Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

In addition to the transfer of guarantees and warranties provided for in section 25 I want to ensure that all relevant documentation be provided to the owner of a management company. To enable the smooth running of the company, the extensive list of required documentation is now specified in the new Schedule 3 of the Bill.

Amendment No. 74 inserts a new Schedule 3 into the Bill. Section 25 provides that any person who has developed a multi-unit development must, on completion of the development, transfer the benefits of any warranties, guarantees, to the owners' management company. I have received many submissions on this section, all of which stated that their documentation should also be transferred to the owners' management company on completion. The reason given for the necessity of transferring documentation was that the owner of a management company would be more able to function, as provided for in the Bill, if additional information and documentation was available to them. To that end, I have provided that owners' management company should be supplied with any certificates or opinions of completion regarding the planning permission and building control Acts. I have also provided that the management company should receive confirmation that any financial contributions required under the planning Acts have been paid and so ensuring that the responsibility for the payment of these contributions will not fall on the management company on the transfer of control of the development.

In addition, the safety file of the development which contains relevant health and safety information which should be taken into account during any construction work undertaken following completion of the development must be given to the management company. I am aware it is not normally the case that as built drawings of developments are carried out. However, I am also aware that professionally prepared drawings or the latest versions of the drawings of a development are prepared by a design team. It is important that these are available to the management so I have provided for this in the Schedule.

In a related context as built drawings of the service relating to the development, water, sewerage and electricity are prepared on completion of the developments, I have provided that these must be transferred to the management company. In addition to the above I have also provided other information relating to the plant and equipment in the development and the service and maintenance contracts relating to the development must be transferred to the management company. In many cases title documents of the development are not passed on to the management company on the transfer of ownership. I have now provided that they should be transferred along with counterpart leases and other deeds relating to the units in the development. Finally, I have provided that any documents which the developer, while in the control of the management company, is required by law to maintain, together with financial and management accounts and records relating to service charges in respect of the development, should also be transferred to the owners' management on completion of the development.