Getting help from environmental health

The council’s environmental health team can help with health and safety problems in your home and local area.

If your landlord is not dealing with serious repairs problems, they can inspect your home and order your landlord to put it right.

Problems environmental health can investigate

They can help with problems known as statutory nuisances, including:

unsafe conditions in a home or public building
smells, noise or excessive waste in or around your community
problems with animals, pests and infestations

The environmental health team can inspect any property for health and safety issues, including individual homes and entire buildings.

How environmental health can help with repairs

Your landlord is responsible for dealing with repairs in your home. Check our advice on repairs if you rent from:

If you have repair problems and your landlord is not taking action, environmental health can investigate whether:

your home meets basic standards – this is called the tolerable standard
the repair problems are harmful to you or your family’s health

If your home fails an inspection, environmental health can tell your landlord what they must do by a specific date to solve the problem. This is called an abatement notice.

If your landlord does not complete the work, environmental health could:

fine your landlord
do the works needed to solve the problem and recover the costs from your landlord

If you rent from the council, environmental health can inspect your home and ask the housing team to do repairs.

They cannot force repairs or give a fine. This is because a council team cannot take formal action against the council.

If environmental health cannot help after an inspection, check our advice on taking the council to court to force repairs.

The tolerable standard

All homes must meet the tolerable standard to be fit to live in.

Your home may not meet the tolerable standard if:

it's not structurally stable
it's not insulated well enough
it has problems with rising or penetrating damp
there’s not enough ventilation, natural and artificial light or heating
there’s no suitable way for you to install cooking facilities
the electric supply does not meet safety regulations

It may also not meet the standard if it does not have:

an acceptable fresh water supply
a sink with hot and cold water
an indoor toilet
a fixed bath or shower
a good drainage and sewerage system
a proper entrance
suitable smoke, fire and carbon monoxide alarms

Problems that are harmful to your health

Repair problems could be harmful to you or your family’s health if they cause you to get ill or make your existing illness worse. For example, if you have asthma and damp and mould in your home is making it worse.

Your health includes your physical and mental health.

You might need a medical letter to show how the problems are affecting your health. Ask your GP or specialist for a letter and ask them to be as specific as possible. For example, the letter could say:

what your health issue or disability is
how your health issue or disability has gotten worse or harder to manage because of the repair problems
why the repair problems are risky for you because of your health issue or disability

Contacting environmental health about repairs

Some councils use different names for their environmental health team, such as environmental protection or public health. You may need to check what the team is called for your local council.

Find your council's website on mygov.scot.

Email or write to the council to ask for an inspection. Keep copies of any letters or emails you send.

Your council might ask you to complete an online form. Online forms do not always send you a copy of the information you submit. Take a note of the time and date you complete the form, as well as the information you include.

If you phone them, take a note of the date, time and the name of the person you spoke to.

What to say

Be specific when you ask for an environmental health inspection to make sure your request is sent to the right team.

Use our template letter to help you. Copy and paste the sample text and personalise it with your details.

Include photographs of the problem, and copies of any emails or letters you have sent your landlord. You should also include copies of any medical evidence or doctors' letters.

Letter template: report repair problems to environmental health

Subject: Unsafe conditions in my rented home

To the environmental health team,

My rented home at <your address> has serious repair problems that I believe to be a statutory nuisance.

<Describe the repair problems in your home>

I reported these issues to my landlord on <dates>, but repairs have still not been done.

<Delete anything that does not apply to you and add details relevant to your situation>

I am concerned that my home does not meet the tolerable standard because <give details of how the repair problems breach the standard>.

This is intolerable for <me / my family> to live with because <give details of how it’s affecting you or your family’s comfort>.

The repair problems are prejudicial to <my / my family's> health because <give details of how it's affecting your or your family's health or safety>.

I have attached evidence of the repair problem, copies of communication with my landlord and <other evidence, for example: a letter from my GP>.

My landlord is <your landlord’s name and address>.

I'm asking for your assistance to enforce my landlord's repair obligations. Please contact me to confirm what steps you will take to ensure my home is safe to live in.

Thank you

You can also send the letter as an email attachment or through the post:

Word template: contact environmental health (docx, 17 kb)
OpenDocument template letter: contact environmental health (odt, 9 kb)

If environmental health do not help

Make a complaint if:

environmental health refuse to inspect your home without giving you a good reason
you think an inspection was not done properly

A complaint will not usually change the results of an inspection if it was completed properly.

If you rent from the council, you can still make a separate complaint about environmental health even if you have already complained about the housing team.

Check our advice on complaining to the council.

If your problem affects multiple people, you could make a complaint together. Check our advice on complaining as a group.

Last updated: 9 January 2025