Scottish House Condition Survey: 2022 Key Findings

Proportion of Households in Fuel Poverty and Extreme Fuel Poverty, 2012-2022

Notes: [note 7] [note 8]

• Overall rates of fuel poverty differed between the social (48%) and private sector (26%). Similarly households in the social sector were more likely to be in extreme fuel poverty (26%) compared to households in the private sector (16%). 
• However, looking at tenure in a more disaggregated way shows that rates of fuel poverty in housing association (47%), local authority (48%) and private rented sectors (44%) are similar. In comparison owner occupiers have lower rates with 14% of those with a mortgage and 28% of those who own outright assessed to be fuel poor. This is a similar trend to 2019.
• 46% of households using electricity as their primary heating fuel were fuel poor, higher than for households using gas (29%), and oil (28%). But similar to households using other fuel types (41%) 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; 47% compared to 28% respectively.
• Fuel poverty and extreme fuel poverty have a strong association with income, with rates increasing as annual household income decreases. For example, 89% of households with an annual income less than £15,000 were in fuel poverty compared to 43% 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 associated with higher energy efficiency standards. 27% of households living in dwellings rated EPC band C or better were fuel poor, compared to 41% living in dwellings in bands F or G.
• Scottish House Condition Survey results for 2022 have been assessed to be comparable in the most part to 2019 and earlier years. However, as noted in section 1.1.5 of the Methodological and Technical notes there is evidence to suggest that social and private rented households, who have higher rates of fuel poverty, may be under-represented in the 2022 achieved sample and owner-occupied households, who have lower rates of fuel poverty, may be over-represented. Due to this, national level estimates of fuel poverty may be slightly under-estimated, however we expect any effects to be minor, especially in the context of other key drivers of fuel poverty such as fuel prices.

Heating Satisfaction

• 16% of all households find that their heating keeps them warm enough in winter only sometimes and 5% find 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; 26% of fuel poor and 29% of extreme fuel poor report that their heating keeps them warm in winter “only sometimes” or “never”, compared to 20% of non-fuel poor households. 16% of both fuel poor households and extreme fuel poor households say they cannot afford to heat my home, compared to 9% of non-fuel poor households
• The extent to which home energy use is monitored by householders is higher than in 2019 with 71% stating they monitor their energy use “very” or “fairly closely” compared to 57% in 2019. 46% of all households report owning an energy monitoring device – an 11 percentage point increase on 2019.
• A similar proportion of fuel poor (71%), extreme fuel poor (71%) and non-fuel poor households (71%) monitored their energy use “very” or “fairly closely” in 2022. However, both fuel poor households (42%) and extreme fuel poor (38%) households were less likely to have a monitoring device than and non-fuel poor (47%)

Energy Efficiency and Carbon Emissions

• In 2022, 52% of Scottish homes were rated as EPC band C or better, compared to 45% in 2019 an increase of 8 percentage points. 
• Under SAP 2009, which allows comparisons over a longer period, over half of dwellings (56%) were rated C or better, up 32 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 9% in 2022.
• Under SAP 2009, the median EE rating in 2022 was 70, which is equivalent to Band C. This is an increase from 62 in 2010 which is equivalent to band D.
• Scottish House Condition Survey results for 2022 have been assessed to be comparable in the most part to 2019 and earlier years. However, there is some evidence to suggest that social and private rented households, may be under-represented in the 2022 achieved sample and owner-occupied households, may be over-represented as laid out in section 1.1.5 of the Methodological and Technical notes. Due to this national level estimates of EPC ratings, loft, and solid wall insulation may be slightly under-estimated, as socially rented households tend to have higher rates of solid wall insulation and higher EPC ratings than owner-occupied households and private renters. However, we expect any effects to be minor as solid wall insulation makes up only around a quarter of all dwellings. Furthermore private rented dwellings (which are underestimated more significantly than socially rented properties) tend to have similar EPC scores to owner occupiers (50% C or above and 48% C or above respectively).

Distribution of the Scottish housing stock by grouped EPC band (SAP 2009), 2010 to 2022

Notes: [note 19]

• The majority of loft spaces are insulated. In 2022, loft insulation with a thickness of 100 mm or more had been installed in 95% of dwellings. This has been broadly stable since 2015 but represents an increase of 23 percentage points on 2007 levels.
• In 2022, 32% of lofts were insulated to a high standard of insulation (300 mm or more). This proportion has remained about this level since 2015, following year on year increases from the 2010 figure of 5%.
• The proportion of insulated cavity walls recorded by the SHCS was 69% in 2022.
• The proportion of solid wall dwellings with insulation was 16% in 2022, an increase of 5 percentage points on the 2012 figure.
• Levels of insulation (both loft and wall) are higher in the social sector than in the private sector. 53% of homes in the private sector have wall insulation compared to 67% in the social sector. In the private sector, 63% of lofts are insulated to 200 mm or more compared to 76% in the social sector.
• In 2022, 75% of gas and oil boilers met the minimum efficiencies specified by current Building Standards, a substantial increase from 30% in 2012.
• Based on modelled energy use required to meet the SAP standard heating regime , the average Scottish home was estimated to produce 6.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year in 2022, which is approximately double the average carbon emissions per household as reported by Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (3.3 tonnes per year) in 2020, 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 69 kg per square meter of floor area in 2022.

Housing Conditions

• Disrepair to critical elements, which are central to weather-tightness, structural stability and preventing deterioration of the property, stood at 49% in 2022. Less than half of these (18% of all dwellings) required urgent disrepair to critical elements and just 3% had extensive disrepair (covering at least a fifth of the element area) to one or more critical elements.
• Overall, this is an improvement of 3 percentage points on 2019, when 52% of dwellings had disrepair to critical elements. The 2022 rate has returned to a level similar to 2016 (48%).
• 17% of dwellings had disrepair only to non-critical elements, with 3% of dwellings requiring some urgent repair and 1% with extensive disrepair to non-critical elements, similar to 2019.
• Levels of mold, damp and condensation were similar to those seen in 2019: 90% of properties were free from any damp or condensation and 91% were free from mold.
• In 2022, two new below tolerable standard criteria were introduced (assessing the presence, type, and condition of smoke, heat, and carbon monoxide alarms) leading to a sharp increase to the proportion of below tolerable standard dwellings from 2% in 2019 to 29% in 2022. However, if these two criteria were not included the proportion of dwellings below tolerable standard would be 2% similar to 2019.
• The Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) failure rate in the social sector was 41% in 2022, not allowing for abeyances and exemptions, this has fallen from 60% in 2010. Failures of the Energy Efficient criterion were the biggest drivers of failures overall for the social sector. In 2022, 29% of social sector properties did not meet the Energy Efficient criterion.
• SHCS surveyors may not always be able to identify the presence of cavity wall insulation. The Energy Efficient criterion failure rate in the social sector would be 10% if it is assumed that all social dwellings have insulated cavity walls where this is technically feasible. This, in turn, would lower the overall SHQS failure rate in the social sector to 28%.
• 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.
• For 77% of social homes failing the SHQS this was due to falling short on just one of the 55 elements which make up the standard. In 2022, these were cavity wall insulation (50%), pipe insulation (8%), full and efficient central heating (7%), fire alarms (6%), carbon monoxide alarms (6%) and secure door entry system (3%).
• In 2022 around 70,000 households lived in overcrowded accommodation (3%) under the bedroom standard.
• Around 949,000 (37%) households had one bedroom in excess of the minimum requirement under the bedroom standard. A further 888,000 (35%) 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 (51% compared to 17% in the private sector). Social sector tenants are also slightly more likely (5%) to live in accommodation which is overcrowded according to the bedroom standard than those households living in the private sector (2%)
• By comparison households in the private sector are more likely to live in accommodation which exceeds the bedroom standard (81% vs 44% for social tenants).
• Scottish House Condition Survey results for 2022 have been assessed to be comparable in the most part to 2019 and earlier years. However, as noted in section 1.1.5 of the Methodological and Technical notes there is evidence to suggest that social and private rented households, may be under-represented in the 2022 achieved sample and owner-occupied households may be over-represented. Due to this, national level estimates of some elements of disrepair may be slightly under-estimated as disrepair to critical elements is more prevalent in the private rented sector, which is underrepresented in the sample. Conversely, when including the two new criteria failure rates for the tolerable standard are higher in the owner occupied sector, and as a result national level figures for this may be slightly overestimated. However, the main drivers of disrepair tend to be property age and type not tenure, and as set out in section 1.1.4 of the Methodological and Technical notes these characteristics are included in the SHCS calibration weighting process. Additionally, given the diversity of disrepair data and the broad similarities to 2019 figures in key categories such as the tolerable standard and the overall SHQS failure rate (before revisions) we expect any differences to be minor.