Owners of tenement flats share responsibility for the common areas of their building, which everyone uses, such as the front door, stairs, close and roof. This shared responsibility means paying the correct share when repairs are required. However, in our work providing support and advice to tenement owners, we frequently come across cases where a minority of owners in a tenement building refuse to pay for common repairs. If you are trying to organise a common repair, and have neighbours who are unable or unwilling to pay their contribution, you may be able to use a local authority Missing Shares scheme to make up the necessary funds. In this article, we will explain what Missing Shares schemes are, how to use them, and what to do if your local authority does not offer this service.
What are Missing Shares?
In Scotland, local authorities have the power to pay Missing Shares, to make up the contribution missing from owners who cannot or will not pay their own share of common repairs. This helps tenement owners to carry out necessary repairs to their building, and can help prevent them from falling into serious disrepair. The local authority recovers the costs from the non-paying owner, usually by issuing a repayment order. Owners should check whether their local authority offers a missing shares scheme, as not all do, and what the rules are for making a claim.
How to use a Missing Shares scheme
The first step you should take, if your neighbours are refusing to pay their share, is to contact your council to ask if they provide Missing Shares. The Private Sector Housing team or Environmental Health Services should be your first port of call for information.
Once you know the application criteria, start checking if you can satisfy the requirements and speak to the other co-owners if you need more information from them. Be aware of the local authority’s payment arrangements as in some cases you may need to have a joint maintenance bank account in place. You need to make your application to the scheme before any work begins, and many councils will only agree to pay into a joint maintenance account, so it is best to have this in place before you begin your application.
The importance of proper procedure
Adhering to proper procedures is an important part of any Missing Shares scheme. Most local authorities will not pay missing shares if the usual proper procedures for organising repairs have not been followed. The repair needs to have been put to a vote and agreed upon by a majority of the owners in your building. The nature of the repair matters too; it should be something that is necessary, and reasonable, given the state of the building as a whole. Local authorities will not agree to pay an incorrect amount, and so every owner must be asked to pay their correct share. Check your titles for more information on how shares are to be divided up in your building. Once you have calculated the correct amounts, informed all the building owners of the need to pay into a joint maintenance account, and received notice that a minority of the owners are unable to pay, then you can apply to Missing Shares.
Once you have Missing Shares approval from your local authority, the work can go ahead. If, when final payments are made, your neighbours are still refusing to pay, inform the local authority of the need to use their Missing Shares power. They will then pay the value of the Missing Share into your joint maintenance account, allowing you to make the final payment.
What to do if your local authority does not provide Missing Shares
If your local authority does not provide Missing Shares, or won’t in your case because one of the steps above has not been followed, there are other routes you can explore to recuperate costs. For example, if the repair is to a part of the building which is crucial for providing support and shelter, such as the roof, then all the owners have a legal duty to maintain it. You can take legal action to enforce the Duty to Maintain. As a last resort, there is legal action you can take at the Sheriff Court, using either the Simple Procedure or Ordinary Cause depending on the amount of money owed. In either case, we recommend seeking legal advice and looking into all other alternative options, including Missing Shares, before taking a fellow owner to court.
In conclusion, Missing Shares can be a great option for owners who are in the difficult predicament of being unable to meet the full cost of their common repair, due to a neighbour’s inability or unwillingness to pay their share. However, it is a process which requires rigid adherence to proper procedure and is not offered in every part of Scotland. It is not a grant, and any money the local authority pays out will have to be paid back, usually with legal costs and interest added.
Find out more about Missing Shares on Under One Roof’s website.
