Minute of Agreement - Scotland Property Sale

Calfuray

Hello all,

Hoping you can give some information.

We are selling a property in Scotland, have had an offer and are now exchanging Missives.

The property is an ex-council flat which has been privately owned for at least 20 years. In the block, there are 8 properties in total, some still council-owned, and at least 3 that we know of are privately owned/rented etc.

The title deeds say that the 8 properties share an equal cost of any repairs to the roof and communal areas - so far pretty standard.

It has now come to light (and is not something we were made aware of in our purchase) that there was a Minute of Agreement made back in 2001 between the 3 owners at the time (council being one) and our property would have a 1/6th share of the cost of repairs. This is obviously being queried by the other party, because there are 8 properties, so why would there have been an agreement to pay more, 1/6th instead of 1/8th?

Obviously I will be speaking to our solicitor on Monday, but right now I'm confused and wondered if anybody had any insight. I've looked up what a Minute of Agreement is, but I'm wondering, does this still apply to us? Is this an agreement that is binding for all future owners or just the owners at the time? I've tried looking it up but only found discussion of Minute of Agreements for child support or divorces etc.

Thanks in advance,
Cal

davidmcn

A "Minute of Agreement" is just a deed agreeing something, could be about anything.

If it's registered in the title then it will be binding against future owners. Does it explain why it was drawn up? Does it refer to all repairs? Can you post a copy up here?

Calfuray

Thank you for the quick response, that explains why we can't find much about it since it is so broad an arrangement.

Unfortunately, our solicitor sent us a very brief email. It doesn't say if it's registered in the title, why it was drawn up, or anything. The email has one line;
"A Minute of Agreement was drawn up between the Council and the owners of numbers (a) and (b) back in (year) which made provision that the owners of number (a) would be liable for a one sixth share of the cost of maintaining the roof and other common parts of the block."

That's a direct, anonymised quote. I guess I should go in to the offices on Monday and ask the questions you asked. It's the first we've heard of it, which is why it's so surprising that it did not come up in our purchase.

davidmcn

Are the flats all the same size? Do you know how the remainder of the shares are apportioned? When you say "the title deeds say that the 8 properties share an equal cost" - where exactly does it say that, and does that predate the 2001 agreement? Would be odd for the shares to change.

Calfuray

davidmcn wrote: »

Are the flats all the same size?

I think you've hit the nail on the head there. I never thought about it, but underneath our flat there are two properties, not one, so there are three floors, where the ground floor has 4 properties, and the first and second floor only have 2 each - making the total of 8.
It gets slightly more confusing because the ground floor has extensions, so they are probably the same physical size, but in terms of the space under the shared roof, if you split it by floor then that would make a 6th split, not an 8th.

davidmcn wrote: »

Do you know how the remainder of the shares are apportioned? When you say "the title deeds say that the 8 properties share an equal cost" - where exactly does it say that, and does that predate the 2001 agreement? Would be odd for the shares to change.

I don't I'm afraid. I know this is all speculation, sorry, I really should have photocopied the Title Deeds before I gave them to the solicitor.
When I say "the title deeds say that the 8 properties share an equal cost" - I've only read the Title Deeds once, and I wonder if I'm not remembering it correctly. Thinking about the physical space like you mentioned above, I think that is the crux of the matter.

davidmcn

Calfuray wrote: »

I never thought about it, but underneath our flat there are two properties, not one, so there are three floors, where the ground floor has 4 properties, and the first and second floor only have 2 each - making the total of 8.

So 4 x 1/6 plus 4 x 1/12. It's more common for everything to be split equally, even if flats are different sizes, but also quite common for it to be based on floor area or value. So, probably all still equitable and nothing to worry about.

How are common costs actually split in practice (assuming you've had some in your time there)?

Calfuray

Thank you, I feel like I'll be in a much better place to discuss with solicitor on Monday.

Ironically the block has undergone a major refurb which the council has completely paid for. Aside from that, we've not had any costs to be split while living here (over a decade).