Edinburgh specific terms

Common Repair

A common repair is work required to a shared part of a building, such as a tenement roof, stair or external wall, where responsibility may be shared between multiple property owners.

In an Edinburgh tenement or other building containing multiple owners, a common repair is a repair affecting a part of the property that is shared between owners rather than belonging exclusively to one home.

Depending on the building and ownership arrangements, common elements can include roofs, external walls, foundations, gutters, communal stairs, entrances and other parts of the shared building fabric. Determining responsibility for a particular repair depends on the circumstances of the property, including its title deeds and applicable tenement arrangements.

Common repairs are particularly relevant when renovating older Edinburgh properties because an issue visible inside one flat may originate from a shared part of the building. Roof leaks, defective stonework, drainage problems and deterioration to communal areas can therefore require coordination between several owners rather than work being commissioned by a single flat owner in isolation.

For substantial renovation work, identifying the distinction between the privately owned interior of a property and the building’s common fabric at an early stage can help avoid problems later in the project.

Property types

Commonly found in

Tenement Converted Flat Main-door Flat Georgian Flat

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