Renfrewshire Council is setting up a dedicated five-person team to deal with damp and mould in council homes.
The move comes after 361 damp and mould cases were resolved during 2025/26 and ahead of new legal requirements coming into force in Scotland in October.
The council’s Communities and Housing Policy Board agreed a new Damp and Mould Policy at its meeting on Tuesday 18th August.
The new team will include a Housing Condition Manager, three Repairs and Maintenance Officers and a Damp and Mould Case Officer.
It will investigate reported cases, oversee repairs and keep tenants informed while work is carried out.
Under the new policy, reports of damp and mould will be investigated within 10 working days.
Where an investigation finds substantial damp or mould, qualifying repair work must start within five working days of the investigation.
Repairs covered by the new statutory requirements must be completed within a maximum of 20 working days from when the problem was reported or identified.
The policy also states tenants may be entitled to compensation if the council fails to meet statutory repair timescales.
The changes come ahead of the Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026, which come into force on 6th October 2026 and implement Awaab’s Law in Scotland.
The number of cases was raised during Tuesday’s meeting.
Councillor Jacqueline Cameron said: “I welcome the new policy and the five new dedicated posts to support that, and the timescales for dealing with damp and mould.”
She added: “It says that there were 361 cases resolved in 25-26. Do we have any outstanding cases, and what would that number be?”
An officer told the board that the figure was not available during the meeting and would be provided afterwards.
The council’s policy says it will take a “zero tolerance approach” to damp and mould and will not automatically assume problems have been caused by the way a tenant uses their home.