Deed of Conditions vs old tenement deeds

• Deed of Conditions

  A single deed, registered against every flat in the building or development at once, that sets out the shared rules in one consistent place: what the common parts are, who maintains them, how costs are apportioned, how decisions are made, and often the factor arrangement. You'll typically find one in modern developments and professionally converted buildings. The upside: it's usually complete and internally consistent — every flat plays by the same written rules. The catch: it can also lock things in, including naming a factor or setting the exact majority needed to remove one.

• Old tenement deeds

  The traditional set-up in Victorian and Edwardian tenements. Instead of one master document, the rules are scattered across individual split-off writs — feu dispositions and dispositions drafted flat by flat, sometimes across a century, sometimes by different solicitors who didn't compare notes. The result: gaps, inconsistencies between flats, and clauses that are silent on things that matter today (nobody in 1890 was drafting for cladding surveys or EWS1 forms).

Why the difference matters in practice

• Three practical differences

  • Where old deeds are silent, the Tenement Management Scheme fills the gap — so many traditional tenements are effectively run on the TMS defaults (majority vote, one per flat) whether the owners realise it or not.
  • A Deed of Conditions may override those defaults — meaning your majority threshold, your maintenance shares, or your ability to sack the factor could be different from the standard rules everyone assumes apply.
  • Apportionment often differs. Old deeds may split costs by antiquated rateable values or unclear formulas; a Deed of Conditions usually spells out clean percentages.

This is information, not legal advice. Verify with a solicitor for your specific situation.