Your council can use a ‘repayment charge’ to recover repair costs. It is registered on the title deeds and means that an owner will likely have to pay off the debt (including interest and admin charges) when they sell their property. The presence of the Notice may also make it difficult to sell.

If flat owners or commercial property owners do not pay a repair bill, the council can, in many cases, register a repayment charge with the title deeds.

The council must first serve a notice on the owner, telling them it plans to do this to recover repair costs. The total cost that the council can recover can include the cost of serving the order and interest charges. The owner should be given the opportunity to make at least five annual payments. The order can be paid off early.

If an owner sells their flat before paying off the repayment charge, it is likely that the purchaser will make it a condition that the remainder of the charge be paid off from the sale proceeds and the charge removed from the title deeds.

Legal reference

• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s172-174 (amended May 2015)