Common repairs to a tenement are covered by an act of the Scottish government.
Although you may think of a three or four-storey sandstone building when you hear the word ‘tenement’, a tenement is any building with two or more flats on top of each other. This means houses that have been converted into flats, high-rise blocks and new apartment blocks are all tenements and subject to common repairs.
The law
The Tenement Management Scheme:
- explains what counts as maintenance in a common repair to a tenement.
- lists the ‘scheme property’ (the parts of the tenement every flat owner should maintain).
- tells you how to come to agreements about maintenance (known as ‘scheme decisions’).
- tells you how maintenance costs are shared between owners.
Common insurance
- By law, you must insure your own and your share of the common property repair, so that if the tenement needs to be rebuilt you can contribute.
The above information can be seen in detail at Scottish government
Help from City of Edinburgh Council
Edinburgh has a Shared Repairs Service which offers free advice and information to help owners organise repairs to the shared or common areas of your property. Find there contact details below.