Titles are often tricky to work through, so it pays to have a checklist and some idea of how your titles are set out. This information should have been given to you when you bought your flat.
When looking for details on common repairs, look first in the property section (which should detail any parts owned in common) and then in the burdens section.
If there is one set of rules that apply to all properties within the tenement, it is most likely that you will find these rules within the burdens section of the Title Sheet within a Deed of Conditions.
In the event that there is not a single set of rules or a Deed of Conditions, all individual Title Sheets or Sasine Title Deeds for the tenement need to be checked.
The burdens section is almost always difficult to read with many old fashioned and legal terms. It will often contain some interesting history about your building and how it was constructed. Deeds of Conditions tend to be more modern and can generally be found after this more historical part of the Title Sheet (if applicable). It is also important to check if the Deed of Conditions covers all properties in a tenement block. Some may cover more than one tenement block.
If there are any gaps in your titles, you will need to follow the default rules in the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 (known as the Tenement Management Scheme), but only to fill in that particular ‘gap’.
Your titles may contain rules about:
- which parts of the building are commonly owned (‘common ownership’)
- common responsibility elements – which parts are to be repaired at the common expense of all owners (i.e. the ground on which your tenement is built, foundations, external walls, roof, structure, etc.)
- mutual responsibility elements – close or stair, or drainpipes serving flats on one side of the building only
- individual responsibility elements – parts serving only one flat, such as chimneys, doors, windows, skylights, vents, etc., and the individual flat or shop owned
They will also state the management and decision-making rules:
- decisions that must be taken by all owners – common repairs, appointing or dismissing a property manager, what authority your property manager of factor will have, etc.
- how decisions should be made – voting rights and rules, rules for calling meetings, what happens if owners do not agree with a decision
- management rules – how owners’ shares are calculated, rules about carrying insurance
- main door flats, shops, etc. with no access to stair – if there is any difference to these owners’ responsibilities for cleaning or repainting the stairs etc.
- other rules – allowing access to flats to allow work to take place, use restrictions, sub-division restrictions, ‘servitudes’, rights of access over specific parts of the building or grounds etc.
If you are unsure about anything in your titles, seek advice from a solicitor.
Use our building’s rules checklist to note down what your titles say.
