# Property Management - My Rights ?



## niceone (22 May 2007)

For the past 3 years I have paid a management company for maintenance of a Section 23 Apartment I own in the South East.  

I have just received the invoice for 2007 and am now due to pay €1,360.  This represents 18% of my gross annual rental income.

The fee for 2006 was approximately €800.

Questions:

1. What happens if I do not pay ?
2. I will discuss this with the Property Management agent but I expect a 
    'Pay up or we will see you in court' response.  Any point in me   
    engaging legal advise ?
3. Is there a regulatory body that I could report to ?
4. Anyone have any useful URL's relating to Property Management ?


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## CCOVICH (22 May 2007)

Why do you not want to pay?


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## niceone (22 May 2007)

70% increase on 2006
18% of Gross Annual rental income

I think these figures explain why I do not want to pay €1,360 ?


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## CCOVICH (22 May 2007)

Not at all-the fee should be based on the work done-not what the fee was the previous year, nor on a % of what rent you derive.

Have you asked for a breakdown of the fee?
Why has it increased?


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## niceone (22 May 2007)

Some of the fee covers block insurance - Fine !

Budget breakdown has been provided, the biggest costs being
  Heat & Lighting of common areas
  Lift Maintenance
  Resident Caretaker Salary
  Administration

My apartment is 900 Sq Ft and therefore I am expected to pay more than a 600 Sq Ft apartment - Don't see the logic in this ?

Housekeeping was poor and still is
Repairs are not being carried out  

What amunition do I have to contest what I consider an unfair charge ?
What happens if I do not pay ?


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## KalEl (22 May 2007)

niceone said:


> My apartment is 900 Sq Ft and therefore I am expected to pay more than a 600 Sq Ft apartment - Don't see the logic in this ?
> 
> Housekeeping was poor and still is
> Repairs are not being carried out
> ...


 
Eh, why wouldn't you pay proportionately more?

Repairs are most likely not being carried out because there is a shortage of funds...so you not paying will most likely exacerbate the situation.
If you don't pay eventually they'll go the legal route and you'll be hit with costs on top of your fee. And you won't be able to sell your apartment until you pay.


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## CCOVICH (22 May 2007)

How does the breakdown compare to last year?
What is driving the increase?
Does you management company hold an AGM?
Did you/will you attend?
Has the developer handed over control to the owners?
Are there directors who are also owners?
Have you raised the issue of poor housekeeping/lack of repair with the managing agent?
Are other owners dissatisfied?

Square footage is a common enough way of dividing costs.

If you don't pay, you could be taken to court.  You may not be able to sell the apartment if fees are not paid up to date.

In short, you have every right to contest the charge, but address the reasons why you are contesting it in a more objective/constructive fashion than 'just cos they are high'

There are many genuine reasons why costs could have jumped dramatically (for example, light manintenance may have been carried out under warranty for the first few years etc)-I would be surprised if someone tried to sneak such an increase by owners without being expected to explain....


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## leafs (22 May 2007)

Management companies are notorious for charging for things they do not provide ie charging owners for something the council does ie lighting.
Some recent court cases in Tryellstown about inappropriate charges.
Might get info about estate on 
Residents committe can negotiate with management company and if not satisfied you can fire the management company and get another one.


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## KalEl (22 May 2007)

leafs said:


> Management companies are notorious for charging for things they do not provide ie charging owners for something the council does ie lighting.
> Some recent court cases in Tryellstown about inappropriate charges.
> Might get info about estate on
> Residents committe can negotiate with management company and if not satisfied you can fire the management company and get another one.


 
As usual ludicrous comments from people who don't grasp the concepts involved. There are umpteen threads on this topic. 
The management company is set up to run the common areas of the complex. The residents are the members/shareholders.
The management agent is a company hired by the management company to run it.


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## ClubMan (22 May 2007)

I agree with _KalEl _- too many people still jump to this "them" and "us" conclusion in a kneejerk fashion ignoring the fact that the management company is usually "us", the householders. If they don't understand this then they didn't listen to their solicitor who should have explained matters or else simply didn't properly research the property when purchasing to apprise themselves of the implications of having a management company and, in most cases, being a shareholder/member of same. As _KalEl _says there are lots of existing threads on this issue that should be read by those who are still confused and in danger of cutting off their nose to spite their face by boycotting their own management company and thereby possibly dooming it to failure and even more hassle down the line.


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## monkeyboy (23 May 2007)

niceone said:


> 70% increase on 2006
> 18% of Gross Annual rental income
> 
> I think these figures explain why I do not want to pay €1,360 ?



Not paying is nose spite face stuff!

Take it to the extreme that no one pays or most dont pay, then the power gets cut off to comunal areas, the cleaners dont come and the bins dont get collected.

The managing agent wont pay thee costs when exsiting funds run out!

If the costs are valid on the breakdown for actual works you cant really argue.


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## leafs (23 May 2007)

Sorry i meant management agent when i said Management company. I stand corrected:
Management agents are notorious for charging for things they do not provide ie charging owners for something the council does ie lighting.
Some recent court cases in Tryellstown about inappropriate charges.
Might get info about your estate on 
Residents committe/management company can negotiate with management agent and if not satisfied you can fire the management agent and get another one.


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