The information and advice service for home owners and the private rented sector. Factoring services

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1 The information and advice service for home owners and the private rented sector Factoring services 4

2 The HomeImprove Service The HomeImprove Service has been set up to help homeowners and people who rent private property to repair, maintain, improve and adapt their homes. We provide a wide range of information and advice to help you carry out work to your home. In some circumstances we can also provide practical and financial help. This leaflet is for people living in privately owned housing and is particularly relevant for flat owners who are responsible for maintaining and repairing the property s shared parts such as the roof, the close, garden and drying areas. Owners of houses may also find some of the information relevant. Property managers and factors Owners may appoint an agent, called a factor or property manager, to manage all or some of their maintenance responsibilities for a fee. In some cases, your title deeds may say that you have to hire a factor. You do not always have to have a factor, but if you do they may provide some or all of the following services, depending on what you are willing to pay for. Routine maintenance: Your factor can inspect your building at dates and times that you agree and arrange to get any necessary maintenance work done, including hiring contractors and supervising their work. 4 Factoring services

3 One-off work: For repairs other than routine maintenance, your factor should get estimates for the work and send them to you (the owners). If a majority of owners agree to accept the estimate, the factor will arrange for the work to start. The factor may ask you to pay some of the costs upfront. Meetings: Your factor may organise meetings for the owners to involve them in making decisions about how the building is run. Other services: Your factor can provide other services for a fee, for example organising and managing shared insurance for the building, or managing maintenance contracts for lifts, boilers and gardening services. Hiring a factor Your title deeds may set out a process for hiring a factor. If they don t, you can use the process set out in the tenement management scheme to help you make your decision. Introduced by the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, you can use this scheme if your title deeds are not clear. For example, your title deeds may not say how decisions should be taken, or may not describe all the shared parts. You and the other owners can use the different sections of the scheme where your title deeds are not clear, but otherwise you must follow your title deeds. You can contact us for more information about the tenement management scheme.

4 The Property Managers Association Scotland Limited website can help you find a factor. You can phone them on or fax them on All members of the association must keep to a code of practice which means they must work to a high standard. In some areas, the council or housing association can provide factoring services, but may only offer this service where they own, or used to own, parts of the shared property. Complaints If you have any complaints about unsatisfactory work by a contractor, your factor should investigate them and tell you what they have done to deal with the problems. If you have a complaint about your factor, you should write to them and give them a chance to put things right. If you get a poor response or no response at all, ask about their complaints procedure. You should not withhold payment, as your factor may assume that you are simply a bad payer and take action to make you pay rather than deal with the management issue. It may be safer to pay a bill you have a disagreement over and ask for a refund on your next bill. If you are not satisfied with the way your factor handles your complaints you can consider talking to the other owners about changing your factor.

5 Homes that used to belong to the council or a housing association We, South Lanarkshire Council, are the factor for more than 2,100 blocks of flats (mainly in East Kilbride, Rutherglen and Cambuslang), providing factoring services to more than 8,500 owners. We provide this service where we own a flat within the block. Sometimes, we continue to act as factor to a block even after all the tenants have used their Right to Buy their home. We provide this service when we have the agreement from the majority of owners in the block. We charge owners a factoring fee each year. If common repairs or maintenance work needs to be carried out to shared areas in the building, we will organise the work, pay the contractor in full and then send the owners a bill for their share of the cost when all the work is finished. You can get more information about our factoring service by phoning , or You can fax us at or us at factoring@southlanarkshire.gov.uk. You can also get more information from our website. Some housing associations also provide a factoring service for homes bought under the Right to Buy scheme in their area. You should contact your local housing association for more information on their factoring service.

6 The Scottish Housing Regulator says that councils and housing associations must meet specific standards and have customer care policies that tell you what you can expect and how they will put things rights if they fail to meet the necessary standard. Common Repair, Common Sense Consumer Focus Scotland s booklet, Common Repair, Common Sense, gives more information about: hiring and firing a factor; working with your factor; and paying for your factoring service. You can get a copy of this booklet from or you can download it from our website at You can also get a copy from any Q and A office or community flat. 4 Factoring services

7 Getting in touch You can contact us by phone, by fax or in writing. Our contact details are as follows. The HomeImprove Service Housing and Technical Resources South Lanarkshire Council 11th Floor Almada Street Hamilton ML3 0AA Phone: Fax: You can also ask in person at any Q and A office or community flat. If you are 60 or over, have a disability, or have long-term health problem or illness, the Care and Repair in South Lanarkshire service may be able to give you more information, advice or practical help. You can contact them by phoning or by ing them at enquiries@careandrepair-sl.co.uk.

8 For more information or if you want this information in a different format or language, please phone or informationandadvice@southlanarkshire.gov.uk If you need this information in large print, on tape or in Braille, please contact Please phone if you would like this information in Chinese, Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi or Polish Proszę dzwonić na numer , jeśli chcieliby Państwo posiadać tę informację po polsku. Produced for Housing and Technical Resources by Corporate Communications and Public Affairs. 4/Apr10 Factoring services leaflet Issue 1