Your titles may set out the share to be paid by each owner in a number of ways.
The most common ways that costs are shared are by:
- equal shares
- by set percentages or fractions
- by rateable value
- by floor area
If your title deeds say your share is a percentage or fraction, you should look at the title deeds for each flat in your building and check these add up to 100%. If they don’t, you will need to share costs according to the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004.
If your sharing arrangement is by Rateable Value (RV), you will need to find out what these were when rateable values were last used in 1989, before the Community Charge (Poll Tax) was introduced. Your local library is likely to hold these in their archives.
When you have found out all the rateable values, add them all together and then divide the total by each individual RV to get the percentage each owner should pay. If flats have been altered since 1989, you will need to recalculate shares.
If you share by floor area, the Tenements Act tells you how to measure up.
Your title deeds may specify that one flat, or a shop, should pay much more than other owners. This can stop repairs from going ahead. If this is the case, you can make an informal, one-off agreement to divide costs in ways that are fairer and more workable. If you want to make that arrangement permanent, you will need to change your title deeds.
