A change of factor is usually driven by a loss of confidence in how the building is being managed: invoices that cannot be explained, repairs that drift, emails that vanish. If that is where your development is, the good news is that owners in Scotland have a clear legal right to change factor, and the process is more structured than most people fear. This guide walks through it step by step.
One honest note first: switching takes coordination. It is not effortless, and anyone who tells you it is has something to sell. But a well-managed transition is usually far less disruptive than remaining in an arrangement that is not serving owners, and much of the work belongs to the incoming factor, not to you.
Step 1: Be clear about why you are switching
Before organising neighbours, write down what is actually wrong: unexplained charges, slow repairs, poor communication, no maintenance planning. This list does three jobs. It tests whether the problems are fixable with your current factor (sometimes a formal complaint resolves matters faster than a switch). It becomes your specification for choosing a replacement. And it gives hesitant neighbours something concrete to react to, rather than a vague sense of grievance.
The question for the stair is not whether change is inconvenient. It is whether the status quo is serving owners properly.
Step 2: Read your title deeds
Your deeds are the rulebook for how a factor is appointed and removed. Look for (or ask a solicitor or your prospective new factor to look for):
- any clause naming a factor or giving someone the right to appoint one
- the voting threshold for owner decisions
- any notice period or procedure for ending the appointment
Where the deeds are silent on decision-making, the Tenement Management Scheme under the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 applies, and appointing or dismissing a factor is a scheme decision that owners can make by simple majority: more than half of the flats.
Newer developments often have a factor written into the deeds by the developer, historically with high thresholds to remove them. The law has moved here: the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 lowered the threshold for owners in new-build developments with such arrangements to a simple majority. Developer-appointed no longer means locked in.
Your current factor's Written Statement of Services must also state the arrangements for ending the appointment, including any notice period. Read it alongside the deeds.
Step 3: Gauge and gather support
You need a majority, so count. Speak to neighbours individually before any group meeting; people say things one-to-one that they will not say in a stairwell. Useful materials at this stage: your written list of issues, a summary of what the deeds require, and, once you have them, proposals from prospective factors. Absent owners and landlords count too, so track down contact details early; they often hold the deciding votes and they respond to clear financial reasoning.
Step 4: Choose the replacement before you serve notice
Do not create a gap. The sequence that protects the building is: select the new factor, then terminate the old one, with a handover period between. When comparing factors, ask each prospective factor:
- What exactly does the management fee include, and what is charged separately? (Our guide to understanding factor fees gives you the checklist.)
- Do you take commission on insurance?
- What does your handover process look like, and what do you need from the outgoing factor?
- What happens to our float and any sinking fund? (See sinking funds and floats.)
- How will you communicate with owners, and how fast do you respond?
- Are you registered on the Scottish Property Factor Register? (Every legitimate factor is; operating unregistered is a criminal offence.)
Be wary of any factor that promises specific savings before reviewing your development properly. Credible savings come after review, not before.
Step 5: Make the decision properly and document it
However informal your stair's habits, make this decision formally. Give every owner notice of the vote (the deeds or the Tenement Management Scheme set the mechanics), record who voted and how, and minute the outcome. A properly documented scheme decision binds all owners, including those who voted against or did not respond, and it is your answer if the outgoing factor questions the instruction. Then notify the outgoing factor in writing, in line with the notice requirements in the deeds and the Written Statement of Services.
Step 6: The handover
Between notice and the start date, the two factors exchange the development's records and money. A competent incoming factor drives this, chasing:
- title and apportionment information, plans, and any WSS history
- financial records: owner balances, arrears, the float, any sinking fund balance
- contracts and warranties: cleaning, gardening, lifts, door entry, insurance
- compliance records: fire risk assessments, lift examinations, service histories
- live issues: open repairs, insurance claims, disputes
The Property Factor Code of Conduct sets expectations on factors around termination and the return of funds and documents. In practice, handovers vary with the professionalism of the outgoing factor. Expect some friction: missing records, slow responses, legacy issues surfacing late. A good incoming factor logs what is missing, chases it formally, and keeps owners informed rather than pretending all is smooth.
Two money points to watch. Your float with the outgoing factor should be accounted for and returned or transferred, net of legitimate final charges. And any sinking fund is the owners' money; it should transfer to the new arrangement intact, with a closing statement.
Step 7: The first months with a new factor
Expect a sequence, not instant transformation: stabilise, review, improve. First the basics move across without interruption: insurance, essential services, live repairs. Then the new factor reviews contracts, condition, and finances properly. Only then do the improvements land: benchmarked contracts, a maintenance plan, clearer invoicing. Owners who expect this sequence are consistently happier than owners promised magic by a certain date.
A good incoming factor will also document the building's condition at the start, so there is a clear baseline of what was inherited versus what arises later. Ask whether that is part of the onboarding.
Frequently asked questions
Do all owners have to agree to change factor?
No. This is the most common misconception in the whole process. Where the deeds are silent, a simple majority of owners can make the decision under the Tenement Management Scheme, and it binds everyone. Even developer-appointed factors in new builds can now be replaced by simple majority under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025.
Can the factor charge us for leaving?
The factor can charge what the Written Statement of Services legitimately provides for, including fees for work already done. Exit penalties beyond that are questionable, and any charge must survive the Code of Conduct's transparency requirements. If a termination charge looks punitive, challenge it in writing, and remember the First-tier Tribunal route exists.
How long does switching take?
Typically a few months from decision to start date, driven by the notice period in your deeds or WSS and the practicalities of handover. The organising phase before the vote is usually the longest part, and it is entirely in the owners' control.
What happens to ongoing repairs and our insurance during the switch?
Continuity is the incoming factor's first job: insurance cover is arranged so there is no gap, essential services continue, and live repairs are tracked across the handover. Ask any prospective factor to explain exactly how they manage this. Their answer tells you a lot about their competence generally.
Can one unhappy owner force a switch alone?
No; changing factor is a collective decision. But one owner alone can pursue a complaint to the First-tier Tribunal about a factor's failures, and one organised owner is how most successful switches start.
General information only. Individual title deeds and circumstances differ.
AboveBoard Homes is an Edinburgh property factor that supports owners through the switching process at no cost before appointment: reading the deeds, explaining the vote, and managing the handover with the outgoing factor. If your development is weighing a change, get in touch for a conversation with no obligation attached.
