Question reference: S4W-30414
- Date lodged: 8 March 2016
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Current status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 17 March 2016
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to property owners wishing to change the factoring agreement for their property.
Answer
The Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 came into force on 1 October 2012 and provides protections for homeowners who use the services of a registered property factor. The Act introduced a code of conduct which sets out minimum standards of practice which all registered property factors are obliged to comply with.
A requirement of the code is that the property factor must provide the homeowner with a written statement of services provided. This written statement of services should include the basis on which a homeowner can end their service arrangement.
Homeowners who are unhappy about the service provided by their property factor can apply to have their case considered by the Homeowner Housing Panel which can issue legally-binding property factor enforcement orders. Before doing this the homeowner should raise the matter with the factor directly and follow the factor’s own internal complaints procedure.
Information on appointing or dismissing a factor is also available in paragraph 3.3.5 of the Scottish Government publication Common Repair, Common Sense: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Justice/law/17975/CommonRepair-CommonSense/Managingthetenement.
The Scottish Government is also preparing a public-facing guide for homeowners on the provisions of the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 on the dismissal and replacement of property factors.