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Policy update: Scottish Government

Under One Roof took part in the second meeting of the Scottish Parliament’s Tenement Maintenance Working Group in February.

Four MSPs attended the meeting, including Graham Simpson (Conservative), Daniel Johnson (Labour), Kaukab Stewart (SNP), and John Mason (SNP). Under One Roof and Built Environment Forum Scotland, who act as secretariat for the group, provided updates to professionals in the built environment sector, such as factors, architects and surveyors, local authority housing officers, and MSPs. 

The aim of the working group is to look for legislative fixes to address issues around contacting absent owners, tied votes when attempting common repairs, and dealing with lingering issues related to rateable value. 

These issues carry on from the group’s original proposals that the Scottish Government has agreed to legislate for: 

  • mandatory owners’ associations – will make it easier for owners to work together to carry out necessary repairs  
  • five-yearly tenement building inspections – help to identify necessary repairs and improve maintenance knowledge 
  • compulsory building reserve funds – will make it easier for owners to secure the money to pay for repairs 

Download our template letter and contact your MSP today to urge them to join the working group and help us shape policy that will help tenement owners for decades to come.

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Latest updates

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Help and information

If you live in any kind of building containing flats, you have rights and responsibilities, along with your co-owners, to maintain and manage your building.
But, every building is different, so get professional help for anything more than a simple problem. 

Working with your neighbours will make sure you always deal with problems fairly and help maintain harmony in your building.

Repairs are inevitable and need to be tackled quickly before more damage is caused.

Follow these steps to ensure the repairs process goes smoothly and all owners pay their share.

Not satisfied with your flat? Check out what you can and can’t do to your flat to alter and improve it before deciding to sell and move on.