Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 790: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has issued a directive to local authorities to stop the practice of establishing management companies in respect of standard houses and confine them only to multiple unit buildings; and when he intends to publish a legislative framework for these companies. [27658/06]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 824: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to regulate housing management companies through the Planning Process or otherwise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28014/06]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 790 and 824 together.

I refer to the reply to Question No. 549 of 5 July 2006. The position is unchanged. With regard to the attachment of planning conditions requiring management companies in housing developments, a survey in late 2005 showed that planning authorities do not generally attach planning conditions regarding management companies in the case of conventional housing estates, that is, estates of houses with their own gardens. They might do so only in exceptional circumstances, for example to maintain shared private facilities such as sewage treatment. The 2000 Planning Act contains explicit provisions regarding the responsibility of planning authorities for the taking in charge of such estates.

My Department has advised planning authorities that it is not appropriate to attach planning conditions requiring management companies to maintain the roads, services, etc., in the case of traditional type housing estates. However, as I have stated previously, the related issues of planning conditions regarding management companies and taking in charge can be complex, particularly in the newer mixed estates which contain apartments, duplex houses and terraced houses, with shared facilities such as car-parking and gardens exclusively for the development. Genuine questions arise as to whether it is appropriate that all facilities on these estates, which may include high specification paving and landscaping, should be taken in charge and maintained at public expense. Many of these facilities are replacing the traditional gardens, which, in a conventional housing estate, would fall to be maintained by the residents rather than the local authority.

My Department is at present updating the residential density guidelines following on the publication of the Housing Policy Framework: Building Sustainable Communities, last December. It will be appropriate to examine further the issues of taking in charge and management companies in this context.