When living in a freehold community scheme, there exists an obligation on every homeowner to maintain their property adequately. This involves things like varnishing one’s wooden windows regularly, painting the house when needed, maintaining the garden in a clean and neat condition, replacing damaged gutters etc.
The problem with maintenance is that it can be subjective. Whereas an owner might feel it is adequate to repaint their house every 8 years, a neighbour who looks at the property daily might want it done every 5 years.
Often there is no obvious right or wrong answer, and even when the trustees are called upon to become involved, the verdict reached might be somewhat subjective.
How then does one deal with such issues when they arise?
I would like to suggest the following as a step-by-step guide to maintenance in freehold community schemes:
The appointed trustees should always be mindful of properties that might be in need of maintenance in the near future. In formulating their opinion, the trustees might make use of their scheme’s controlling architect (if there is one), or their estate manager/caretaker who should be knowledgeable in such areas.
Owners should be notified in writing well in advance of any due date, of any work they might need to undertake in the future. Such notification should be friendly and is intended to give the owner a heads up. Sometimes this could even be a year in advance, thus giving the owner ample time to rectify what is wrong.
Upon expiry of the time frame given for the work to be done, a sterner written communication should follow with a reasonable limited time frame offered. It should stipulate the consequence of non-compliance, which would be for the matter to be reported to the CSOS.
If the owner still fails to comply with the request, a case should be opened at the CSOS.
Given that trustees are often busy people with limited available time to be noticing every blemish on every house, and given that not all schemes have estate managers, it often happens that trustees become aware of required maintenance only when a neighbour sends in a complaint.
Again, I would like to suggest an easy step-by-step guide to the process that a trustee or estate manager should follow when presented with such a complaint.
Ask the complainant if they have tried to resolve the matter amicably with their neighbour. This is always the best approach, and trustees should not get involved unless this step has been followed.
The trustees/estate manager/controlling architect, as the case may be, should make an appointment to view the property in question, to consider the merits of the complaint.
Once inspected, the first question to ask is whether or not the complaint is justified.
If no, a simple response to the neighbour, explaining that the property still meets the scheme’s requirements, should be sent.
If yes, the trustees need to do two things :
a.   Follow the step-by step guide for maintenance outlined above, by giving the owner of the property due notice of their need to maintain whatever it might be.
b.   Assess all properties in the scheme that might exhibit the same problem and give those owners a similar notice ie. do not single out an owner simply because their neighbour complained. Treat all owners respectfully and fairly.
The important thing to note is that the trustees are the ones who determine the standard for maintaining a property, not one’s neighbour. 
A well maintained scheme with well maintained properties enhances the sale value of all properties within the scheme.
Article by John Whitfield