Mr. Pat Montague:

On the issue of information, I have been at a number of AGMs of management companies and I have seen some really good examples and some shocking examples. This is why the regulator is so important.

Coming to good examples, one of the OMCs I am very familiar with would hold an information night a number of weeks before the general meeting, where everything in the budget is discussed. The Deputy talked about cost increases. The OMC would have, for instance, a person in charge or a contractor who helps people negotiate their energy costs. It may have somebody from the insurer. It have somebody there to speak from the key providers under the various headings, and likewise on progress or otherwise in relation to defects. The OMC is totally open to questions and answers or whatever. A couple of weeks later, you would have the general meeting and things put to a vote. Interestingly, things went through without much of a row or whatever.

What was interesting was that the compliance levels in terms of payment of service charges and other things were extraordinarily high in that development. In others, where things were held back and where it was seen that people were suspicious or worried, payment rates were unsurprisingly poor and the level of friction and conflict at general meetings was really high. They were like bear fights and deeply uncomfortable to be at. Whatever about being at a bear fight, the problem is that those people are facing one another in the lifts and corridors in the days that follow. That is just not a nice place to be.