When the Leak Isn’t in the Flat: Who Handles Common Repairs in a Glasgow Tenement?

A tenant reports water staining on a bedroom ceiling.

The obvious reaction is to send a contractor to the flat.

Sometimes that is exactly what is needed. In a Glasgow tenement, however, the source could be the roof, guttering, stonework, a communal pipe or another part of the building that the landlord does not control alone.

That changes the job.

The landlord still has a tenant waiting for an answer, but solving the problem may now involve the letting agent, property factor, other owners and several contractors. For landlords who live outside Glasgow — or simply have better things to do than chase a factor — these are the repairs that demonstrate the value of proper property management.

At Infiniti Properties⁠, factor liaison is part of our managed service. We deal with the tenant, establish what is happening at the property, communicate with 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 and tenements, responsibility for common parts such as the roof, foundations and external walls may be shared between owners. Title deeds should be checked first; where they do not provide the answer, the Tenement Management Scheme can govern how owners make decisions about maintenance and repairs.

The same guidance also makes an important point for landlords. Common parts can fall within the Repairing Standard where the landlord has responsibility for maintaining them and disrepair adversely 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, that means “I told the factor” may be the beginning of the job rather than the end of it.

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. A contractor sees the particular repair they have been asked to inspect. The landlord may be receiving fragments of information from all three.

Good management joins those fragments together.

If a tenant reports water ingress, for example, the useful questions are practical. Where is it appearing? When did it start? Is it getting worse? What is above or outside that part of the flat? Has the factor already been notified? Are other properties affected? Does somebody need access urgently?

Photographs and inspection records help. So does having one management team coordinating the repair rather than expecting the landlord to relay messages between everyone involved.

Infiniti’s Fully Managed service⁠ includes repairs coordination, photographic property inspections, compliance management, factor liaison and a 24-hour emergency helpline for tenants. It is designed to deal with the ordinary work of running a tenancy and the awkward jobs that refuse to fit neatly into one box.

You can hand over an existing tenancy too

Landlords sometimes put up with managingthese 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 separately the services and contact responsibilities of that agent. (Scottish Government⁠)

Infiniti can take over a property with the tenant already in place. We collect the tenancy records and compliance documentation, establish what is outstanding and take responsibility for the ongoing management from the agreed handover date.

For landlords transferring from another agent, our Switch Agent package is currently 7% including VAT plus £250 cashback for the duration of the takeover tenancy. For landlords who have been managing an existing tenancy themselves, our Tenant in Situ package is currently 6% including VAT for that tenancy. When a new tenant is subsequently required, 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.

The landlord does not necessarily need to be the person making all the other calls.

Speak to Infiniti Properties about handing over the management of your Glasgow rental property.⁠