Tenement Management Scheme

Sometimes your title deeds will lay nothing down or have gaps which could lead to some problems when trying to make decisions with other owners in your tenement.

For example, your title deeds might not:

• explain how decisions should be made
• describe all the common areas
• give a share of costs that adds up to 100%

If this is the case, you and the other owners can revert to the 'Tenement Management Scheme' found at Schedule 1 of the Tenement (Scotland) Act 2004. This fills in the gaps in title deeds and helps make flat owners' responsibilities more clear.

The Tenement Management Scheme:

• explains what counts as maintenance
• 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

Scheme decisions

If you and the other owners can't decide on if and how you should carry out certain maintenance, the Tenement Management Scheme will explain how you should come to an agreement.

You and the other owners may make scheme decisions on:

• carrying out maintenance
• arranging maintenance inspections
• hiring or dismissing a property manager
• giving a property manager authority to carry out inspections and maintenance
• arranging common insurance
• deciding that an owner doesn't have to pay their share of maintenance cost
• sorting out emergency work
• installing a door-entry system
• changing or cancelling any other decision made in the past

These decisions will usually be made with a voting system, with each property representing one vote. The Tenement Management Scheme will give details on how this should be carried out.

Sharing the cost

Once a scheme decision is made, owners become responsible for the cost of carrying out any maintenance or repairs needed.

Your title deeds usually tell you how the costs should be shared between owners, but if there is nothing laid down or there are gaps you may use the Tenement Management Scheme.

Under a Tenement Management Scheme, all owners pay an equal share of the costs of maintenance and repairs, except:

• when the work involves a part of the tenement that isn't used by everyone (in which case only the owners of the flats involved should pay)
• when the floor area of the biggest flat is more than one-and-a-half times the floor area of the smaller flat (in which case repair costs should be split so the owner of the larger flat pays more)