Who pays for a tenement repair in Edinburgh — and how to get it agreed

Start with the title deeds, then the Act

In a Scottish tenement, the first place to look is your title deeds. They may set out exactly how a shared repair is divided — sometimes equally between flats, sometimes by rateable value or floor area. If the deeds say nothing, or say something that no longer works, the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 fills the gap with its Tenement Management Scheme.

Under that default scheme, scheme property — the roof, the foundations, the external walls, the close and the stair — is generally shared equally between the flats, with an adjustment where one flat is much larger than the rest. It also gives owners a way to make a decision by majority rather than waiting for unanimity, which is usually the real obstacle.

• Read the deeds first — they override the default scheme where they are clear.
• A majority of owners can agree scheme decisions such as maintenance.
• Owners who do not pay can be pursued for their share; a notice of potential liability can be registered against a flat.
• Insurance may cover storm damage to a roof even when the repair itself is shared.

Why one written quote for the whole building changes the conversation

Most stalled tenement repairs are not stalled over the work. They stall because five owners have four different verbal estimates and nobody trusts the numbers. A single written quote for the whole job, with the share per flat set out on the same page, turns an argument into an arithmetic problem.

That is the shape we work in. You tell us what the building needs, we arrange for approved local trades to inspect and quote in writing, and the quote comes back to you before anything is booked. You can then circulate one document at the owners' meeting instead of a rumour.

The Edinburgh-specific bits people forget

Scaffolding on a public pavement needs a permit from the City of Edinburgh Council, and that lead time belongs in the plan rather than in a surprise phone call. Much of the centre sits in a conservation area or the World Heritage Site, so external work — stonework, windows, roof coverings — can need planning or listed building consent, and repairs in matching materials are treated very differently from replacement.

Traditional stone and lime is its own subject. Cement-based repairs and impermeable paints trap moisture in walls that were built to breathe, and undoing that later costs more than doing it properly the first time. It is worth asking any contractor how they intend to repoint before you compare prices.

A practical order of events

If you are the owner trying to get it moving, this sequence tends to work: establish what the deeds say, get one scoped inspection, circulate a written quote with the per-flat share, hold the vote, then instruct. Keep every message and quote — if one owner refuses to pay, the paper trail is what protects the rest of you.