Tenement Management Scheme

The Tenement Management Scheme (TMS) is the default set of rules in Schedule 1 to the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 that governs how the owners of flats in a Scottish tenement decide on and pay for repairs to shared parts. It has applied since 28 November 2004 and works as background law, so where the title deeds already say how decisions are made or how costs are split, the deeds take priority.

What the scheme covers

The scheme applies to scheme property. That includes anything owned in common, such as the close and stair, and the parts that hold the building up and keep it wind and watertight. Those include the ground, foundations, external walls, roof and load-bearing walls, even where one owner holds title to them. It does not cover an extension that forms part of one flat, or a door, window or skylight that serves only one flat. Maintenance includes repair, replacement, cleaning, painting and routine work, but not improvement or alteration unless it is incidental to maintenance.

How owners make decisions

Each flat has one vote, and a scheme decision needs a majority of all the votes in the building, not just of those who turn up. Owners can meet, on at least 48 hours’ notice, or the owner proposing the decision can consult the others and count their votes. Decisions can cover maintenance, inspections, appointing or dismissing a manager, insurance and door entry systems. Owners who opposed a maintenance decision, and who would together pay at least 75% of its cost, can annul it within 21 days.

How costs are shared

Costs for property owned in common are shared in proportion to ownership. For the rest of the scheme property, costs are shared equally, unless the largest flat is more than one and a half times the floor area of the smallest, in which case they are split by floor area. Management costs, such as a manager’s fee, are always shared equally. In a four-flat tenement of similar-sized flats, a £12,000 roof repair costs each owner £3,000.

Once a repair is agreed, owners can be required to pay a deposit by a date at least 28 days ahead. A deposit above £100 must be requested in writing. The money goes into an interest-bearing maintenance account needing two signatories, and it is refundable if the work has not started within 28 days of the proposed start date. If an owner cannot be traced, the remaining owners split that share equally, and councils have a power to pay a missing share and recover it from the owner later.

Emergency work and insurance

Any owner can instruct emergency work, meaning work needed to prevent damage to the building or for health and safety before a decision can be made, and the cost is shared as a scheme cost. Separately, section 18 of the Act requires every owner to insure their flat for its reinstatement value, and owners can decide to take out a common policy for the whole building.

The scheme and property factors

Owners can appoint a manager by majority decision, unless the deeds give that power to someone else. A manager who does this as a business is a property factor, so the scheme is often how a tenement with no factor gets one, or replaces one. Our guide to changing your property factor in Scotland covers the switching process. An owner who disputes a decision, or how the scheme is being applied, can apply to the sheriff court.

If you let a flat in a tenement

As the owner you hold the vote and pay the share, not your tenant. From working with self-managing landlords in Scotland, we find common repairs stall most often in tenements with no factor, where nobody takes the first step. Your tenant’s flat must still meet the Repairing Standard, which covers common parts the flat shares with its neighbours, so a stalled roof repair is your problem as well as the building’s. Our Scotland landlord guide covers the wider rules for letting in Scotland.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Tenement Management Scheme apply to my building?

It applies to every tenement in Scotland, meaning a building divided into two or more flats owned separately, but only where the title deeds do not already set the rules. Check the deeds first, because any decision-making or cost-sharing rules they contain take priority over the scheme.

Can one owner refuse to pay for a common repair?

Not once a valid majority decision has been made. Every owner liable for the cost must pay their share, and it can be recovered through the courts. If the owner cannot be traced, the others split the share and the council may step in to pay it.

Is the Tenement Management Scheme the same as having a property factor?

No. The scheme is the rulebook owners use to make decisions, while a factor is a business the owners appoint to manage the building for them. Many tenements use the scheme to appoint a factor.