Scottish House Condition Survey: 2024 Key Findings

Key Findings Summary

Fuel Poverty

• In 2024 an estimated 28.7% (around 732,000 households) of all households were in fuel poverty. This is lower than the 2023 fuel poverty rate of 33.9% (around 859,000 households). This corresponds to a decrease of 127,000 (or five percentage points) in the number of households in fuel poverty.
• 14.0% (or 357,000 of the 732,000 households in fuel poverty) were living in extreme fuel poverty in 2024, which is lower than the 19.4% (491,000 households) in 2023. This corresponds to a decrease of 134,000 (or five percentage points) in the number of households in extreme fuel poverty.
• This decrease in the fuel poverty rate largely reflects the fall in energy prices in 2024 wherein the average index price of fuels for Scotland decreased by 23.3% compared to 2023.
• The actual median fuel poverty gap for fuel poor households in 2024 was £1,030. This is lower than the median fuel poverty gap from 2023 of £1,250 and corresponds to a decrease of around £220.
• The median fuel poverty gap (adjusted for 2015 prices) for fuel poor households in 2024 (£770) is lower than the adjusted gap in 2023 (£960) and corresponds to a decrease of around £190.

Proportion of Households in Fuel Poverty and Extreme Fuel Poverty, 2012-2024.

Notes: [note 6]

• Overall rates of fuel poverty differed between the social (49%) and private sector (22%). Similarly, households in the social sector were more likely to be in extreme fuel poverty (22%) compared to households in the private sector (11%).
• 42% of households using electricity as their primary heating fuel were fuel poor, higher than households using gas (27%), oil (23%), and households using other fuel types (26%) as their primary heating fuel.
• A higher proportion of households with a pre-payment meter (PPM; electricity, gas or both) were in fuel poverty compared to those without a PPM; 39% compared to 27% respectively.
• Fuel poverty and extreme fuel poverty have a strong association with income, with rates increasing as annual household income decreases. For example, 96% of households with an annual net income of less than £15,000 were in fuel poverty compared to 51% of households earning between £15,000 and £24,999 annually.
• For both fuel poor and extreme fuel poor households, the lowest rates of fuel poverty are generally associated with higher energy efficiency standards. 26% of households living in dwellings rated EPC band C or better were fuel poor, compared to 32% living in dwellings in band D.

Heating Satisfaction

• 19% of all households found that their heating keeps them warm enough in winter only sometimes and 6% felt it never keeps them warm.
• Fuel poor households and extreme fuel poor households are more likely to have difficulties staying warm in winter and to report affordability problems; 28% of fuel poor and 31% of extreme fuel poor households say that their heating keeps them warm in winter “only sometimes” or “never”, compared to 23% of non-fuel poor households.
• 15% of fuel poor and 17% of extreme fuel poor households report that they cannot afford to heat their home, higher than the 10% of non-fuel poor households.
• 70% of householders stated they monitor their energy use “very” or “fairly closely” and 54% of all households report owning an energy monitoring device.
• Both fuel poor (48%) and extreme fuel poor (44%) households were less likely to own a monitoring device compared to non-fuel poor (57%) households.

Energy Efficiency and Carbon Emissions

•  In 2024, 56% of Scottish homes were rated as EPC band C or better under SAP 2012 (RdSAP v9.93), with around 10% of properties rated in the lowest EPC bands (E, F or G).
• Under SAP 2009, which allows comparisons over a longer period, almost two thirds of dwellings (62%) were rated C or better, up 38 percentage points since 2010. In the same period, the proportion of properties in the lowest EPC bands (E, F or G) has reduced from 27% in 2010 to 8% in 2024.
• Under SAP 2012 v9.93, the median EE rating in 2024 was 70, which is equivalent to Band C. This is an increase from 67 in 2018 which is equivalent to band D.

Distribution of the Scottish housing stock by grouped EPC band (SAP 2012 v9.93), 2018 to 2024.

Notes: [note 5]

• The majority of loft spaces are insulated. In 2024, loft insulation with a thickness of 100 mm or more had been installed in 95% of dwellings. This has been broadly stable since 2017 but represents an increase of around 24 percentage points on 2007 levels.
• In 2024, 35% of lofts were insulated to a high standard of insulation (300 mm or more), higher than 2023 levels.
• The proportion of insulated cavity walls recorded by the SHCS was 71% in 2024.
• The proportion of solid wall dwellings with insulation was 20% in 2024.
• Levels of insulation (both loft and wall) are higher in the social sector than in the private sector. 56% of homes in the private sector have wall insulation compared to 72% in the social sector. In the private sector, 65% of lofts are insulated to 200 mm or more compared to 76% in the social sector.                                                   
• Based on the modelled energy use required to meet the SAP standard heating regime, the average Scottish home was estimated to produce 6.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year in 2024, which is more than double the average carbon emissions per household as reported by Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (2.8 tonnes per year) in 2023, based on actual energy use. This suggests that households are not heating their homes to the SAP standard heating regime.
• Average modelled carbon emissions for all properties were 66 kg per square meter of floor area in 2024.

Housing Conditions

• Disrepair to critical elements, which are central to weather-tightness, structural stability and preventing deterioration of the property, stood at 48% in 2024. Less than half of these (19% of all dwellings) had urgent disrepair to critical elements, and just 2% had extensive disrepair (covering at least a fifth of the element area) to one or more critical elements.
• Overall, this is an increase of around 3 percentage points compared to 2023, when 45% of dwellings had disrepair to critical elements.
• 16% of dwellings had disrepair to non-critical elements only, with 4% of dwellings requiring some urgent repair to non-critical elements, and 1% having extensive disrepair to non-critical elements.
• Levels of damp and condensation were similar to those seen in 2023: 90% of properties were free from any damp or condensation. The proportion of dwellings without mould improved in 2024: 92% of properties were free from mould compared to 90% in 2023.
• In 2024, 28% (or 702,000) of all dwellings fell below the Tolerable Standard, similar to 2023.
• The vast majority of dwellings failing the Tolerable Standard did not have satisfactory equipment for detecting and warning in the event of fire (76% or 532,000 dwellings) or against high levels of carbon monoxide (55% or 383,000 dwellings).
• For dwellings failing the smoke alarm criteria this represents a decrease of around 5 percentage points compared to 2023. However, the proportion of dwellings failing the carbon monoxide criteria was similar to 2023.
• The Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) failure rate in the social sector was 41%, this has fallen from 60% in 2010. Failures of the Energy Efficient criterion were the biggest driver of failures overall. In 2024, 25% of social sector properties did not meet the Energy Efficient criterion.
• The majority of dwellings falling below the SHQS failed on a single criterion; this accounted for more than 7 out of 10 failures in the social sector.
• The SHQS failure rate in the private sector was 58% and is driven primarily by failures of the Below Tolerable Standard criterion (32%) and the Energy Efficient criterion (35%).

• For 69% of social homes failing the SHQS this was due to falling short on just one of the 55 elements which make up the standard.

Bedroom Standard

• In 2024 around 46,000 households lived in overcrowded accommodation (2%) under the bedroom standard.
• Around 36% of all households (919,000) had one bedroom in excess of the minimum requirement under the bedroom standard. A further 904,000 (35% of all households) had two or more bedrooms in excess.
• Social sector tenants are more likely to live in accommodation which meets but does not exceed the minimum requirements of the bedroom standard (50% compared to 19% in the private sector). Social sector tenants are also slightly more likely (4%) to live in accommodation which is overcrowded, according to the bedroom standard, than those households living in the private sector (1%).
• By comparison households in the private sector are more likely to live in accommodation which exceeds the bedroom standard (80% vs 46% for social tenants).
• However, when disaggregated, social sector tenants and private rental sector tenants had similar rates of both overcrowding (4%) and dwellings meeting but not exceeding the minimum requirements of the bedroom standard (50%).