# Generic House Rules and enforcement practice and procedure



## ryan-neil (16 Oct 2008)

Hi,

Does anyone know where to get a set of generic house rules. Ours are over 20 years old and seriously out of date in terms of content. In fact bar signing a page stating we would abide to them i have never seen a copy of them. Does anyone have a generic set or a copy of their complexs set they would pass on to me.

Thanks
Neil


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## Crescenter (17 Oct 2008)

*Re: House Rules.*

have to admit I just bin mine cos I seem to receive them every couple of months. Your management agent should be able to provide them.


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## ryan-neil (20 Oct 2008)

*Re: House Rules.*

We have no managment agent. Just the company and they never have had rules in a written form for several years.


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## DianeC401 (20 Oct 2008)

*Re: House Rules.*

Here are our house rules which are fairly comprehensive. You can amend them to suit your purposes. You might not have it to hand but it's a good idea to check your lease as that's where most of the house rules for a development are formulated:

Security
Main lobby doors and other communal entrance doors should be kept closed and locked at all times. Strangers should never be admitted and any suspicious behaviour immediately reported to local Gardai.

Parking/Vehicles
Residents may only park in their designated parking spaces. Anyone parking in unauthorised spaces will be clamped.
Occasional visitors must use the Visitor spaces provided; residents may not use these spaces themselves. 
No commercial vehicles are allowed on premises

Anti-Social Behaviour
Noise in general should be kept at a level that will not disturb neighbours. In particular no noise should be audible between 10.00pm – 8.00am.
Residents are responsible for the appropriate behaviour of children and guests and will be held accountable for any subsequent damage or inconvenience caused.
Open green areas are an aesthetic feature of the development and as such should not be used for sports/games (ie: skateboarding) that could cause inconvenience or be unsightly to other residents. 

General
Balconies are *not* be used for storage or laundry.  Balcony screens are not permitted.
No satellite dishes or antennae are to be erected on any part of the balcony, roof or building.
It is prohibited to display notices or posters in windows or balconies.
Junk mail should be disposed of by individuals addressed – do not leave lying around.
No pets are allowed to be kept on the premises
The bin bays are for domestic waste only. Dumping of non domestic waste (ie: furniture/electrical items etc) in bin bays or refuse bins in any other area of the development is strictly prohibited.  

Health and Safety
Children and minors should not be left unsupervised in common areas. In particular the underground car park, stairwells and bin bays present significant hazards and are not safe for unaccompanied children.
All refuse should be bagged, tied securely and placed in appropriate refuse bins. No refuse should be left on balconies, in corridors or outside bin bays where they will attract vermin. Liquids should not be let drip out of bin bags as this will stain common area carpets.
All corridors, stairwells and other common areas are smoke free zones.
The storage of hazardous materials (gas, petrol etc) which would include motorbikes/bbq’s etc should be safely and responsibly stored. Storage of such materials on balconies is prohibited as they present a significant fire hazard to the fabric of the building if they were to ignite or explode.
All residents should install a small all-purpose fire extinguisher in their apartments. A carbon monoxide alarm is also recommended considering the type of gas fires we have installed.
No materials can be stored in communal corridors (ie: bicycles, building materials etc) as they constitute a fire hazard and block essential exit routes.

Landlord and Tenants
It is the responsibility of Landlords to ensure tenants have a copy of House Rules and abide by them.
Landlords will be held liable for the behaviour of their tenants and any subsequent financial implications.
Up to date contact details of tenants should be supplied to XXX Estate Management.


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## ryan-neil (6 Nov 2008)

*Re: House Rules.*

Thanks Diane. Much appreciated. Does your development issue fines for the breach of house rules.


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## DianeC401 (10 Nov 2008)

*Re: House Rules.*

Yes, we do issue fines. We used to have a lot of problems - anti social behaviour and dumping in particular. The way we resolved this was to issue sizeable fines of €175 which are strictly and consistently enforced. If members think you won't follow up, they often won't amend their behaviour. 

We also made it very clear to tenants and investor landlords that the landlords as Members of the management company would be held responsible for any breaches. Often investors who don't actually live in the development don't really care about what they see as minor misdemeanors so turn a blind eye to disruptive tenants. When they get two or three large fines though, that usually makes them sit up and take notice. 

This sounds tough and it is. Residents have to keep a very close eye on things and ensure they have a good estate manager who will follow up on all the necessary correspondence.  But it does pay off. Our development is a changed place now. Generally speaking residents are considerate to their neighbours, we have very little dumping and the levels of littering and vandalism have also decreased, making it a nicer environment for everyone.


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## ryan-neil (11 Nov 2008)

*Re: House Rules.*

Hi Diane.

Sorry for so many questions, re the fine, is it necessary to include in the lease, we are having an issue with dumping at the moment where one set of tenants of a landlord who doesn't care as you say has deposited an Ironing board, and several other large items in the car park. Our lease doesn't mention fines, how did you bring it in. Was it voted in and did you have to ammed the leases.

Thanks for the info.


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## Crescenter (16 Nov 2008)

*Re: House Rules.*

Hi, we also have fines which are for the removal of satellite dishes. As far as I know this is just something we received notification of from our management agent -ie a circular stating that the removal of satellite dishes will cost x amount (can't rem how much off the top of my head). I don't think it appears in our leases and wasn't voted upon at the agm.


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## Frank (16 Nov 2008)

*Re: House Rules.*

How can a fine like this be enforced?

If someone says bog off what recourse does the finer have.


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## shesells (20 Nov 2008)

*Re: House Rules.*

Checked this out with our management agents with a view to getting more formal fine structures in place and they said they checked with the solicitors and management companies cannot impose fines without written permission from *all *owners in the development. Not even an AGM can agree to it.

Not impressed!


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## rmelly (20 Nov 2008)

*Re: House Rules.*



shesells said:


> Checked this out with our management agents with a view to getting more formal fine structures in place and they said they checked with the solicitors and management companies cannot impose fines without written permission from *all *owners in the development. Not even an AGM can agree to it.
> 
> Not impressed!


 
Why not? Anything else would be extremely unfair. Think about it - as a purchaser I signed a lease, agreeing to abide by a specific set of KNOWN rules with known penalties etc - why should they be changeable without your MY approval? 

Why would my solicitor allow me to sign a contract / lease where the terms could subsequently be changed without my approval?


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## shesells (20 Nov 2008)

*Re: House Rules.*

You mis-understand me. We were presented with development rules at purchase. These may be rules but if people break them there is no sanction at all! So the neighbour who uses their balcony as a washing line (rules state no washing on balconies) may get letters from the management agent asking them to stop but there is no penalty if they continue to do so. Ditto noise, litter, dogs barking, bikes attached to railings etc.

The only option is to send a solicitors letter where these rules also form part of the contact signed at purchase.


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## rmelly (20 Nov 2008)

*Re: House Rules.*



shesells said:


> You mis-understand me.


 
No, I didn't. 

You want to change what people signed up to...what genius forgot to include details on sanctions? Presumably at the very least the lease makes reference to the owner being liable for the cost of the solicitors letter?


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## shesells (21 Nov 2008)

*Re: House Rules.*

Our leases have several flaws to be honest. But when I was handed the rules it didn't occur to me to question what would happen if the rules were broken. Just like I would never consider breaking them.


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