Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I have looked at these amendments. I cannot accept them because, in the view of the Department, they would introduce a complex and unwieldy mechanism for determining completion of multi-unit developments. I do not believe amendment No. 1 is practical for a number of reasons. First, it seeks to impose a new statutory duty on local authorities which would be additional to their existing statutory functions as set out in the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2009. If the planning authorities were to be given additional responsibility, those Acts would need to be amended, as appropriate. It certainly would not be appropriate to provide for such additional responsibilities in the manner proposed in these amendments.

The Long Title of the Bill does not refer to planning. The Bill is entitled "an Act to amend the law relating to the ownership and management of the common areas of multi-unit developments and to facilitate the fair, efficient and effective management of bodies responsible for the management of such common areas, and to provide for related matters". Any such expansion of local authorities' statutory functions would only be considered following an assessment by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and his Department as to whether taking on an additional role would be appropriate for planning authorities and, if it were, whether they would have the necessary resources to undertake it. Proper advanced consultation with the planning authorities and adequate preparation for any such role would be essential. For that reason, I cannot accept amendment No. 1.

Amendment No. 1 states that " "complete" in relation to a development means "complete to the agreed satisfaction of a developer and the owners' management company and the planning authority"". On many occasions there may not be agreement. From what I understand from the legislation and from proposals to amend it further, there is no opportunity to determine what is meant by "complete" in the event of agreement not being reached.

With regard to amendment No. 26, the provisions of sections 4, 5, 10, 11 and 19 deal with the issues raised in this amendment. Under section 4, which deals with partially completed developments, and section 5, which deals with fully completed developments, the owner of the common areas is required to transfer control of these common areas to the owners' management company within six months of the coming into operation of the Act. In the case of partially completed developments, the transfer of the common areas is subject to the retention of the beneficial interest by the transferor. The retention of the beneficial interest is designed to ensure the developer completes the development. The mechanism for the eventual transfer of the beneficial interest is set out in sections 10 and 11 while section 19 provides that in the event of a dispute about completion, the matter can be brought before the courts or to mediation under the disputes resolution mechanism. The mechanism proposed in the amendment is complex and likely to lead to disputes which would end up before the courts.

On amendment No. 27, snagging is an extremely complex issue. As far as I am aware, there is no provision under the Planning and Development Acts or the Building Control Acts that would permit planning authorities to require performance bonds to ensure snagging of multi-unit developments. Therefore, the proposed requirement in section 11(3) that future planning permissions for multi-unit developments should be subject to the lodgment of a bond would require amendment to those Acts. This is a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and his Department to consider with the planning authorities in the context of any such legislative reform.

Section 19(4), under a later amendment, will contain a provision for the Circuit Court to make an order directing the developer to complete a development in compliance with the planning permission, the terms of building control standards and the terms of any contract. Under amendment No. 10, which we will come to shortly, a developer will be required to have a contract with the owners' management company. I envisage that this will contain commitments by the developer in relation to the completion of the development, including common areas. If the terms of this contract are not honoured, the unit owners will have recourse to the courts which may order mediation with a view to resolving the issue.