Batt O'Keeffe (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Legislative action to address this would involve conveyancing and company law, which are outside my Department's area of responsibilities. However, it would clearly be desirable to have the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission in that regard.

Property owners in multi-unit structures should also realise that there is a primary onus on them to ensure that their management companies operate effectively once control of the company has transferred to them. There can also be an information deficit in this area, which is inimical to the effective operation of management arrangements. One basic source of difficulty is the general lack of information and understanding about the need for and role of management companies, and the rights and obligations of home owners in this area. As an immediate practical step to address this information deficit, my Department is co-ordinating the provision of clear and concise general information, particularly for home buyers. This will issue very shortly.

The legal profession also has a key role in protecting home buyers from abuses. Conveyancers are to be generally complimented for the way in which they have adapted conveyancing practice to facilitate the huge growth in the development and sale of apartments. They need to be vigilant in ensuring that the rights of buyers are fully safeguarded from inappropriate obligations or excessive costs in house purchase contracts, particularly where buyers feel pressurised in the context of a rising property market. I hope the legal profession as a whole will be able to help raise the level of protection further in conjunction with the construction industry.

It is also open to the construction industry, on a voluntary basis, to take action to address some of the key sources of difficulty. They do not need to wait to be forced by legislation to take action to address some of the inadequacies and shoddy practices that have come to light. This action could involve the agreement between the industry and the legal profession of standard guidelines and documentation relating to house purchase conveyancing and contracts, based on appropriate principles. Issues that could be dealt with in this way might include the appropriateness of charges, transfer of control to unit owners, developers' responsibilities pending taking in charge by local authorities and maintenance of adequate sinking funds. My Department is exploring with the construction industry the scope for practical action in this regard pending any necessary changes to conveyancing and companies legislation in light of the LRC report.

Local authorities must also play their part and, in particular, avoid adding to complexities or uncertainty in the context of applying planning conditions relating to management arrangements. My Department is pursuing this aspect with planning authorities. However, the issue of planning conditions relating to management companies is not a totally straightforward one. The Planning Act allows the attachment of these conditions, recognising that management companies have been traditionally set up for the maintenance of apartment buildings and their attendant private grounds.

See this speech in context