No kids allowed to play on common area,is this normal?

Hi all, a friend has just moved into a house which has no back garden.
She has a five year old child.
The letting agent said having no back garden isnt a problem as there is a big green area in front of her house.However when she was out playing with her kid yesterday, the maintenence man said they had recieved complaints ,saying children were not allowed on the green.
This was not brought to her attention at the time and theres nothing in her contract stating this nor are there any signs on the green .
Anyone have any experience of this type of thing happening?
Can she get out of her lease based on the fact that she was told she could let him play on the green?
thanks in advance

I'd ignore the complaints to be honest. I mean, com 'on!

I would go further than this maintanance man for advice. I don't think anyone can be banned from anywhere but private ground ie. someones garden etc.

Talk to the agent, talk to the people overseeing the estate, but I wouldnt stop any child from playing in a common area.

thanks for your replys..
It seems strange to have such a rule,but I did wonder if it was correct.
Or even if it could be that it can actually be part of a management company law/rule ..looking like it cant be.I hope...

It the law/rule would probably be discriminatory based on age.

let the kids play.

Just my two cents worth... But what about children (not necesarily your friends') playing on common areas, but in the act are destroying expensive planting/landscaping, causing damage to cars by kicking balls and playing chasing with sticks in their hands, climbing railings (falling from which would presumably result in some sort of insurance claim - which would increase residents' management fees), running in & out of carparks slamming and damaging security doors in their wake...

Trying to discourage "playing" in common areas is not necessarily just based on crankiness!

WHAT'SFREE? said:

Trying to discourage "playing" in common areas is not necessarily just based on crankiness!

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Interesting one, I was about to give out about your post but you do raise some good points.
At the same time you must let kids be kids, I cant imagine being told back in the day to not play outside!
What else are these common areas there for...old ladies tea parties with opera music??

WHAT'SFREE? said:

playing chasing with sticks in their hands

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LOL, God forbid!

WHAT'SFREE? said:

Just my two cents worth... But what about children (not necesarily your friends') playing on common areas, but in the act are destroying expensive planting/landscaping, causing damage to cars by kicking balls and playing chasing with sticks in their hands, climbing railings (falling from which would presumably result in some sort of insurance claim - which would increase residents' management fees), running in & out of carparks slamming and damaging security doors in their wake...

Trying to discourage "playing" in common areas is not necessarily just based on crankiness!

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Think you may have missed my point?
My question was,is it normal practice not to allow kids to play in common areas,regardless of the reasons..
Also should she have been told this before she moved in with a kid?
Also should there be notice of this in the contract or a sign on the green?
I will leave the debate of kids being allowed to play and damageing things to someone else..

oh yes i know how it feels.before i moved into this house i rented a house with no back yard,just a little back area to hang up the washing.the side area had grass and the maintance guy wasnt impressed when my girls played.they were not noisy.just the usual girls chatter.i paid no attention to the maintance guy and left a few months later.if the landlord owns the land then its up to him weather or not its permitted.

thedaras said:

Think you may have missed my point?
My question was,is it normal practice not to allow kids to play in common areas,regardless of the reasons..
Also should she have been told this before she moved in with a kid?
Also should there be notice of this in the contract or a sign on the green?
I will leave the debate of kids being allowed to play and damageing things to someone else..

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I would say its not normal. Take a look at [broken link removed] from Dublin City Council, especially the "Design Issues" section which begins with "Open space needs to be landscaped with a diverse range of households in mind...."

I live in an estate with some common ground (including a small pnd) which we share with another development.

At the begining the mangment comapny kept the spaces separate but the fence was always being torn down (which looked awful). Common sense prevailed and access is now allowed by foot.

These eveings there's a good few kids of various ages out on bikes, kicking a football, playing cricket etc. A few adults are usually sitting on a bench keeping an eye on them, which I suppose helps keep some order.

Its so nice to see and neighbours are getting to know each other.

cleverclogs7 said:

oh yes i know how it feels.before i moved into this house i rented a house with no back yard,just a little back area to hang up the washing.the side area had grass and the maintance guy wasnt impressed when my girls played.they were not noisy.just the usual girls chatter.i paid no attention to the maintance guy and left a few months later.if the landlord owns the land then its up to him weather or not its permitted.

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cleverclogs,there is no area at all for hanging up washing or any type of yard.Its a terreced house,2 up 2 down with car park space outside ,with a big green area to the front.(funnily enough its in Bray)
So its a comunal area ,not owned be the landlord.
It just seems weird that so many kids live in the estate but apparently cant play on the green area,when they have no back gardens.
|Thanks for your response..

FLANDERS` said:

I would say its not normal. Take a look at [broken link removed] from Dublin City Council, especially the "Design Issues" section which begins with "Open space needs to be landscaped with a diverse range of households in mind...."

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Thanks for that FLANDERS,very interesting..
Id say this estate is designed for childless couples or single people,however with the downturn it seems that people with kids are now moving in,as theres loads of kids there now,with no facilities,no back gardens and now not allowed play on the green.

becky said:

I live in an estate with some common ground (including a small pnd) which we share with another development.

At the begining the mangment comapny kept the spaces separate but the fence was always being torn down (which looked awful). Common sense prevailed and access is now allowed by foot.

These eveings there's a good few kids of various ages out on bikes, kicking a football, playing cricket etc. A few adults are usually sitting on a bench keeping an eye on them, which I suppose helps keep some order.

Its so nice to see and neighbours are getting to know each other.

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Yes i agree ,there was a guy sunbathing there on sunday,but if the maintenance man tells her she is not to have the child on the green,it will mean hes no where to play.they have no back garden.

What rights does the mainanance man have to tell anyone what to do? I would ask the crowd that owns the estate/houses.

Thedaras .thats sad.poor little kids,we seldom get nice weather and kids should be able to play on the grass near there home. Hope everything works out.maybe a trip to the council in bray.they may be of help.

As a director of a management company where we have had problems with children playing and damaging plants etc the thing that strikes me is the the OP was playing with the child. Unsupervised children at play is a big no-no for insurance, safety and preservation reasons but I don't see why a supervised child would be a problem.

Is there more to this story than we know? Is it a managed estate? Council estate? Private estate with active residents association? From what we know it just doesn't make sense.

thedaras said:

... the maintenence man said they had recieved complaints ,saying children were not allowed on the green...

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The maintenance man better check the planning permission and see what category the open space falls under.
If as I suspect it is Public Open Space, it seem entirely appropriate that children should play there.
However in these past ten or fifteen "monied" years, a certain amount of materialism and snobbery seems to have entered Irish society.
In some circles, having children seems to be like having a large German car - just something you accrete to increase your social standing.
Its the old "seen but not heard" attitude to the child, which is a shame - don't let the view of people like that limit your friend's child in his formative years.
I agree with the "supervised" play position because in shared surface parking and recreational areas it can be all too easy to miss a small child when a car is reversing for example.
Vehicular hazard is exacerbated by the fact that few if any Public Open Spaces are enclosed by railings or fences, things that used to be de rigeur in housing developments before the 20th century.
Mind you, the railings were originally intended to limit access by the poor and were not there increase a child's safety per se.

shesells said:

As a director of a management company where we have had problems with children playing and damaging plants etc the thing that strikes me is the the OP was playing with the child. Unsupervised children at play is a big no-no for insurance, safety and preservation reasons but I don't see why a supervised child would be a problem.

Is there more to this story than we know? Is it a managed estate? Council estate? Private estate with active residents association? From what we know it just doesn't make sense.

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It wasnt the child that was the problem,and he was with his mother playing a game,it was, according to the maintenence man the fact that no children are allowed on the green.ie; I dont think it was a personal thing towards the mother or the child rather just a rule..for all.

She has rented the house through a letting agency,its not a council estate .
I do know there is a management company who do the maintenence etc.its a big place with one two and three bedroomed houses some have back gardens.
The guy next door to her owns his house and also has a child and he has said he never heard anything about not allowing kids to play on the green.

She said the guy came up to her and said there were complaints and that she wasnt to be on the green with her child.
She is young and has only been living there a week,so unless as you say it doesnt make sense,maybe the maintenence guy is a bit strange? or bullying her?
She was in contact with the letting agency and they say to ignore him,but its a bit much having someone say you cant do something and then ignore it,shes not the type to challange authority.
BTW; could it happen that it is correct that kids are not allowed play on a green(with their parents)
Should she be told who complained? and the nature of the complaint\?