Under One Roof is Scotland’s only charity dedicated to providing free and impartial information to the more than half a million tenement flat owners, and housing professionals, on issues related to tenement maintenance, common repair management, and retrofit.

Tenement buildings in Scotland require care and attention to ensure that they stay standing strong into the future. We seek to promote the sustainability and preservation of these buildings, support and guide owners on how they can look after them, and work with local and national government, and housing professionals, to make the process easier and more affordable.

The charity originated in the form of The Tenement Handbook: A Practical Guide to Living in a Tenement, a comprehensive guide written by Annie Flint and John Gilbert in 1993. In 2016, with the help of Changeworks and the Royal Incorporation of Architects as part of the Scottish Government’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design, The Tenement Handbook was digitised into the Under One Roof website. Under One Roof registered as a charity in 2020.

Chief Executive Officer: Mike Heffron

Mike Heffron was the first employee hired by the Under One Roof Board following its founding as a charity in 2020. He is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction of the organisation as well as finance, fundraising, policy, and team leadership. Mike, who previously worked as the Operations Manager of the Scottish charity Clan Childlaw and the Postgraduate Students’ Association of Australian National University, moved from his home in the United States to attend Edinburgh Napier University in 2004, where he graduated with a Masters in Journalism.

Education and Training Officer (Maternity Cover): Stephen Kelly

Stephen Kelly joined Under One Roof in March 2024, bringing 45 years of housing experience across public and private sectors, with over 20 years in a managerial position, to the role. Stephen previously worked with Care and Repair projects across Scotland, supporting owners and private tenants in maintaining independent living through home repair and improvement projects, as well as facilitating necessary adaptations.

Stephen’s primary prole as Education and Training Officer involves providing support and information to tenement flat owner-occupiers, landlords, and housing professionals in Scotland on various aspects of tenement maintenance and repair management. He organises and presents at public events for owner-occupiers and landlords, often in collaboration with Under One Roof’s local authority partners, and writes and delivers training courses for local authority housing teams and private factor staff. 

Education and Training Officer: Jacqueline Omoniyi

Jacqueline Omoniyi joined Under One Roof in May 2022. Jacqueline is an experienced property professional, having worked in the private rented sector for 20 years, and latterly ran her own successful letting agency. Jacqueline’s primary role as Education and Training Officer is to provide help, information, and support to tenement flat owners, landlords, and housing professionals across Scotland in all matters relating to tenement maintenance and repair management. Jacqueline hosts public events for owner-occupiers and landlords across Scotland with Under One Roof’s local authority partners, and regularly writes and delivers training courses for local authority and private factor staff teams.

Communications and Engagement Officer: Anny Bush

Anny Bush joined the team in 2023, having graduated the previous year from the University of Edinburgh with a Master of Arts in Social Anthropology with Development. Anny is responsible for the running of Under One Roof’s social media channels, the newsletter, and the website, as well as helping with the organisation and promotion of events.

Who is this site for

This site is for owners of all types of tenement flats and related property professionals.

Owners of:

• traditional stone tenements
• newly built apartment blocks
• ex-local authority tenements and four-in-a-blocks
• converted houses

Property professionals:

• property managers in all sectors
• architects and surveyors
• local authority housing officers
• community organisations
• advice and constituency outreach workers

Property professionals are free to reuse and share the information on our website for free, though please read our copyright policy to ensure the information and artwork is correctly attributed.

Annie Flint BSc

Annie is a housing consultant and researcher who is active in supporting the work of Under One Roof. She is a co-author of The Tenement Handbook: A Practical Guide to Living in a Tenement and Common Repair, Common Sense, which forms the basis of much of Under One Roof’s website, and many other guides for owners, community organisations, and professionals.

John Gilbert BSc MSc RIAS DUniv

John Gilbert is a conservation architect with more than 40 years’ experience of repairing, improving, and maintaining tenements and a variety of housing types. He is now retired but still provides consultancy for Under One Roof and his old practice, John Gilbert Architects. He is a co-author of The Tenement Handbook: A Practical Guide to Living in a Tenement, and Common Repair, Common Sense.

We remain grateful to the many people who provide information and oversight to the information we provide.

• Jim Bauld
• Gordon Douglas
• Scott McDonald
• Ben Adam
• Alistair Petrie
• Pat Hoey
• Daniel Bourke
• Jo Parry-Geddes
• Joanne McClelland

The charity is governed by a Board of Trustees whose members include funders, technical experts, and user representatives. All our trustees serve in a personal capacity, and bring a wealth of housing expertise to help support the charity and the staff.

Our funders come from across private and public sources and the range of our funding allows us to remain impartial and independent whilst understanding the restrictions on all the parties involved in the repairing process.

None at this time.

If you have any comments to make on the site and its content, please email us at info@underoneroof.scot. We are constantly working to improve the site and ensure it is a useful resource. We would appreciate hearing about your experiences of tenement maintenance and common repair management and will use your stories to improve the site.

If you need individual information about your own situation, use our Ask a tenement expert enquiry service.

To contact the Chief Executive about other matters, email Mike Heffron at mike@underoneroof.scot.

The information provided by Under One Roof is designed to help you learn the rights and responsibilities of being a tenement flat owner in Scotland, and to help you spot problems with your building and then understand quotations from builders, so you can get the best job carried out at the best price.

However, everyone’s building and situation are different, so the information on this site can only act as general guidance. It is not advice or a recommended course of action, which can only be given in light of full knowledge of a particular situation or building, and can only be ascertained by a property professional or qualified solicitor.

In short: if you are concerned about the immediate safety of your building’s structure, are going to undertake anything more than a simple repair, or there is a dispute amongst you and your fellow owners about how to move forward with a common repair, you should seek professional help beyond the information our organisation provides.

Read our full legal disclaimer for more information.