Under One Roof Newsletter - March 2024
Under One Roof Scotland
Promoting the maintenance, management, and preservation of tenement buildings in Scotland.
In this edition, find out about changing factor, electric vehicle charging, and Under One Roof's story.
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Visit our website for more information about tenement maintenance and repair management, and use our Ask a tenement expert feature to receive tailored answers to specific tenement-related queries.
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We’re taking a pause with our events calendar this month after a busy start to the year. We’ll be back with dates as we head into the warmer months.??
In the meantime, did you know you can find useful webinar recordings on our YouTube channel?
Watch the recordings??
There are also webinars on various tenement-related topics, including fabric first and retrofit in tenement buildings, using traditional building methods, and how to use the first-tier tribunal.??
Enquiry of the month: I'm trying to change factor but facing difficulties. What can I do?
Having a property factor can be useful when it comes to maintaining your tenement building. They can help to ensure the building stays in good condition and your property retains its value by acting on your behalf to manage the common parts and organise repairs. Governed by the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011, property factors are required to adhere to specific standards and regulations.?
When you are unhappy with the service provided by your current factor, you may wish to find another one. Perhaps you’re dissatisfied with their services, facing difficulties in communication, or seeking better value for money.??
Changing your property factor can sometimes be challenging, but it is possible if you have the right knowledge and follow the correct procedures.?
Steps to take?
1. Identify the issues:?Before making any decisions, identify the specific issues or concerns you have with your current property factor. This will help you articulate your reasons for change and communicate with them effectively.?
2. Don’t ignore a bill: If you are unhappy with a service provided or disagree with a bill, it’s important to not ignore bills from your property factor as you will be treated as a non-payer. Withholding funds could jeopardise things like your insurance.?
3. Communicate: Reach out to your factor to discuss your concerns. Request a meeting with them and the other owners in your building to address the issues and explore potential solutions. Effective communication can often resolve misunderstandings and improve the situation. It’s a good idea to keep a note of any conversations or discussions as these will be useful if you find you need to take things further.?
4. Hold an owners’ meeting: If the communication doesn’t reach a satisfactory outcome and you still wish to change factor, organise a separate owners’ meeting, without your factor. Talk about the problems you’re experiencing openly, gather feedback from fellow owners, and assess if there’s a consensus for change. Again, keep a note of these conversations in case you need to take things further.?
5. Reaching the decision to change factor: Changing your property factor typically requires a majority decision among all owners in the building. But, check your titles to see if they specify how you must hire and fire your factor. If your titles do not specify this, follow the default rules in the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004. Under the Act, changing factor requires a majority decision.?
6. Submit a formal request: If there is majority agreement to change the property factor, draft a formal letter signed by the majority of owners. In the letter, state the decision to change factor?and request the necessary actions, such as closing accounts, returning deposits, and transferring information to the new factor.?
7. Facing further difficulties: If you continue to face challenges with changing factor, it may be necessary to make an official complaint following the procedure set out in your factor’s Written Statement of Services or escalate things further to the First Tier Tribunal. If a property factor is refusing to leave, this may be in breach of the Property Factor’s Code of Conduct and course for legal action.?
Changing your property factor can be a complex process, but by identifying the issues, communicating openly, and following the necessary steps, you can overcome obstacles and make the transition smoothly.
Active participation and collaboration amongst owners are key to achieving the desired outcome. For more information on property factors, check out this article.?
Have a specific question about tenement maintenance or management?
Electric vehicle charging and tenements: what to do?
With the ongoing transition to net zero, there are more and more electric vehicles on the roads to help reduce carbon emissions. In December 2021,?21.4%?of all new car sales in Scotland were electric. But if you live in a flat without off-street parking, where can charging points for electric vehicles be installed??
The Energy Savings Trust did?operate a fund?on behalf on the Scottish Government to support electric vehicle charging, but this was only applicable for private tenants in factored developments with dedicated off-street parking.?
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The challenge of electric vehicle charging in tenements?
For those living in tenement flats with no off-street parking, installing a charging point close to home is difficult, if not impossible. At the moment, the only option available is to approach local authorities to install public charging points.
The Scottish Government are providing local authorities with funding to help identify locations that need charging infrastructure; however, the issue of where to install charging points remains.
The?ChargePlace Scotland?network of public electric vehicle charging points has been developed by the Scottish Government to make owning an electric vehicle more accessible, and the network has a total 2,600 charging points across Scotland as of 2023.
Yet, it is acknowledged that the network’s charging points are not always available or sometimes in disrepair. For those who own flats in dense urban areas, a network of charging points might be a solution, but where to install them remains a problem. Pavements need to be kept accessible and free from trip hazards, and parking spaces are often limited.?
Installing an electric vehicle charging point
There are no specific provisions in the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 on electric vehicle charging points. Installation of these would be an alteration rather than maintenance. This means that if you are looking to install a charging point adjacent to or on the exterior wall of your tenement building, you will need to review your titles to check the position as to ownership of walls and adjacent ground, as well as checking for any real burdens forbidding alteration.
To find out more about your options regarding charging points for electric vehicles, contact the?Energy Savings Trust?who will be able to advise you and see if you are eligible for support with installation. Note, their?domestic charge point funding?scheme is currently closed, but you can register your interest to be updated when it next opens.?
In the meantime, Under One Roof will monitor any developments on this issue and provide updates as they arise. If you have any feedback on this topic, let us know by?sending us a message.
The story of Under One Roof: a conversation with co-found Annie Flint
This month to mark International Women’s Day, we’re delving into the archives of Blocktalk, the podcast for UK Property Management Professionals, hosted by Brian Welsh, Managing Director of CPL Software.
In a conversation recorded back in March 2022, Annie Flint, co-founder of Under One Roof, shares her journey and insights into the world of tenement living and property management.?
Annie’s story begins with her youthful venture into flat ownership at the age of 18, when she bought a flat in Edinburgh around 50 years ago. In those days, council inspectors would routinely visit tenement buildings, identifying necessary repairs and prompting swift action from owners to address issues like faulty gutters.?
When Annie moved to Glasgow, she experienced a stark contrast. Upon receiving her first factors bill in Glasgow, Annie was taken aback by the seemingly small insurance fee. Her attempts to seek clarification from the factor were met with silence. She received another bill and wrote to them, and again got no reply. Annie did not want to pay the bill if she didn’t get an answer, and the factor threatened to take her to court over the dispute.?
A couple of weeks later, Annie crossed paths with John Gilbert, a conservation architect who was working on refurbishing tenements in Govan at the time. He told her about the struggles they were having to get owners to maintain the refurbished tenements.?
Following these experiences, Annie and John decided they were going to write a book to help improve the situation of communal property management, culminating in the creation of the Tenement Handbook, published in 1993.?
However, the ever-changing landscape of legislation and funding necessitated the shift from printed to digital resources and over time the Tenement Handbook evolved to become the Under One Roof website.?
In the podcast episode, Annie recounts this journey and discusses the importance of education and collaboration when it comes to maintaining tenements. She highlights the need for a shift in how communal properties are perceived and managed:?
“We still have this huge job to do to try and get people to think about flats and communal properties and the fact that they’re different from houses.”?
Discussions also touch upon common complaints among owners, the implications of the Property Factors Act, the need to improve tenement legislation, and the evolving role of women in property management and related fields.?
As Annie reflects on her career, she encourages women in the industry to embrace their voices and stand up for what they believe in:?
“... I also think women are often averse to sticking their heads out and coming forward and having the courage of their own convictions... when I look back at the times that I've had most impact, I think it's been where I've stood up and articulated what I thought was right, or what I thought was needed and I’ve said so very publicly… I'm sure there's lots of much younger women in the property management industry listening. You know, I just say to you be proud of being dangerous. Go out there, put yourself out. If I think about anything in my career, where I didn’t get things done, it was where I was being timid. You know, I’ve got things done when I've stood up and spoken out.”?
Listen to the full episode by following the links below.?
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??Subscribe to stay up to date??
Visit our website for more information about tenement maintenance and repair management, and use our Ask a tenement expert feature to receive tailored answers to specific tenement-related queries.