Affected buildings

The building must come within the scope of the legislation. Affected buildings include any building comprising of two or more related flats that are on different floors. In deciding whether the flats are related, regard should be had to the building's title deeds. [1]

The flats must also be either owned or designed to be owned separately. [2] The legislation applies to tenements, multi-storeys, houses converted into flats and modern apartment buildings.

The flats within the building do not need to be used for residential purposes. [3] This means that the legislation applies to buildings used entirely for residential or commercial purposes as well as mixed-use buildings, such as those consisting of shops or offices on the ground floors and residential properties on the upper floors.

The provisions will generally not apply if the title deeds of the building provide instruction on the same area. [4] For example, the provisions on repair and maintenance will only apply where the title deeds of the building do not already allocate responsibility amongst owners. Similarly, if the title deeds lay down procedures for managing the building then the legislative management scheme will not apply.

Clients should therefore be advised to refer to the title deeds of their property before consulting the legislation.

Where the title deeds are incomplete on any subject covered by the legislation, the legislation should be used to plug any gaps.