Repairs and maintenance in common areas
If you're a homeowner and you live in a flat, tenement or apartment block you and your neighbours can work together to keep your building well maintained. These pages explain what you should do if repair work needs to be carried out to common areas such as the roof or stairs.
If you need to talk to someone, we’ll do our best to help. Get Help
Working together to maintain common areas in your flat
It's important to keep common areas in good repair, this helps prevent large expensive repairs. What common areas are and how you and your neighbours can look after your building.
Property managers and factors
You may decide that the best way of keeping up with maintenance is to hire a property manager or factor. Your title deeds may ask you to do this. This page explains what they do.
Responsibility for repairs and maintenance in common areas
This page explains how you can work out who owns common areas of your building and who is responsible for their upkeep. This information should be in your title deeds. If not, the rules set out in the tenement management scheme (TMS) should be used to fill in the gaps. This page explains what the TMS is and how it works.
Making decisions using the tenement management scheme
The tenement management scheme (TMS) describes what flat owners need to do when making 'scheme decisions' about maintaining and repairing common parts.
Paying for common repairs
What's involved in paying for maintenance and repairs to common areas, including dividing up the costs, setting up a maintenance account, and what to do if any owner won't pay up.
Common building insurance for your flat
If you live in a tenement or block of flats you may need to take out common building insurance with the other owners.
Landlord repairs responsibilities in common areas
What to do if you live in a tenement and need to deal with an owner who won't take their repairing duties seriously. You may get help from the council or a mediator, or take the matter to court.
Last updated: 29 December 2014
Housing laws differ between Scotland and England.
This content applies to Scotland only.