp & mould reports were received
- When investigations were completed
- When communications were issued
- When works commenced
This shift significantly increases the importance of structured, auditable case management and effective tenant communication.
How Aico is Supporting sARC Reporting
In preparation for April’s sARC reporting requirements, Aico have introduced the ability to assign a Main Root Cause to damp & mould cases within HomeLINK Case Management. This was the final piece of data required to enable accurate report generation for Scottish landlords.
Scottish landlords must now report on three key indicators:
- Indicator 31: Resolution Time (Damp/Mould). The average number of working days from the first report to full resolution, broken down by cause type.
- Indicator 32: Reopened Cases (Damp/Mould). The percentage of resolved damp and/or mould cases that were reopened within the reporting year.
- Indicator 33: Open Cases (Damp/Mould). The total number of unresolved damp and/or mould cases outstanding at the end of the reporting year (cases still open on 31 March).
As long as a case has a Main Root Cause added, it will be included in report calculations.
For resolved cases, landlords can also select a reason for resolution and provide details on how the issue was resolved. This ensures reports are not only accurate but backed by clear audit trails.
New Enhanced Case Status Options
We’re also excited to announce that Case Status Updates will soon be visible within the HomeLINK portal. Case Management has been strengthened to provide clearer tracking, stronger compliance, and improved visibility across the lifecycle of a case. The new case status definitions ensure consistent tracking from report to resolution, clear visibility of reopened or recurring cases, stronger evidence of compliance and better management of higher-risk properties. Here is what to expect:
| Open | Closed | Reopened | Monitoring |
| The case is active and requires investigation or action. | All work is complete and the issue has been fully resolved. | A previously resolved case now requires further action due to recurrence or new information. | Work is complete, but follow-up is required to ensure the issue (e.g. damp or mould) does not return. |
Not Just for Scotland
Whilst these new legislative changes affect Scottish Landlords, many landlords in the rest of the UK are adopting this approach, to be prepared for any future changes. Differing regulatory reform is also happening across the UK:
- Further hazards are being added to Awaab’s Law from October which will effect landlords in England.
- Wales will introduce an addendum to the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) from April 2026, aligning investigation and repair timescales with England for all HHSRS hazards (excluding overcrowding).
With regulatory expectations tightening nationwide, having a robust, evidence-led case management platform is becoming essential, not optional.
Designed for Compliance & Control
For Compliance Managers and Asset Managers, these enhancements provide:
- Structured damp and mould tracking
- Accurate, automated sARC reporting
- Clear audit trails
- Improved oversight of cases labelled as ‘reopened’ and ‘monitoring’
- Confidence in meeting enforced legal deadlines
As regulatory expectations continue to evolve, Aico remains committed to supporting landlords with practical, compliant, and future-ready solutions.
If you would like support implementing the new features from Aico’s HomeLINK Case Management platform to your housing stock, or you would like to book a demo, get in touch here.
