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Housing Quality and Health Report

Housing Quality and Health Report

Housing Quality and Health Report

Thursday, January 29, 2026

In January 2026, the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) and the University of Glasgow’s School of Health & Wellbeing Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment (HEHTA) published a new report Housing Quality and Health – an Economic Analysis. Their report aims to assess the economic impact of poor-quality housing on health outcomes in Scotland.

The report highlights the significant financial and health impacts of poor-quality housing in Scotland. It reviews existing research on how housing conditions affect health, examines economic evidence on housing interventions, and estimates the costs linked to inadequate housing.

Evidence shows strong connections between poor housing and ill health: cold homes are linked to heart and lung disease, damp and mould worsen respiratory conditions, overcrowding increases the spread of infections, and unsafe housing raises the risk of falls among older people. Improvements such as better insulation, heating upgrades, and hazard reduction have been shown to improve health, cut hospital admissions, and reduce falls.

Economic evidence is limited—especially for Scotland—but UK studies suggest that housing upgrades, including retrofitting and council housing improvements, are likely to be cost-effective or even save money by preventing illness and easing pressure on the NHS. The report estimates that poor housing costs the Scottish NHS around £530 million each year, with about £7.7 billion needed to fix the most serious hazards. However, gaps in Scottish housing data make these estimates less precise.

Overall, the report concludes that poor housing drives major health inequalities and public costs. It recommends better data collection, closer collaboration between housing and health sectors, and continued research to inform future housing and public health policy.

You can read the full report here.

UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence have an upcoming webinar, Rolling out the Decent homes Standard: Introducing the Non-Decent Index, occurring online on Thursday 19 February at 10am until 11am. Visit the Eventbrite page here to register your place.

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