Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 46:

In page 9, before section 12, to insert the following new section:

12.--(1) From the commencement of this section, an owners' management company shall be incorporated under the Companies Acts for a multi-unit development which comprises 5 units or more and shall carry out the functions referred to in this Act.

(2) The title "owners' management company" and the letters "OMC" shall appear in legible characters on all documents signed and issued by or on behalf of an owners' management company, and the owners' management company shall ensure that it is represented as being such a company.

(3) The objects and functions of an owners' management company shall be--

(a) during the development stage, to convey the legal title of a unit in the multi-unit development to each unit purchaser and that it shall not prevent or frustrate any such conveyance, and to ensure (in a manner that is consistent with the object and function to convey that legal title and not to prevent or frustrate it) the management and maintenance of the common areas of the multi-unit development and otherwise to comply with the obligations imposed on the company by this Act,

(b) after the development stage, to ensure the management and maintenance of common areas of the multi-unit development and otherwise to comply with the obligations imposed on the company by this Act.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in the Companies Acts, the memorandum of association of an owners' management company shall make provision for the following--

(a) the name of the company in accordance with subsection (2),

(b) an objects clause in accordance with subsection (3),

(c) that each unit owner shall be a member of the company,

(d) that each member of the company holds one vote of equal weight as each other member, and

(e) that, in the event of a sale of a unit after its first sale, each subsequent unit owner shall be a member of the company on completion of the conveyance.

(5) Notwithstanding anything in the Companies Acts, the articles of association of an owners' management company shall make provision for the following--

(a) that an annual general meeting shall be held within every calendar year,

(b) that every member of the company shall receive at least 21 days notice of the annual general meeting,

(c) that the annual general meeting shall take place within reasonable proximity to the multi-unit development and at reasonable times (unless otherwise agreed by a 75 per cent majority vote of the members of the company),

(d) that a scheme of annual service charges and a scheme for a building investment fund for the multi-unit development is established and maintained,

(e) the form and content of the annual returns of an owners' management company specified in subsection (6), and

(f) the covenants and agreements for the multi-unit development, which shall comply with the requirements of section 5.

(6) Notwithstanding anything in the Companies Acts, the annual returns of an owners' management company shall include the following--

(a) the accounts of the company in the form of a statement of income and expenditure,

(b) a statement of the annual service charge or charges,

(c) a statement of the current level of the building investment fund and the annual contribution to it,

(d) a statement of any planned expenditure for the following calendar year,

(e) a statement of the assets of the company,

(f) a statement of the content of and extent of cover provided by any insurance policy (if any) held by the company,

(g) the fire safety certificate issued under the Building Control Acts 1990 and 2007 for the multi-unit development.

(7) Subject to the provisions of this section and the other provisions of this Act, the Companies Acts shall apply with the necessary modifications to an owners' management company.

(8) A multi-unit development which comprises 4 units or less may be developed and maintained on the basis of a co-ownership agreement between the unit owners.".

I am tabling this amendment to acknowledge the efforts of the Law Reform Commission, LRC, in its 2008 report on multi-unit developments, which provides a comprehensive analysis of multi-unit developments and their management. The LRC went so far as to include a draft Bill based on its recommendations in the report, of which Fine Gael has taken account by tabling this amendment.

The commission recommended that an OMC, based on the designated activity company envisaged in the Company Law Review Group's draft companies (consolidation and reform) Bill, is the preferred legal structure for larger multi-unit developments, those being developments of five units or more. Our amendment attempts to address this recommendation and I would be interested in the Minister's opinions.