Latest news from the Factoring Service.
Take part in our 2023 satisfaction survey
It is time for us to measure how well we are serving our factored owners. We do this by carrying out a satisfaction survey of our owners at the start of 2023.
Customers can comment using the survey link below:
Factoring Service Annual Satisfaction Survey
Homeowners service
In our last newsletter, we advised that following the height of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic our service was working hard to resume all normal services.
The challenges faced by the Council meant that many new working practices were established, some of which will remain going forward. Examples of these are:
- smarter working – a flexible work model that supports a blend of office and home working
- making the service paperlight where possible – this involved reducing paperwork, which is more cost effective and better for the environment
Where possible we are asking homeowners to return response forms electronically.
Property Factoring details can be found on our homeowners service page.
Review of the code of conduct
The Scottish Government have been reviewing the Code which is part of Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011.
This new Code came into force on 16 August 2021 and replaces the original Code, which applied from 1 October 2012. All registered property factors are required by law to ensure compliance with the Code in terms of section 14(5) of the Act.
It is essential that East Ayrshire Council complies with this revised Code, and as such, we have provided a revised Written Statement of Services to all homeowners.
View revised written statement of service.
Should you require a copy please contact us at Factoring@east-ayrshire.gov.uk.
Building insurance
Did you know that homeowners have a statutory duty to insure against prescribed risks, such as fire or flood? See Section 18 of the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004. In addition, your title deeds will also stipulate that you must insure your own property.
We do not provide any block insurance, so it is essential that you have valid insurance on your property that extends to cover the common areas.
More information regarding implications if you are uninsured or under insured can be found at Under One Roof: Common building insurance.
Fire safety within entries
It is the responsibility of all owners within the block to ensure that the entries are safe in respect of fire safety. As a co-owner within the block, we will review fire safety during the periodic inspection of your block. Where appropriate, the we will notify all residents where any personal items are stored within the entry.
It is the responsibility of all homeowners to ensure that there are no items within an entry that could be considered flammable, or would restrict exit in the event of a fire taking hold within the block. Items such as carpets, curtains and wooden furniture should not be used/stored with entry areas. In addition, any rubbish, recycling bins or general waste bins should not be kept within the entry.
For further information please visit the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
Homeowners maintenance plan
Anyone who owns a home knows that it occasionally requires repairs, and that good maintenance goes a long way to preventing costly repair work.
Our Factoring Service offers an opportunity to join our homeowners maintenance plan. For a one off annual fee of £15 excluding VAT, homeowners can cover the cost of emergency repairs to the door entry system and communal lighting (subject to certain criteria).
Correspondence and invoices
In order to reduce costs and provide a more streamlined service, we offer the opportunity to have all correspondence and invoices to be emailed to you. Following various feedback from homeowners this service was set up to remove the need send letters and invoices via the external post.
Should you wish all letters, invoices and annual statements to be sent via email, please drop us an email requesting this service. Once set up, all our notification letters, quarterly invoices and annual statements will be sent to your inbox.
Please note you will need to ensure that our emails do not go into your spam folders.
Contact details
We would be grateful if all owners could update us with current contact details, if you have not done so already. This is especially important if we need to contact you regarding any block management issues or emergencies.
Mobile phone numbers and email addresses allow us to contact you quickly and easily, and in a more cost effective way than posting out letters.
Please provide this information to the Private Sector Team on 07920 845 451 or by email: Factoring@east-ayrshire.gov.uk
Under one roof
We would like to make you aware of a very useful website, Under One Roof which has been developed for homeowners who live in flats or other developments with common/shared facilities. It is an impartial guide to lots of things that may be important to you, particularly with regards to shared ownership responsibilities and rights.
Downloads
Download and print our Factoring Newsletter - December 2022 (PDF 434Kb)
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