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Tenement property and common repairs

Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government to the Convener, 31 January 2022

Dear Convener,

Thank you for your letter of 23 December 2021 requesting further detail of the Scottish Government’s plans for tenement property and common repairs and the formal reference from the Scottish Government to the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) regarding this. 

I can confirm that I have issued the formal reference to SLC on 10 January 2022. 

So far, we have:

• commissioned research on repair costs and the viability of owners’ associations, and
• engaged with stakeholders including tenement owners regarding compulsory factoring.

Next steps, concurrently with SLC’s planned work, will be:  

• developing proposals to include tenement condition as part of the home report review;
• convening a forum of finance professionals to advise on a building reserve fund, and
• developing proposals for a publicly accessible online platform to support access to tenement condition reports.

Separately, we will be publishing a public consultation on a new housing standard for Scotland and circulating draft guidance for private landlords on changes to the repairing standard which come into force in 2024.

Yours sincerely,

Shona Robison