Shared repairs in tenement block

Greymug

I recently sold my flat in an old tenement block. The sale settled last week and now the new owner has moved in and lives there.

Before the sale, a problem to the front door lock came up and since I was technically still the owner of the flat, I was of course willing to pay for my share of the cost. We got a visit from a locksmith, a quote that all owners/landlords accepted and then the locksmith came and got the job done. We're still waiting for the invoice but we expect it to be for the amount he quoted us.

Everything was agreed via email and nobody checked the quality of the work because

• I had already moved house (leaving my flat vacant for a couple of months)
• Another owner was living in another country for the last 3-4 months
• All the other owners in the block are landlords and living away from the property

Now, the owner who was away in another country came back and started complaining about the quality of the work and demands that none of us pay for the job whenever the invoice comes.

Tricky situation because apart from this person, nobody else care about the quality of the job: the landlords don't care and sure as hell I don't care since it's not my property anymore. 

My question is: in case of a dispute between the owners (and myself) on whether to pay for the job or not, how do we resolve this? Can we have a majority vote? Also, will I always be responsible for paying this work even if the dispute drags on for months?

user1977

Generally you're responsible for the payment for any work instructed while you were the owner, yes even if it drags on before payment is made. I would expect majority of (current) owners to rule on whether the bill ought to be paid.

Greymug

user1977 said:

Generally you're responsible for the payment for any work instructed while you were the owner, yes even if it drags on before payment is made. I would expect majority of (current) owners to rule on whether the bill ought to be paid.

Thanks.

So, I also assume that if the majority rules that we pay for the work, we pay for it and then if the "complicated" owner says that she wants the work to be done to a better standard anyways, I'm off the hook then because I've paid what was agreed when I was the owner and this would constitute new work.

user1977

Greymug said:

user1977 said:

Generally you're responsible for the payment for any work instructed while you were the owner, yes even if it drags on before payment is made. I would expect majority of (current) owners to rule on whether the bill ought to be paid.

I also assume that if the majority rules that we pay for the work, we pay for it and then if the "complicated" owner says that she wants the work to be done to a better standard anyways, I'm off the hook then because I've paid what was agreed when I was the owner and this would constitute new work.

Yes, I would say so.

weeg

IIRC the majority can pay the whole bill, and if necessary, take the non-payer to small claims. There used to be a handy book called the Tenement Handbook which explained a lot of this stuff, but it seems to be out of print/ outdated. I suspect you may have to plough through the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 for a definitive answer.

Which is a long way of saying - tell her to wind her neck in and pay it, or sort the whole thing herself.

[Deleted User]

Is it maybe this @weeg?

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/advice-and-guidance/2013/03/common-repair-common-sense-guide-to-managing-tenements/documents/common-repair-common-sense-short-guide-management-tenements-scotland-pdf/common-repair-common-sense-short-guide-management-tenements-scotland-pdf/govscot%3Adocument/Common%2BRepair%252C%2BCommon%2BSense%2B-%2Ba%2Bshort%2Bguide%2Bto%2Bthe%2Bmanagement%2Bof%2Btenements%2Bin%2BScotland.pdf

user1977

No, this one I think:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tenement-Handbook-Practical-Guide-Living/dp/187319014X

(if you search the ISBN you'll find a download source of dubious legality)

[Deleted User]

user1977 said:

No, this one I think:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tenement-Handbook-Practical-Guide-Living/dp/187319014X

(if you search the ISBN you'll find a download source of dubious legality)

I’ve never seen that one before. I found the Scottish government one a few years ago when I had to sort out some communal repairs in my block.