A free resource from Under One Roof and the University of Strathclyde aims to help Scottish tenement owners turn discussions about shared repairs into workable collective decisions. The university highlighted the toolkit on 3 November 2026, while the charity makes it available through its website.
Governing Scottish Tenements focuses on the human side of maintaining a shared building. Strathclyde describes four skills underpinning the approach: knowledge, reasoning, communication and interpersonal skills. The resource addresses tasks such as comparing evidence and quotations, discussing different priorities and working through disagreement.
The university says property lawyers and members of owners’ associations reviewed early drafts. That is useful context for the resource, but owners should still obtain advice about their own title deeds and particular circumstances rather than treating a general toolkit as an individual legal opinion.
How to get the resource
Under One Roof identifies Dr Iain Cairns and Emma Miller as the authors. Its download page asks readers to complete a survey before accessing the toolkit. The charity explains that it is building information about owners’ associations and includes separate consent choices for contact and newsletters. Read those choices before submitting your details.
The guidance is intended both for people beginning conversations with neighbours and those already organising an association or a more complex project. It is a Scottish resource: readers elsewhere should not assume that the same ownership and decision-making arrangements apply to their building.
Turning a discussion into a plan
A useful first meeting could start with one clearly described problem rather than an open-ended list of grievances. Bring photographs, explain what is known and what still needs professional inspection, and agree who will obtain further information.
When reviewing quotations, owners can ask whether each contractor has priced the same scope. Record questions, decisions and the next contact date so an absent owner can understand what has happened. A written record also makes it easier to distinguish an agreed action from an informal suggestion.
These are practical organisational steps, not a substitute for checking who can authorise work or how costs must be shared. For the toolkit and its access form, visit https://underoneroof.scot/toolkit-on-owners-associations-now-available/.
Sources: Under One Roof toolkit announcement and University of Strathclyde news release, 3 November 2026. Reviewed 7 November 2026.