Storm Éowyn hit Scotland on the 24th of January 2025, leaving thousands of homes without power, until as late as the 11th of February. This left Homeowners, Tenants & Landlords to pick up the pieces. If your property was affected by the storm, understanding your legal rights and position will be vital in recovering from the storm.
Insurance and Practicalities – Home Owners Glasgow Scottish
Before identifying who is liable for any repairs necessary, it’s a good idea to check your insurance policy first. It may very well have a policy for storm damage loss. Be sure to notify your insurer of any claim you want to make, as soon as possible, as they will likely have a time limit involved! Make sure to be as diligent as you can taking as many photos or videos as you can of the issues caused by the storm as well as keeping track of your costs in seeing to the repairs if necessary.
However, it may be that certain aspects of your home aren’t protected: fences, gates and other external buildings may not be included. If you’re at all unsure then a solicitor can help you review the relevant paperwork to help you identify repair liability.
Rental Properties
Where you are a Tenant you are less likely to have insurance in place for damages caused by a storm or weather event. However, for Tenants, under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, Chapter 4 your position is protected through what’s known as the ‘Repairing Standard’. These are standards which your landlord is obligated to adhere to and include ensuring that the property is wind and watertight (section 13). For Landlord it’s best to check in with your tenant and inspect the property, after dangerous weather to better protect yourself from any future liability.
Common Areas
If the damage is sustained to the ‘common parts’ to the property, that is areas where there is access in the wider building (ie. Access stairways, roofs or lifts) the liability for the repair is typically dictated by the title deeds (the documents that say who owns a property) to the various properties. This is most common in flats but can apply to houses as well. It is not uncommon that, where there are common areas, title deeds will apportion a share of the repair costs to each of the individual properties which make up the common area(s). Where your title deeds are silent, the Tenements Scotland Act 2004 has a set of rules which can determine responsibility which, of course, we can advise you on.
Further, if you live in a tenement building, consider contacting your property factor to inspect and review the property foremost.
Where you live on a property that has a shared boundary or fence, reviewing the title deeds and identifying who has responsibility for repair at an early stage can help avoid unnecessary neighbourly stresses.
Looking Ahead
While the danger of Storm Éowyn has thankfully passed, weather reports suggest Scotland may be headed for a difficult time with a Scandinavian cold breeze soon to blow in, bringing snow and promising to plunge temperatures. Ahead of the cold period, it is of course useful to be mindful of the above and watch for further damages the cold could bring.
Landlords beware!
Often Landlords are called to deal with snowed over pathways or frozen pipes.
Frozen pipes- and who is responsible for them in a rental property- do create an interesting legal anomaly. Are pipes which are frozen in need of ‘repair’? And does that require positive action on behalf of a Landlord or just a better climate?
Without a clear definition of the word ‘repair’ given by the Housing Scotland Act 2006, you may be tempted to argue that you don’t have any obligation to control the weather. However, irrespective of the theoretical answer, Landlords once again ought to be mindful of the repairing standards. Section 13 paragraph 1 (c) which dictates that a Landlord ought to take reasonable steps to ensure that a property is fit for human habitation and that their tenants have access to a working water supply and one that is in a reasonable state of repair. Where that is the case there is a strong argument to be made that Landlords do need to take care of those frozen pipes.
Please do not hesitate to get in contact with us for further assistance if any of the above is relevant to you.
Stay safe out there!
