In a Glasgow tenement, repairs to shared parts such as the roof, gutters, stonework and common pipes are the joint responsibility of the owners. They are usually arranged through the property factor where the building has one, and paid for in the shares set out in the title deeds or, where the deeds are silent, the Tenement Management Scheme. The landlord still has to keep the tenant informed and take reasonable steps to get the repair done, and that follow-through is part of our Fully Managed service.
A typical case starts with a tenant reporting water staining on a bedroom ceiling. Sending a contractor to the flat is the obvious first step, and sometimes it is exactly what is needed. In a tenement, though, the source could be the roof, guttering, stonework, a communal pipe or another part of the building the landlord does not control alone. Solving it may then involve the letting agent, the property factor, other owners and several contractors, while the tenant is still waiting for an answer.
For landlords who live outside Glasgow, or simply have better things to do than chase a factor, these are the repairs where proper property management earns its fee. Factor liaison is part of our managed service: we deal with the tenant, establish what is happening at the property, contact the factor where a common repair appears to be involved and keep the landlord informed as the issue progresses.
The landlord cannot simply ignore the common parts
Scottish Government guidance on common parts of flats and tenements recognises the complication. For rented flats, responsibility for common parts such as the roof, foundations and external walls may be shared between owners. The title deeds should be checked first, and where they do not give the answer, the Tenement Management Scheme sets out how owners make decisions about maintenance and repairs and how the costs are shared.
The same guidance makes an important point for landlords. Common parts can fall within the Repairing Standard where the landlord is responsible for maintaining them and the disrepair affects an area the tenant is entitled to use. Where the landlord needs consent from other owners, they are expected to take reasonable steps to obtain it. In practice, telling the factor is often only the first step, and someone still needs to follow the issue through.
Good management joins the dots
We manage properties across Glasgow, including traditional tenements where common repairs are simply part of ownership. A tenant sees the problem from inside their home, the factor sees the communal building issue and a contractor sees the particular repair they were asked to inspect. The landlord may be receiving fragments of information from all three, and good management joins them together.
If a tenant reports water coming in, the useful questions are practical:
- Where is it appearing, and when did it start?
- Is it getting worse?
- What is above or outside that part of the flat?
- Has the factor already been told, and are other flats affected?
- Does somebody need access urgently?
Photographs and inspection records help, and so does having one management team coordinating the repair instead of the landlord relaying messages between everyone involved. A good agent should be doing this as a matter of course, as we explain in your letting agent should do more than collect the rent.
Our Fully Managed service includes repairs coordination, photographic property inspections, compliance management, factor liaison and a 24-hour emergency helpline for tenants. It covers the ordinary work of running a tenancy and the awkward jobs that do not fit neatly into one box.
You can hand over an existing tenancy too
Some landlords put up with handling these issues themselves, or with an agent they have outgrown, because there is a good tenant in the property and they do not want to disturb the tenancy. There is no need to wait for that tenant to leave. The Scottish Government’s model Private Residential Tenancy recognises that a landlord may use an agent to manage the tenancy, and records that agent’s services and contact responsibilities separately.
We can take over a property with the tenant already in place. We collect the tenancy records and compliance documents, establish what is outstanding and take responsibility for the management from the agreed handover date.
- Moving a tenanted property from another agent: our Switch Agent package is 7% including VAT with no set-up fee, plus £250 cashback after 90 days of management to cover your old agent’s notice period.
- Managing the tenancy yourself: our Already Tenanted package is 6% including VAT, with no set-up fee.
When a new tenant is needed later, the property moves to our standard Fully Managed terms.
A Glasgow rental property will occasionally produce a repair that needs more than a phone call to a plumber, and the landlord does not need to be the one making all the other calls.
Letting an empty property?
Our Fully Managed service finds the right tenant and looks after the rent, repairs, inspections and compliance for 10% including VAT, plus £200 per new tenancy. Fees only start when your tenant moves in.