Measures to improve standards and help 'weed out the cowboys' in property management have been announced by the Scottish Government.

Communities Minister, Stewart Maxwell said that an accreditation scheme will be established to give house owners peace of mind when choosing a property manager. To achieve accreditation, property managers will have to meet high standards of service and a robust complaints procedure will be put in place if the service is unacceptable.

Among other requirements, property managers will have to produce clear written contracts for every client including an explicit complaints procedure. They will be expected to obtain quotations from a range of contractors and show transparent accounting and billing systems, clearly highlighting all management income being received.

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Accreditation could be taken away if standards are not met and Mr Maxwell promised that tougher powers have not been ruled out if unacceptable practices persist. The industry-led accreditation body will be made up of representatives from a wide spectrum of housing interests, including consumers.

Property managers (or factors) administer areas such as roofs, and stairwells in flatted buildings such as tenements, as well as communal gardens in some modern developments. There are 330,000 owner-occupied flats in Scotland and an additional 85,000 rented from private landlords.

Mr Maxwell said: "Although house owners have legal rights to dismiss and appoint property managers, it is often difficult for them to identify good quality property managers. Homeowners will be able to appoint accredited property managers in the knowledge that they will provide a quality service.

"This is a wake-up call for the minority of property managers delivering a substandard service. The accreditation scheme will help weed out the cowboys. I welcome the market study of property managers recently announced by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The evidence produced by the study will help in the development of the accreditation structure."

Jacqui Watt, Chief Executive of SFHA, said: "SFHA supports the Scottish Government's move to establish an accreditation scheme for property managers. We look forward to being involved in this process, which should result in driving up the standards of property management for all."

(GK)