Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

It is no coincidence Members present represent mainly urban constituencies. Management companies are a problem for new urban areas. I live in a housing estate which comprises more houses than apartments but has a management company. It charges €200 a year to essentially cut the grass and insure common areas. To many this might sound like good value but it is a housing estate where there are no insurance issues and the apartments are treated separately. There is a serious issue in several apartment developments in my constituency and Drogheda where management fees are very high.

The difficulty for many residents is when they attend their management company's AGM they have little power and cannot get information on tendering processes or how, say, an insurance quote was obtained. Answers are very often oblique. I have also noted many AGMs are held deliberately at times that do not suit residents. For example, in one estate with many young couples an AGM was held on Valentine's night. In other cases management agents do not want to be hassled to give information on fees. The proposed property services regulator will play a large role in property management charges, which will be a welcome development.

Residents have responsibilities themselves. I have attended several management companies AGMs and noted attendance was poor. While there are injustices in the system, residents have a duty to get involved as much as possible.

The strike-off provisions in company law are presenting difficulties for people buying apartments. I know of one individual who was about to close a deal when he found out the management company for the apartment had been struck off, making it difficult to complete the transaction. All solicitors acting for purchasers should research management companies on the Companies Registration Office website before contracts are signed.

We do not want a system of privatised taxation which is what management companies are. Where I live, we pay to have the greens cut while in a nearby estate they are cut by the county council. Insurance is not a matter for residents but for the council. I accept different estates have different rules, not always depending on when they were built. Newer housing estates have been exempted from the condition for management companies.

Residents must know the duties and responsibilities of their management company. Constituents often contact me about not being able to get through to their management company on, say, moving an abandoned car. In many cases I cannot tell them if it is their management company's responsibility.

The title deeds on apartments are very complicated and contain extraordinary rules as to what residents can do in their apartments. Most times they are designed for the overall betterment of an estate. However, some rules serve no purpose and are not known by residents. Often a management company will enforce them to residents' annoyance.

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