Ferguson revives Property Factors Bill

Consultation now running on proposals for registration and dispute resolution

News, 30 October 2007

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A fresh consultation has opened on a proposed bill in the Scottish Parliament to regulate factors of residential tenement or flatted property.

A similar bill was proposed earlier in the year by Gordon Jackson QC, who lost his seat as an MSP in the May elections. Now his colleague Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill, has revived the proposal.

The two aims of Ms Ferguson's measure are to create a registration scheme with persons appointed to manage properties requiring to meet a "fit and proper persons" test; and to create a straightforward resolution procedure for settling disputes between homeowners and factors without incurring heavy legal costs.

Local authorities would maintain the proposed register; operating as an unregistered factor would be a criminal offence with charges perhaps being declared unenforceable. Disputes could be resolved by extending the jurisdiction of the private rented housing committee, established under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006.

The consultation can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bills/MembersBills/index.htm . The deadline for responses is 20 January 2008.

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