An app to help the owners of shared properties in Edinburgh repair their buildings has been so successful in its first year it is already being rolled out by two other local authorities in Scotland.
image: for illustration – Edinburgh Tenements – Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
… app was designed to make it easier for residents…
Scottish Construction Now writes:
Developed by the City of Edinburgh Council with tech company Novoville, a new app launched in April last year has been helping more than 500 tenements with nearly 5,000 properties across Edinburgh in carrying out £700,000 worth of much needed repairs to improve their buildings.
The app has been so popular that Perth & Kinross and East Ayrshire Councils have announced they are launching it as well.
Born out of the Scottish Government’s CivTech Accelerator programme, the app was designed to make it easier for residents living in shared properties to keep their buildings in good condition. It’s attracted twice as many privately owned tenements in a year as the council usually deals with in that time frame.
The repairs carried out range from £50,000 for extensive roof repairs down to £200 for new door locks, through to £20,000 improving stonework, £5,000 repainting stairwells to £2,000 on new gutters. Around 150 trusted traders are listed on the app but you can use it with your own trader as well.
Councillor Mandy Watt finance and resources convener said: “Edinburgh is leading the way in this work in Scotland and it is great news that two other councils are now about to launch it in their area as well. Our Shared Repairs Team is doing a fantastic job….”
App user Julia Morrison said: “Truth be told, our stair is quite analogue – particularly older landlords! Despite my best efforts, I was only able to get a few folks signed up directly to the Novoville app. However, the app is designed so that you can use it with owners who don’t want to sign up to the app directly…”
