Good news on the management company / agent front:
Irish Times 28/02
"Gormley's circular to send local authorities into a spin
THE CAT is going to be truly put among the pigeons by Environment Minister John Gormley's circular to the local authorities which gives them a deadline of June this year to update their policies in relation to taking housing estates in charge.
The minister wants the local authorities to meet their obligations and start maintaining non-gated housing estates around the country which will come as good news to many residents.
The rash of new estates built in the boom saw many of the local authorities wash their hands of them by insisting in the planning conditions that a management company be set up to maintain them.
This has caused mayhem in many estates with some residents refusing to pay their service charge on the basis that they shouldn't have to pay money for the upkeep of the grounds if the estate up the road is being maintained by the council for free.
The result is that many management companies go into the red and the estates become shabby around the edges.
But according to the Irish Home Builders' Association director Hubert Fitzpatrick this doesn't necessarily mean that residents can stop paying their charges. "If a management company has been set up, then charges are legally due," he says.
The current situation is that residents can request that the council take the estate in charge and if planning permission has expired for more than seven years.
Fitzpatrick says there are still situations where some sort of management company arrangement is needed, particularly where there is extensive landscaping which the councils generally won't take on."
Irish Times 28/02
"Gormley's circular to send local authorities into a spin
THE CAT is going to be truly put among the pigeons by Environment Minister John Gormley's circular to the local authorities which gives them a deadline of June this year to update their policies in relation to taking housing estates in charge.
The minister wants the local authorities to meet their obligations and start maintaining non-gated housing estates around the country which will come as good news to many residents.
The rash of new estates built in the boom saw many of the local authorities wash their hands of them by insisting in the planning conditions that a management company be set up to maintain them.
This has caused mayhem in many estates with some residents refusing to pay their service charge on the basis that they shouldn't have to pay money for the upkeep of the grounds if the estate up the road is being maintained by the council for free.
The result is that many management companies go into the red and the estates become shabby around the edges.
But according to the Irish Home Builders' Association director Hubert Fitzpatrick this doesn't necessarily mean that residents can stop paying their charges. "If a management company has been set up, then charges are legally due," he says.
The current situation is that residents can request that the council take the estate in charge and if planning permission has expired for more than seven years.
Fitzpatrick says there are still situations where some sort of management company arrangement is needed, particularly where there is extensive landscaping which the councils generally won't take on."