Property factor
Scotland
A property factor is a person or business that manages or maintains the common parts of land or buildings owned by two or more people in Scotland, such as the roof, stair and close of a tenement or the shared open space on a housing estate. Under the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011, every factor operating in Scotland must be entered on a register kept by the Scottish Ministers and must follow a statutory code of conduct.
What a property factor does
A factor organises the work that no single owner is responsible for. That usually means arranging common repairs and maintenance, cleaning the stair, insuring the building where the deeds require a common policy, holding a float or maintenance fund, and splitting the cost between owners in the shares the title deeds set out. Each owner then receives a bill for their share.
There are two broad types. Residential property managers look after the shared fabric of a building, which is the common arrangement for tenement flats. Land maintenance companies look after open space, play areas and landscaping on newer developments, and many new-build owners pay one even though they live in a house. A factor's authority comes from the title deeds or a deed of condition, or from a vote of the owners where the deeds allow it.
Registration and the code of conduct
Operating as a property factor without being registered is a criminal offence under section 12 of the 2011 Act. Since 1 April 2026, registered factors must also show their registration number on the communications they send, under changes made by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, so owners can check a factor against the public register before paying anything.
Registered factors must comply with the Code of Conduct for Property Factors, which has applied in its current form since 16 August 2021. It sets minimum standards for communication, financial dealings, insurance, repairs, debt recovery and complaints handling, and the Scottish Ministers take compliance into account when deciding whether a factor stays on the register.
The written statement of services
The code requires a factor to give every owner a written statement of services. It should set out what the factor does and does not do, how its management fee and any other charges are worked out, how each owner's share of common costs is calculated, how the factor handles repairs and the threshold above which it consults owners, and how owners can end the arrangement. Owners must also receive a detailed financial breakdown of the charges at least once a year. If a factor cannot produce its statement of services, that is itself a breach of the code.
What a property factor means for landlords
The factor's contract is with the owner, so a landlord who lets a factored flat pays the factor bill, not the tenant. From working with self-managing landlords in Scotland, the factor invoice is the cost most often missed when a let is budgeted, because it arrives quarterly or annually and can jump when a large common repair is approved. Factoring fees and your share of common repairs on a let property are generally deductible from rental income, so keep every invoice with your records. Landlords using August log factor invoices against the property in expense tracking, which keeps them ready for the tax return.
The tenant cannot use the 2011 Act to complain about the factor, because the dispute route is for homeowners. Their claim is against you. The Repairing Standard covers the structure and exterior of the house, including common parts it shares with neighbouring flats, so a slow factor on a roof or stair repair becomes your problem with your tenant. In our experience, landlords who chase the factor in writing and keep copies are in a far stronger position if the tenant later applies to the tribunal. See the guide for landlords in Scotland for the wider duties that apply to Scottish lets.
How to complain about a property factor
Start with the factor's own complaints procedure, in writing, because the code requires every factor to have one. If that does not resolve it, an owner can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Housing and Property Chamber, having first told the factor in writing what it has failed to do. If the tribunal finds a breach of the code or of the factor's duties, it can make a property factor enforcement order requiring the factor to take action or make a payment. Failing to comply with an order without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence under section 24 of the 2011 Act.
Changing your property factor
Owners can usually dismiss and replace a factor by majority vote, unless a manager burden in the deeds still protects it. Since 1 April 2026, a simple majority of the properties is enough even where the deeds ask for more. Our step-by-step guide to changing your property factor in Scotland covers the vote, the notice and getting the float back.
Frequently asked questions
Is a property factor the same as a managing agent?
They do similar jobs, but the legal setting differs. In England, a managing agent usually acts for a freeholder under a lease. Most Scottish flats are owned outright, so a factor acts for the owners collectively and answers to them through the deeds and the 2011 Act.
Does every flat in Scotland have a property factor?
No. Many older tenements have no factor, and the owners arrange common repairs between themselves under their deeds or the Tenement Management Scheme. Whether you must have one depends on the title deeds for the building or development.
Who pays the property factor in a rented flat?
The owner does. The factor bills the landlord, and the cost is a running expense of the let rather than a charge the tenant pays directly.
Can my tenant complain to the tribunal about the factor?
Not under the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011, which gives that right to homeowners. A tenant with an unresolved repair complains to the landlord and can apply to the Housing and Property Chamber under the Repairing Standard instead.
