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Emergency Repairs on the Novoville Shared Repairs app

23-12-2022

BY CHRIS KRIEGLER

Emergency Repairs on the Novoville Shared Repairs app
The common repairs process set out by the TMS (Tenement Management Scheme) in the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 is unfortunately long-winded. It requires a majority vote and a 28-day waiting period before a repair can be done. This is done to protect owners and make sure no one is left facing costs without a proper procedure having been followed.

However, if a repair is considered an emergency, it can be repaired immediately. No voting, and no waiting period.


What is an emergency repair?


The extent of any emergency works should be limited to the minimum work required to halt the emergency . A "scheme decision" should then be sought to be made for the rest of the work. For example, if there is a leak in the roof of a flat, the "emergency" element would be erecting tarpaulin on the roof over the affected area to stop the leak and prevent further damage. Following this, a vote should be held to obtain a "scheme decision" for the required work to repair the roof more comprehensively.

Any works that do not fall under the limited definition of emergency works require a Scheme Decision to be binding on all proprietors. If a proprietor instructs comprehensive works prior to obtaining a Scheme Decision, they are running the risk that they may not be entitled to payment from their fellow proprietors if they do not obtain a Scheme Decision before the work is completed.


Tenement Management Scheme


The Tenement Management Scheme Rule 7.3 defines “emergency work” as the following:

“For the purposes of this rule, “emergency work” means work which, before a scheme decision can be obtained, requires to be carried out to scheme property-

(a) to prevent damage to any part of the tenement, or

(b) in the interests of health or safety.”


The Two-Step Process

1. Complete the repair and pay the trader


As mentioned above, in an emergency, there is no need to get the owners to vote before getting work done. The first step is to contact a trader to care out the repair. Please note that you will need to pay this trader and then recover the shares from all of the other owners.

2: Create the repair on the Novoville app and recover your money


Once you’ve been in contact with a trader and the work is set to take place, start by creating the repair report on the Novoville app. Once you’ve received the invoice from the trader, send this to the Novoville team ( srhelpdesk@novoville.com) and they will ensure that your invoice makes its way to the app for everyone to see. Follow the repair process as usual and once the repair reaches the payment stage, all owners will have been notified to pay their share.

As soon as all shares have been received, the full payment will then be refunded to the owner that made the payment for the repair.


Water or Gas Emergency



If the emergency that you are facing is a water or a gas emergency, you can contact Scottish Gas or Scottish Water:

Scottish Water: +44 (008) 0007 7877
Scottish Gas: +44 (008) 0011 1999

If you are in any way still unsure about the process of carrying out an emergency repair in the Novoville app, please reach out to us at srhelpdesk@novoville.com.