Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Management fees have been a creeping feature of the housing estate scene in the last ten or 15 years. While people who are not familiar with them may think they are confined to apartment developments, in fact they are not. There are many estates in my constituency in County Meath that are not entirely apartments - they mostly have houses - which have management fees. These include Dunboyne Castle in Dunboyne, The Briars in Ashbourne, Steeplechase in Ratoath, and large estates such as Grange Rath in east Meath. We want to ensure that people are not paying double tax, and this legislation covers that. It makes sure that we give some sort of recognition, in a small way via tax refunds, that they are paying on the double for services. While it is the case that on some of these estates the management companies provide some advantages, as well as disadvantages, it is also the case that it adds another financial burden on those who are living there. In many of these estates, the financial burden from management fees is in addition to the substantial mortgages many of the homeowners took out.

It is important to remember that this legislation solely relates to people who are owner-occupiers of houses. This is not a subsidy to landlords or tenants who are not liable for the property tax or management charges in general. This matter needs to be brought forward, and there has to be greater recognition of the situation that homeowners find themselves in when they are paying on the double. The Bill deserves the support of this House and should be brought in as quickly as possible. I sincerely hope the Government supports it.

I want to briefly mention the Multi-Unit Development Act 2011 on the record of the House. It was a necessary piece of legislation, but there is a provision within it on house rules. I would be grateful if the Minister of State could inform the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment of that. The house rules provision in that legislation is being interpreted in a very wide sense by some of the management companies, particularly in housing estates. The companies see that they have the right to make rules, which members can approve of, that relate not just to the landings in apartments or how one conducts oneself, but how people in houses, roads and streets operate. That really is a usurpation of the functions of the Oireachtas to make laws, and indeed the making of by-laws by local councils. I would certainly be in favour of the Department regulating where those house rules can apply. There is an extremely broad application of these rules at the moment. If they are interpreted to the extent that some people want to interpret them, the management fee really becomes a type of poll tax which enables residents to vote on these house rules. I would like to see some action taken in that regard. House rules are necessary in developments where people are living side by side, but they are not necessary to the extent that some people believe or as the legislation permits, as far as I can see.

The legislation before us is positive, helpful and relates to a small set of people who are paying on the double. It involves a maximum payout from the Revenue of approximately €17 million nationwide to some of those who are hit hardest by these charges.

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