Mike Heffron: Mandatory owners’ associations are not a silver bullet, but a starting gun

It is acknowledged truth, among flat owners and factors alike, that the condition of Scotland’s tenements is a ticking time bomb.

Crumbling stonework crashing to the streets is a regular occurrence in cities and towns throughout Scotland. Flat owners are being displaced due to unstable buildings, unsure if the other owners have not only the right amount of insurance, but any insurance at all.

And yet last week, with little notice outside the housing sector, the Scottish Law Commission released its report and draft legislation calling for compulsory owners’ associations in Scotland’s tenement buildings.

Although the issue received coverage in Scottish Housing News, it was ignored throughout the rest of the press, despite being, as one colleague called it, “the most significant document to be published this year.”

A strong statement. And not incorrect, when you consider tenement buildings make up around 37% of the housing stock in Scotland.

Of course, owners’ associations already exist in some tenement buildings, but as voluntary bodies, and with no legal standing. Yet the owners make them work, knowing they are critical to having the communication, structures, and processes in place to organise repairs in common areas of their building, such as the stair and roof.

This report and draft legislation, commissioned by the Government and proposed by the Law Commission, would in effect create an owners’ association in every tenement building in Scotland on a designated date.

And it would place a duty on owners to

1. to appoint a manager for the association,
2. hold at least one annual meeting,
3. approve a repair budget,
4. ensure building information is provided to property registers.

Notably, the report also calls for the creation of a bespoke form of tenement incorporation, which would allow owners to sign repair contracts on behalf of the association, rather than placing liability on one or two owners, as currently exists.

Anyone who has worked with flat owners to organise common repairs knows the mandatory introduction of owners’ associations is not a silver bullet for fixing Scotland’s tenement stock; it’s a starting gun.

The legislation will make it easier for flat owners to begin overdue conversations, look closely at what needs to be done and how quickly, and start long overdue repair, maintenance, and retrofit works.

There is much to be done as far as giving the bill the necessary scrutiny it needs, ideally strengthening it on issues concerning mandatory block insurance, building reserve funds, and five-year inspections.

Which is why political parties and the Scottish Government must work quickly to ensure that legislation setting up owners’ associations in every tenement becomes a reality as soon as possible – before the clock runs out, and we have another emergency to declare.

• Under One Roof provides free information and support to tenement owners, landlords, and housing professionals. Mike Heffron is also the co-convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Tenement Maintenance Working Group.