When proprietors within a tenement instruct a repair by dint of a Scheme Decision made in terms of the Tenement Management Scheme (Schedule 1 to the Tenement (Scotland) Act 2004) any owner in such a tenement can, if they wish, arrange for the repair and then look to the other owners for a contribution to the cost.

In mixed tenure tenements where there are privately owned flats and units let in terms of affordable tenancies (social tenancies) a social landlord might find themselves in such a position. The social landlords are often more proactive regarding preservation of asset value and amenity. They are regularly the entity with the finances to instruct repairs more readily than an individual owner occupier. Previously, if the social landlord was a local authority, in terms of the Housing Scotland Act 2006, that authority could secure the amount due for such repairs from individual proprietors using a repayment charge.

Similar powers are now created for registered social landlords (RSLs) by dint of the Registered Social Landlords (Repayment Charges) (Scotland) Regulations 2018, a statutory instrument. A style of the new repayment charge is supplied in the aforementioned regulations. The charge requires to be registered in the Land Register against the individual owner's title and it ranks before any and all other registered Standard Securities irrespective of the date of their registration. The RSL is entitled to apportion any sums due into an annual or monthly instalment arrangement and the proprietor can pay the whole amount due at any time. On repayment a Discharge requires to be granted by the RSL and is thereafter registered to clear the Title Sheet.

Should you wish to discuss repayment charges please don't hesitate to contact a member of our team who will be happy to help.