The Property Factors (Scotland) Bill was passed on 3 March 2011. The Bill is scheduled to become effective on 1 October 2011 and is to ‘protect Scottish Homeowners who contract with Property Factors and to establish a system of dispute resolution between the parties’. The Bill is split into three parts, two of which are substantive dealing with Registration of Property Factors and Dispute Resolution, with the last part being headed simply Miscellaneous General and which allows the Scottish Ministers to delegate functions under the Bill.
Part 1 requires Scottish Ministers to prepare and maintain a public register of all property factors; it will be an offence under the Bill to operate as a Factor without being registered. All registered factors will have been judged to be a “fit and proper person to be a property factor”. The Scottish Ministers will also be charged with drawing up a code of conduct to lay out minimum standards across the board. All registered factors will require to adhere to this code.
Part 2 provides for referral of complaints to the homeowner housing panel and appointed committees. They will consider complaints from homeowners who feel a Factor has breached their contract or the code of conduct. Complaints upheld will see the issue of a “property factor enforcement order” detailing works to be carried out and/or financial awards in favour of homeowners. It will be an offence to fail to comply with such an order and appeal against the issue of such orders is limited.
It remains to be seen what impact the introduction of yet another regulatory regime will have on RSLs’ willingness to undertake Factoring responsibilities against a background of increasing financial challenge.
Karen Brodie