Factoring news for homeowners in mixed tenure blocks in East Renfrewshire www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/housing Winter 2014
Factoring Services News
Factoring Services News
The benefits of
having a factor
page 2
Benefits of having a factor
Looking after the common parts of your
property can be difficult if there is a mixture
of owners in the block. If you have a property
factor who is responsible for common repairs
and maintenance, this removes the burden on
individual owners to arrange common repairs
at their block and make sure others in the block
pay their share.
Why it’s worth having a factor
Professionally trained
and insured tradespeople
F actors have access to tradespeople and contractors
who are both professionally trained and insured.
So you can be assured of good quality workmanship
and legal protection in the unlikely but unfortunate
case of something going wrong
When you share common parts of your property with
a factor you can be offered the chance to receive
major repair work at a competitive price
A factor will carry out all the administration involved
in arranging and carrying out repairs - including
paying for the repair in full and recharging each
individual owner for their share of the work
Major repair work at a
competitive price
Why it’s
worth having
a factor
All administration
Arrange inspections
A factor can arrange for inspections to be
carried out to identify the condition of your property
Home owners have legal protection when
using a registered property factor.
What can the council do that private
factors can’t?
Familiar local organisation with a number of offices in the
area where customers can visit
Extensive knowledge of the building structure and
maintenance history of the properties in East Renfrewshire
Not-for-profit organisation able to sustain affordable
management fees
Automatically factor blocks where home owners have a
factors’ clause in their title deeds
Any proposed management fee will be cheaper than private
factors and even some housing association factors.
Legal protection
Risks of not having a factor
If owners don’t take charge of regular repair and maintenance,
their property may fall into disrepair. Inexpensive jobs could
then turn into costly ones.
Where a substantial repair is required, a homeowner on their
own might find it difficult to arrange a contractor to carry out
the work and pay them in full for the repair, for example when
a roof repair is required that will cost £5,000, a homeowner
on their own may not have that amount of money to pay the
contractor in full and they may decline carrying out the repair.
If an owner arranges and pays for a common repair they may
find it difficult to retrieve payment from the other owners.
When there is no one to report any repairs to, there is nobody
to take responsibility for the maintenance of the building.
2
Charging for factoring services
When council flats were first sold through the Right to Buy
scheme in the early 1980s, the new owners took on a shared
responsibility with the council’s housing services to repair and
maintain any common parts. The council didn’t provide any
factoring services at the mixed blocks and only carried out
essential repairs.
Historically the council’s housing services didn’t exercise
their right to charge a factor fee, which meant the service was
underfunded. So we were unable to provide the high-quality
service we would like.
Now new legislation has been introduced - the Property
Factors (Scotland) Act 2011. It has a code of conduct that we
have to comply with, which includes being required by law to
send written statements to all our factoring customers. If we are
to comply with the code of conduct, we need to improve our
services to you.
Who pays for services to home owners?
In the same way council tenants pay for their repairs and tenancy
services through their rent, owners in mixed blocks will now need
to start paying for the administration of common repairs and
maintenance services through something called a factoring fee.
Up until now, owners have been getting these services free or
for a very minimal cost.
What do you get for your money?
What happens if you’re not factored
and don’t pay a factoring fee?
If your title deeds don’t appoint the council as your factor or if we
don’t get enough votes from owners at your block, we won’t be
able to provide any factoring services to you. We will only be able
to carry out any emergency repairs at you block within our rights
as an equal homeowner and within the terms of the Tenements
(Scotland) Act 2004. You have the same rights as us in these
circumstances and you should make yourself familiar with the
legislation and your title deeds. It is very important you realise
that the council will have no authority to carry out any work
other than emergency repairs if it does not have the role of factor
at your block.
If we have to carry out emergency repairs at your block, you
will be recharged for your share of the cost of the repair plus a
call out charge of £30 per repair.
Emergency
repair
Tenements
(Scotland)
Act 2004
If we do not factor your block we will no longer be able to carry
out certain common repairs, for example, routine roof repairs,
gutter repairs, door entry repairs and close lighting repairs unless
in an emergency situation.
We have employed new members of staff to work on behalf of
factored owners. They will continue to be funded through the
factoring fee income. We have a new administrative assistant
who has been working hard to bring our owners accounts up
to date before launching the new service. We also have a new
maintenance inspector who will make sure you keep getting
better estimates for repairs and that repairs are of good quality
and value for money. There is also a development officer setting
up and preparing to launch the new service.
By the time the factoring service is launched in April 2015,
home owners will get the following in return for their
factoring fee:
better estimates for work
fixed timetables to investigate and
price jobs
more inspections after common repairs
a faster more accurate billing process
the opportunity to shape the factoring
services in the future.
Factoring April
service
launches 2015
3
Common
repairs
20
per week
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Change 2
Repair limits and notifications
Notifying you when a repair
is going to cost less than a set amount
Housing services carry out an average of 20 common repairs
a week. Approximately 90% of those common repairs cost
less than £250 per block.
At the moment, we write to you with estimated costs for
most jobs that we identify as being necessary. This is very time
consuming and costly. What we would like to do is introduce
a more efficient way of notifying you of common repairs.
There are two changes we would like to make that we
believe will make the service more productive.
We would like to agree that you give us permission to carry out
repairs that cost up to an agreed limit. For example, we would like
to be able to carry out repairs without providing an estimated
cost, if we expect the repair to cost less than, say, £150 per owner.
If we make this agreement we would try to notify you when a
repair is instructed by asking the tradesmen or technical officer to
hand deliver a postcard or letter when they attend the repair. This
would save time waiting on inspections to be done to determine
the work that is required and then the technical officer providing
estimated costs. That way you will know a repair is being carried
out and you will know to expect an invoice for that particular job.
Change 1
Notifying you quickly of the price range
when a repair is instructed
When a repair is reported to the council, we would like to send
you information about this straight away.
If we give you information about the repair as quickly as we
can, it is likely we’re not going to know exactly what it costs until
our tradesmen attend and carry out the work.
What we will know, however, is what price range the job will
fall into. What we would like to do is send you notification that
a repair has been instructed, the timescale for it being carried
out and the price range, or band, that the job will fall into. If we
provided you with this information instead of the detailed letters
we send at present, we would be able to carry out common
repairs much quicker.
Notifying you when a repair is going to cost
more than a set amount.
We will continue to notify you of larger repairs in the same way
we do now. If we expect a repair to costs more than, say, £150
per home owner, we will send you information about the repair,
the timescale for it being carried out and what price range it will
fall into. We will let you know as early as possible if we identify a
repair like this so that you’ve got time to prepare for receiving the
invoice for the repair.
£150irs+more than £150 per
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4
Emergency work
Due to the nature of emergency work, we will be unable to notify
you in advance when this is required. Where possible we will give
you details of emergency work after it is carried out and we will
notify you of any follow-on work that is required in the way of the
changes above, once they have been agreed.
What payment limit would you agree to?
In October 2013 we asked home owners what amount they
would prefer a repair limit to be set at. Most of you would like
the limit to be £150. You can answer this question and have your
say in the survey we have sent you along with this newsletter.
Most home
owners said they
would like a
0
5
1
£
repair limit
Repairs and maintenance
responsibilities of home owners
If you own your home, you are responsible for all repairs and
maintenance to the inside and outside of your property.
However, if you live in a flat, tenement or apartment block,
you will also be responsible for helping to maintain and repair
common areas of your building.
What are common areas?
When you buy a flat you take on rights and responsibilities
for the common structure of the whole building. These
common parts are jointly owned with other owners in the
building and may include:
foundations and outside walls
chimneys, stacks and vents
the close and staircase
bin stores and back courts
the roof
gutters, downpipes and drainage system
door entry system
common paths and steps
if you live in a flat,
tenement or apartmen
t
block, you will also be
responsible for helping
maintain and repair co to
mmon
areas of your building.
Who is responsible for common repairs?
If common areas of your building need to be repaired, every
owner must pay a share of any common charges for works and
services.
If you have a factor’s clause in your title deeds, or if a majority
of owners at your block vote for the council to factor your block,
the council is responsible for carrying out common repairs and
recharging you for your share of the cost. Otherwise your title
deeds normally tell you about your rights and responsibilities
for your own property and for your shared responsibility for the
whole building. They may also detail your proportional share of
common costs and your obligations to manage and maintain
the building jointly with the other owners. If all of the flats in a
building do not have the same conditions set out in their deeds,
you should get advice from a solicitor or refer to legislation under
the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004.
5
Property owned with the council
Because of the high level of right-to-buy sales in East
Renfrewshire, much of the council’s flats are now in buildings
jointly owned with private home owners. Co-operation and
participation from all owners is therefore essential in securing
common repairs and improvements in these buildings.
If your title deeds include a full factors’ clause that appoints
East Renfrewshire Council as a factor, or if a majority of owners
at your block vote for the council to factor your block, the
responsibility for carrying out repairs lies with us.
Where the owners’ title deeds do not have a factor’s clause or
if they have irregular information or no information at all, the
Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 allows us to carry out common
repairs if a majority of owners agree to the work. We will also
intervene where emergency common repairs are required,
particularly where a repair directly affects a council-owned
property.
What should you be doing to maintain your
property?
Day-to-day domestic tasks – stair cleaning and lighting,
communal aerials, common garden areas and door entry
systems need regular attention from all residents in the block
Check your building – if you do this regularly you can take
action quickly when you notice any minor repairs
Carry out minor repairs – whether you carry out small repairs
in your own home or report these to your factor, acting early
will reduce the costs and prevent them getting worse.
Report major repairs early – notifying your factor of repairs
early means they can be planned properly and carried out to
a good standard rather than having to rush an emergency
patch and repair.
Budgeting and paying for repairs
What are typical common repairs?
Clean and repair gutters
Replace roof tiles
Repair chimney heads and pots
Repair door entry system
Major common repairs include:
Renew roof
Renew roughcast/ render
Re-wire common close
Replace uPVC windows
When you bought your home you became responsible for the
repair and maintenance of the inside, outside and your share of
common parts of the property, including paying for these repairs.
Each property is different and it is difficult to provide guidance
on what the repair and maintenance of each element should
typically cost. It is important you know your own property well
and are able to budget for future repairs and maintenance.
A detailed survey can provide estimated cost information as
well as details about the condition of the elements of your home.
If you are unable to have a survey carried out, you should make
arrangements for putting some money aside on a regular basis to
help you pay for repairs and maintenance as required.
Where can I get more information?
Your solicitor will be able to advise you about the content of your
title deeds and your rights and responsibilities as defined in your
deeds.
Consumer Focus Scotland has produced a guide called
‘Common Repair, Common Sense’ which contains useful
information on dealing with common repairs. You can get a
copy by visiting their website: www.consumerfocus.org.uk
The Tenements
(Scotland) Act 2004
allows us to carry out
common repairs if a
majority of owners
agree to the work.
6
What your factoring fee will
pay for
Historically the council’s housing service didn’t exercise their
right to charge a factor’s fee, which meant the service was
underfunded. This meant we were unable to provide the
high-quality service we would like.
The factoring fee that will be introduced in April 2015 to
factored owners will pay for the new members of staff who will
prepare estimated costs, increase consultation on common
repairs, improve inspections, communicate with owners and
provide administration services, as well as other general costs of
running the service.
The factoring fee will also contribute to developing services
for the future.
A factoring fee has
to be affordable for
customers at the
same time as being
enough to pay for
the service.
What levels of factoring fees are available?
The most important desision we made was how much the
service will cost. A factoring fee has to be affordable for
customers at the same time as being enough to pay for the
services detailed above.
Housing Services will charge factored homeowners a factoring
fee of £90 + VAT. This charge will ensure we can provide you with
an efficient and customer focused service.
£90 + VAT
Examples of some other organisations’ fees for 2013-14 are
detailed below.
Organisation
Annual Fee 2013-2014
Levern Property Services
£123.85
South Lanarkshire Council
£98.40
Bridgewater Housing Association
£100
Southside Housing Association
£124.64
Knowes Housing Association
£115
The average factoring fee of other organisations is £112 for a
whole year.
Your responsibility - common
repairs
The factoring fee is set so housing services can
provide you with all of the services listed above.
You are still responsible to pay your share of the
cost of any common repairs and maintenance
carried out at your block.
7
Your
factoring fee
will also contribute
to developing
services for the
future.
Follow us online at:
eastrenfrewshirecouncil
@EastRenCouncil
www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/housing