THE OFFICE of Fair Trading is holding an inquiry into property management for common and shared residential property in Scotland.

Concerns had been raised that the system of Scottish property factoring is not providing those who own homes within collective properties with as much control over maintenance as they should have.

Residents in tenements and other collective residential properties use property managers, known as factors, to manage common and shared property—for example roofs, staircases, entrances and gardens.

The study will consider how much choice and information is available to homeowners, how property managers are selected, the quality and costs of the services provided, how homeowners can effectively manage services and whether they have options when things go wrong.

The study will report back by the end of the year.

The OFT will be contacting key parties directly but other interested parties can submit written views to Scottish Property Management Services, OFT, Fleetbank House, 2-6 Salisbury Square, London, EC4Y 8JX.