GWSF Tenements pdf April 2015

A Way Forward for the 21st CenturyIt is important to bear in mind that there is a wide range of sub-standardtenements. Some are slipping into substantial disrepair as a result of lackof management and maintenance and may be turned around by innovativework by CCHAs and relatively modest levels of support from councils or theScottish Government. At the other end of the spectrum are tenements whichrequire comprehensive improvement, with the risk that they may require to bedemolished if appropriate solutions and funding cannot be found.This suggests that there should be a moveaway from a ‘one-size fits all’ approachto repairing and improving sub-standardtenements. For those with less severeproblems some solutions would be:• sharing learning about the initiativesthat are being undertaken by CCHAswith councils and the ScottishGovernment just now (such as theapproaches highlighted in the previoussection);• an appropriate priority being given bythe Scottish Government and councilsto sustaining the supply of housingby interventions of different scales insub-standard tenements – this shouldtake account of the local heritage andthe impact of neglect on the widercommunity;• working towards clear and enforceablelegal responsibilities for all owners intenements to share maintenance costs,coupled with greater use of long terminvestment plans to allow funds tobe built up over time to meet majorcomponent replacement (such as roofrenewal and stone repairs);• support from councils to underwritethe costs of missing shares, where asmall number of owners are preventingmajority agreement to carry out repairs;• improved access to information andadvice for owners, including privatelandlords;14• availability – probably through anational scheme – of equity loansfor owners, where repayment is notrequired until sale of the property; and• a joined up approach to fundingfor repairs and funding for energyefficiency improvements.Additionally, for tenements withpotentially terminal problems there is anurgent need for a strategic programmeincluding:• a (relatively modest) fund from theScottish Government’s housing budgetto be ring-fenced for more intensiveCTI schemes – and an appropriateassessment mechanism and costyardsticks, based on the fact that theseschemes are more complex than newprovision and that contractors nowhave less experience of the flexibilityrequired for this work;• appropriate financial support in thesecases from councils for repair andimprovement for private owners andfor environmental works; and• a review of the legislation on HousingRenewal Areas to make it fit forpurpose and to ensure that thereare legal remedies to halt the rapiddecline in tenement buildings whereprivate owners are not meeting theirresponsibilities to carry out repairsand component replacement to thecommon parts of tenements.