Shared Repairs Edinburgh

19/03/2026

We keep on coming across intractable shared repairs situations. The same things happen over and over again. One owner is affected by a problem. He/she asks the neighbours to cooperate. Some do, some don’t. They get quotes to share around. Each has a different remedy and a different cost. They choose one based on goodness knows what criteria. Still some owners refuse to cooperate or they challenge the price or the specification or they simply go to ground.

Almost no one ever takes a broad view of what is required and in what order and Home Reports provide next to no guidance so even “point of sale” pressures have little or no effect.

All that said we strongly recommend the Novoville app as a well considered means of regularising communication and decision making between owners and UnderOneRoof for advice to common owners and tenants.

The proposals that the new Scottish Government could take forward to legislation are at an advanced stage. We just hope that they will not get bogged down in the usual political and vested interest quagmire.

14/06/2025

The Scottish Government review of Tenement Maintenance is progressing very slowly and there are mighty vested interests that stand in the way of reform.

The basic issue is that the system for maintaining the common parts of tenements is broken. 40% of housing in Scotland is tenemental yet the condition of this vital part of our housing stock is extremely difficult to maintain and is certain to decline over time - not because the skills to repair it are lacking but because it requires cooperation and a degree of tolerance between owners that is so very often absent. Social media-style rudeness and intolerance has become commonplace in the discourse surrounding tenement maintenance.

Buying a tenemental flat is something of a lottery. What is the condition of the common fabric? What are the common owners like as a group? Does the law of the jungle apply? # is far from easy to find out.

All of this could be fixed but it means that, in the process, some flats will be revealed as being only saleable at a knock down price. The status quo, the next deal, and not the long term state of the country’s housing stock, is the concern of a great many vested interests. These include professionals involved in the property market and owners of flats who would prefer purchasers not to know the truth. As always the vested interests are stirring up a lot of trouble and noise and putting the wind up politicians. Politicians are also being pulled in the other direction, however, by frantic constituents who unable to get essential maintenance and repairs carried out.

The lesson from this is “buyer beware”, your interests are not well served by the present system. Owners should also beware of neighbours who will not co-operate with common repairs. As tenemental properties decline in overall condition owners should also be aware that buyers will become increasingly picky.

03/10/2024

Getting agreement to any shared repairs is often a long slow process. There is so much misunderstanding.

Someone told us a few days ago about a co-owner who refused to accept that the partial collapse of floors from fungal decay in part of the tenement was, in any way, their problem. A solicitor had told them “floors are not part of the common repairing liability”. This may be strictly correct but fungal decay is always caused by water and often the source is indeed an item of disrepair due to the neglect of building fabric that is a common responsibility. It can also rapidly become everyone’s problem.

The idea that owners can make problems go away by ignoring them is part of a mindset that can wipe tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of value from their properties.

If someone is prepared to take a leadership role in a common stair, my advice to other owners would be: give them every possible support and nurture them!

12/05/2024

The establishment of compulsory Owners Associations will be a massive reform to the way tenements in Scotland are managed and maintained.

I would urge anyone who is in any way interested in tenements in Scotland to read this paper and respond to the consultation. You don’t have to comment on all of it unless you want to. A single considered response on a single issue will be of value.

Discussion Paper 176 - Tenement law: compulsory owners' associations

https://www.scotlawcom.gov.uk/files/9417/1388/6160/Discussion_Paper_-_Tenement_law_compulsory_owners_associations_-_No_176.pdf

Please note that the closing date for comments is 1 August 2024.

12/05/2024

A quick update on the tricky subject of energy efficiency in tenements.

Here is the report of a Scottish Government working group on the subject.

The Tenements Short Life Working Group present their recommendations to the Scottish Government on the best approach for decarbonising the heat supply of tenement buildings and achieving a good level of energy efficiency, in line with commitments in the Heat in Buildings Strategy.

01/02/2024

Common Repair projects

A building surveyor I know who had done a lot of common repair work for several years once remarked to me that “in every common stair there’s a nutter”. I relayed this to a (very sensible) stair rep recently who quietly responded “we’ve got three”! The rule holds, however, if expressed as “at least one nutter”.

What is so strange about the resident “nutter” is that they invariably cost themselves and their co-owners dearly. The rules of effective management are simple:

Work together with your co-owners not against them. Antipathy guarantees inefficiency.

Don’t show off. You may be very clever and knowledgeable, perhaps in other fields of endeavour, perhaps in some related branch of property, construction or design - step back. Don’t “get a dog and bark yourself”.

Be supportive, interested and caring. All too often the likes of social media has encouraged a nasty set of behaviours. Most professionals, contractors and tradesmen thrive in an atmosphere of encouragement and will go the extra mile for a client that treats them respectfully.

Accept that no-one is perfect. Construction contracts go wrong. Mistakes are made. In most cases such errors are inherent in getting the job done and are non-negligent.

Be respectful of other people’s time. When a quotation has been accepted for a piece of work or a service, stick to the clients’ side of the bargain and don’t waste the contractor’s or the professional’s time. Act quickly and decisively on advice and don’t waste time and energy on blame games that lead nowhere.

Coordinate the owners’ interactions through a straightforward channel of communication (an owner’s representative).

08/11/2023

Common repair projects can be difficult at the best of times but intolerance and misunderstanding all too often come to the surface. Relationships between owners often get strained. Between owners (the client) and their advisers and contractors, they may sometimes come under severe stress.

Unrealistic expectations can be a problem. Contrary to the popular perception, architects and surveyors do not “project manage” nor do they “supervise” building projects. It is the contractor’s job to manage the project and supervise the work.

The architect or surveyor - more precisely described as the “Contract Administrator” or CA performs the role defined by the building contract. If work is substandard or not as designed and specified the CA has the power to require it to be done again. The CA (supported by the QS if there is one appointed) is also responsible for valuing the work and certifying payments. When it comes to the programme and the progress of the works, the CA’s duty is to adjudicate on “extensions of time” if justified. The role does not include the impossible task of running the contractor’s business.

A well organised contractor can make the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful project. By the same token, a negative, uncooperative and bickering attitude on the part of “the client”, in this case the common owners, can drive a project off the rails.

04/06/2023

The Novoville app for common repairs is a game changer. If you are faced with difficulties communicating between your co-owners take a look at it.

Shared Repairs webpage

26/05/2023

Work is underway (at last!) on the design of a reporting format for the five yearly reports.

These reports form a key part of the proposals that have received Scottish Government and All Party support for the reform of the arrangements around the maintenance of tenements. The present thinking is that, given the pressure on the Scottish Government’s legislative programme, they could be rolled out on a voluntary basis to begin with.

At a discussion organised by the RICS and held at their headquarters in Charlotte Square today (26 May 2023) expert Home Report surveyors joined with representatives of the building surveying and architectural professions to assist in the review of a draft proposal for the report format prepared by architect Joanne McClelland and building surveyor Aythan Lewes.

It was agreed that technical language and wording that might confuse given the regional variations in Scotland should be avoided as far as possible, bearing in mind that the reports will inform the decision making of common owners, tenement flat purchasers and government policy makers.

There was a discussion about the categorisation of recommended repairs and maintenance. It was agreed that shorthand terms like Urgent or Desirable should be dropped in favour of more nuanced word pictures. Home Report surveyors find the constraint of three condition categories frustrating and it was agreed that 5 categories (1-5) would provide for greater flexibility in reporting.

There was some discussion about what effect the introduction of 5-yearly reports might have on the market and on individuals, such as those who had bought flats with very high levels of mortgage commitment in the hope of buying and selling before the need to commit to significant maintenance or repair expenditure crystallises. It was agreed that clearly presented facts are essential to a properly functioning market. If this creates “hard cases”, that is beyond the scope of a professional surveyor or architect to resolve. From a property maintenance and repair point of view “knowledge is strength”. That said, it is not unheard of for poorly presented professional advice to mislead or create unnecessary alarm. It is important that five yearly reports should not “crash the market”.

It was proposed that the thermal performance of tenement buildings should be included in the five yearly reporting cycle. Ideas for how this might be addressed were discussed.

Who should undertake the reports was also addressed. It was agreed that the reports must be professional and untainted by vested interest but that there might not be enough suitably experienced professionals available to undertake the task. With this in mind it was pleasing to see interest being taken by the CIOB (the Chartered Institute of Builders) represented by Jocelyne Fleming.

The proposed report should take maximum advantage of state of the art Information Technology. It was great therefore to have the involvement of Louis Daillencourt of the innovative Novoville app which aims to empower Common Owners to cooperate in the repair and maintenance of their buildings.

13/05/2023

Nothing illustrates more vividly the need for improvements to the system around tenemental maintenance and repair that the wonderfully supportive Under One Roof website:

Home page