Question reference: S6W-26383
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 21 March 2024
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Current status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 April 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20984 by Paul McLennan on 15 September 2023, whether it will provide details of the evidence that indicates that the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 is working as intended.
Answer
The Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 (the Act) requires the Scottish Ministers to prepare and maintain a public register of all property factors and to consider whether a property factor is a fit and proper person to be registered as a property factor.
Under the Act, Scottish Ministers must prepare a property factor code of conduct setting out the minimum standards of practice expected of registered property factors. A Code of Conduct was introduced on 1 October 2012. We revised the Code in August 2021 to make it clearer, to drive up standards and to improve consistency, without placing an undue burden on companies that might result in significant additional costs being passed on to homeowners. The changes ensured the Code remained up to date and responded to concerns raised by homeowners as well as supporting important wider policy objectives around tenement maintenance.
A dispute resolution mechanism is provided for the resolution of disputes between homeowners and property factors through the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) (the First-tier Tribunal). This provides free access to justice for homeowners and there is evidence provided in the First-tier Tribunal's published Annual Reports noting the number of applications it has received. The most recent report demonstrates that homeowners are taking action against their Property Factor where they believe their Property Factor has not met the requirements of the Code of Conduct, or carried out their duties under the Act.