Seòmar agus comataidhean

More details about a consultation carried out by the Law Society of Scotland on the Fund are at http://www.lawscot.org.uk/members/regulation-and-standards/regulation-consultations/.

Following cases in Aberdeen and West Lothian, the society commissioned a report by Sheriff Principal Bowen on consumer protection in conveyancing. This report is at https://www.lawscot.org.uk/media/439009/Law-Society-report-Consumer-Protections-in-Conveyancing-Cases.pdf

Sheriff Principal Bowen made a specific recommendation on the Guarantee Fund in paragraph 42 of his report.

We will continue to discuss with the Law Society of Scotland and others any steps that can be taken to improve the conveyancing process generally and to improve safeguards for the public, including any need for legislation. When considering any legislation, the Scottish Government will need to bear in mind that consumer protection is a reserved matter.

The statutory scheme of land registration is set out in the Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012, which came into effect on 8 December 2014. A person affected by a fraudulent disposition that has been registered may request rectification of the register. The keeper will be able to rectify the register where there has been a fraudulently granted deed, unless the property has subsequently been transferred to a third party who acquired it in good faith. If the register cannot be rectified then the victim of the fraud may be entitled to monetary compensation from the keeper for the value of their loss.

For historical reasons Edinburgh City Council had local powers to enforce repairs under Part 6 of the City of Edinburgh District Council Order Confirmation Act 1991. Since 2009 all local authorities have had discretionary powers to require owners to carry out work to repair homes or to plan maintenance. We have established a stakeholder forum to consider whether there should be a new single condition standard for all housing tenures to support repairs to common parts in mixed tenure buildings.

The Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 followed a detailed report on the law of the tenement by the Scottish Law Commission. The Scottish Government introduced new powers amending the tenement management scheme in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014. We made a commitment in the sustainable housing strategy to develop proposals for a working group to consider a single condition standard for all housing tenures to support repairs to common parts in mixed tenure buildings. A stakeholder forum has been established to take this forward with a view to conducting a formal public consultation in 2017.

Registered landlords have a legal duty under section 87(2) of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 to notify the local authority in writing as soon as practicable, if any information provided by the person in their registration application, becomes inaccurate.

Where a landlord fails to keep their contact details up to date, the local authority, as part of its responsibilities for enforcing landlord registration in its area, is able to refer the matter to the police. A landlord guilty of an offence under section 87(2) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3, equivalent to £1,000, on the standard scale. Evidence of such an offence may also be taken into account as part of the fit and proper person test. Where the landlord is found not to be fit and proper, they may be removed from the register.

The Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 came into force on 1 October 2012 and provides protections for homeowners who use the services of a registered property factor. The Act introduced a code of conduct which sets out minimum standards of practice which all registered property factors are obliged to comply with.

A requirement of the code is that the property factor must provide the homeowner with a written statement of services provided. This written statement of services should include the basis on which a homeowner can end their service arrangement.

Homeowners who are unhappy about the service provided by their property factor can apply to have their case considered by the Homeowner Housing Panel which can issue legally-binding property factor enforcement orders. Before doing this the homeowner should raise the matter with the factor directly and follow the factor’s own internal complaints procedure.

Information on appointing or dismissing a factor is also available in paragraph 3.3.5 of the Scottish Government publication Common Repair, Common Sense: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Justice/law/17975/CommonRepair-CommonSense/Managingthetenement.

The Scottish Government is also preparing a public-facing guide for homeowners on the provisions of the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 on the dismissal and replacement of property factors.

The keeper has robust measures in place to minimise the effects of fraud, and keeps them under review. She has a designated fraud officer responsible for implementing her fraud prevention and mitigation policies, and for delivering regular staff training. Her staff are encouraged to refer suspicious applications to the fraud officer. In order to aid earlier detection, the keeper meets with other bodies such as the Law Society of Scotland, the Council of Mortgage Lenders, Police Scotland and Revenue Scotland. She also maintains communications with other land registries both in the UK and internationally to monitor trends.

The reply to S4W-30417 on 17 March 2016 sets out the process for fraud discovered after registration. If an allegation of fraud is made before an application for registration has been determined then the keeper will apply her policy on holding applications in abeyance as set out in Registers Update 42 (issued in December 2014).

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Assistance for home owners is the responsibility of local authorities. Local authorities have a wide range of powers to assist owners who need help with work needed to look after their home. However, it is for each local authority to decide what kinds of help should be provided in different circumstances and this will be subject to local priorities and budgets.

If occupants are private tenants, the landlord is required to meet their duty to repair and maintain its properties as set out in the repairing standard under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. Private tenants can apply to the Private Rented Housing Panel for assistance if landlords fail to carry out repairs that are needed to meet the repairing standard. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 introduces new powers for local authorities to raise breaches of the statutory repairing standard for private rented homes directly with the Private Rented Housing Panel on behalf of vulnerable tenants.

If occupants are social tenants, the landlord is expected to meet their duty to repair and maintain property under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 and to ensure that property meets the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. Social tenants have a right of complaint against their landlord to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

If any owner refuses to pay his or her share of repairs, the obligation to pay can be enforced in the sheriff court by any owner or anyone authorised by an owner or owners. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 introduces new discretionary powers for local authorities to pay missing shares on behalf of owners who are unwilling or unable to comply with decisions made by the majority of other owners. We will further consider common repairs in the work of the stakeholder forum on a common housing standard.