Homeowners are to be charged twice as much for essential repairs to shared properties from next year a new report has revealed.
Edinburgh City Council is to bring back the controversial compulsory repairs scheme for homeowners who can't agree on needed repairs that was scrapped after a police corruption investigation, and is to charge people a quarter of the price of their repair.
Although no criminality was found after the police probe into the Property Conservation Department, it was disbanded, a number of staff sacked and millions of pounds of debt is left unrecovered.
Under the previous scheme that was mired in claims of cronyism and overbilling the council paid contractors to carry out essential and emergency repairs and claimed back the cash from homeowners and firms.
It then charged an extra 15 per cent of the bill in administration fees,
The planned charge is now 26 per cent, although that is discounted by five per cent if people pay early.
Alasdair Rankin, Edinburgh Finance Convener, said there is financial risk in the re-introduction of the scheme.
The previous system has left a painful legacy for the taxpayer and homeowners.
Of the £23 million billed, £14.4m has been recovered so far, although up to £2.5m is being written off.
The council said people have still to be billed for £15m worth of work that has been contended.
Mr Rankin said: "We are acutely aware of the issues faced by the former Property Conservation Service and the wishes of Edinburgh residents to see the council play a role in protecting our historic capital city.
"The design set out in this blueprint pays particular attention to the lessons learned and to the need for a culture change on the part of homeowners.
"Essentially, we are aiming to balance the council's commitment to protect the fabric of the city with the need to encourage owners to take responsibility for repairs to their own homes."
"In the longer term, we believe that national legislation may be required to ensure that owners of shared properties across the country are supported in taking a more proactive and planned approach to maintaining and managing their buildings and it is our intention to continue the dialogue we have already started with Scottish Ministers."
Subject to approval next week, and subsequently in February as part of the council's budget process, implementation of the new service would take around six months, becoming operational early next year.
Although the police fraud squad probe found no criminality, officers discovered a significant number of staff members from the now disbanded property conservation department had accepted hospitality from contractors.
This included tickets for football matches, horse-racing meetings and rounds of golf.
The council said it expects around 200 cases a year where it will have to stand in to make repairs and bill owners.
A detailed service blueprint, costed business plan and implementation plan will be presented to the Finance and Resources Committee next Thursday, November 27.
If approved, it would see an extension to the Council's Shared Repairs service, which has been offering an emergency call-out and advice service to homeowners since its successful introduction last April.
The proposed design is based on supporting homeowners to take responsibility for their own shared repairs. The Council will only undertake emergency and essential repairs when it is clear that owners are unable to do so themselves.
The service would be delivered by a largely in-house team who would work to clearly defined operational procedures and quality assurance standards. Improved management information systems would be developed to ensure timely and transparent communication with owners affected by repairs projects.
The council said the "initial project management fee of 26 per cent is proposed, allowing the council to recover the costs of enforcement, with a five per cent discount offered to those who settle within 28 days.
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