Our Mixed Tenure Improvement Service aims to improve the condition and energy efficiency of housing in Edinburgh neighbourhoods. The service helps organise repairs and maintenance to common parts of mixed tenure blocks, which are blocks where there is a mix of flats owned by private owners and the Council.
The Council is taking the lead on repairs because the number of mixed tenure blocks across the city in need of essential repairs is substantial. As an owner and local authority landlord, the Council has an obligation to maintain and repair homes for our tenants and shares responsibility with other owners to maintain common areas of blocks.
The service began work in Wester Hailes in summer 2021 and is currently managing phases of work spanning the next three years. Following its initial success, the service has been expanded with plans to cover more areas of Edinburgh from 2023 onwards.
Owners in mixed tenure tenements (including the Council as owner) are responsible for paying their share towards repairs and maintenance to common areas of the block such as roofs, walls and stairs. This is laid out in the title deeds of tenement blocks, as well as in the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 – a statute which sets out how common repairs are to be undertaken in Scotland.
It can be difficult for an individual to organise communal repairs and maintenance with other owners. This may mean that essential repairs are delayed or ignored causing the condition of your building to deteriorate over time. This can have a negative effect on your neighbourhood, your energy bills and your quality of life.
The Mixed Tenure Improvement Service will support homeowners and tenants in mixed tenured blocks of flats to get essential repairs and maintenance carried out, including opportunities to improve insulation where possible. Additionally, where there is overall agreement, the Mixed Tenure Improvement Service will also lead on the delivery of any agreed work to be carried out.
If you live in a mixed tenure block that is falling into a state of disrepair, but are not currently in an area of the city covered by the service, then there is a wealth of support at Under One Roof who provide impartial advice on repairs and maintenance for flat owners in Scotland.
