Built Environment Forum Scotland (BEFS) is calling for examples of where multiple owners within a tenement have been unable to agree on maintenance and this has resulted in the need for extensive repair or local authority intervention.
Built Environment Forum Scotland writes:
BEFS has noted renewed parliamentary interest in the topic of building maintenance, particularly around the challenges faced in buildings under multiple ownership. BEFS is looking to gather some specific case studies for use in advocacy on the topic. Read more about BEFS aims and how to submit your examples here.
BEFS call for examples of where multiple owners within a tenement have been unable to agree on maintenance and this has resulted in the need for extensive repair or local authority intervention.
BEFS has had a long interest in building maintenance, previously campaigning for a Building MOT, which resulted in the Traditional Building Health Check Scheme currently being piloted in Stirling. In recent months we have become aware of renewed parliamentary interest in the topic, particularly around the maintenance challenges faced in buildings under multiple ownership, primarily tenements. This is demonstrated by recent parliamentary debate on Housing Maintenance (Tenements). The RICS have also been pushing for the introduction of statutorily required 5-yearly inspections as a means to address this and research has found interesting models in New York and Quebec.
With the context of various building issues – from Grenfell to the Edinburgh Schools scandal – and legislation likely arising from the Scottish Planning Review, Scottish Energy Efficiency Programme, and Climate Change Bill, BEFS convened a meeting of stakeholders* in July, all of whom had a strategic interest in building maintenance. It was a round table discussion with the aim of sharing what everyone was aiming for and an agreement to keep each other in the loop and support initiatives when opportunities arose.
There is cross-party interest in addressing this subject within the Scottish Parliament and in light of the forthcoming Tenement Maintenance Parliamentary Reception BEFS is looking to gather some specific case studies for use in advocacy on the topic. Specifically, BEFS is looking for a geographic spread of (bad) examples where multiple owners within a tenement have been unable to agree on maintenance and this has resulted in the need for extensive repair or local authority intervention, which would have been avoided if 5-yearly inspections and maintenance had been carried out. To illustrate what we are looking for this is one example from Edinburgh.
While BEFS and the RICS and others have met with a handful of MSPs to discuss the topic, we need to broaden the interest within parliament. The examples are to illustrate the stitch-in-time principle and parliamentarians respond best to examples from their own constituency.
Send any examples to Ssmellie@befs.org.uk and please feel free to share the request with your networks.
