Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 405: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if it is legally permissible for management companies to clamp residents' cars for non-payment of management fees; if so, the detail of the legal framework within which such action can take place; the safeguards in place to ensure management companies and/or residents committees are not abusing powers granted to them under law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12703/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 contains provisions which are intended to facilitate the fair, efficient and effective management of owners' management companies. Section 18 requires such companies to establish and maintain a scheme of annual service charges from which they may discharge expenditure incurred on the provision of common or shared services to the owners and occupiers of residential units, including insurance, waste management and security services. In order to ensure transparency and accountability, the annual service charge, and the services to be provided, must be approved by a general meeting of the members.

Section 18 also provides that the owner of each residential unit is under an obligation to pay service charges levied under the Act. As regards the recovery of unpaid service charges, section 22 provides that unpaid service charges may be recovered by the owners' management company concerned as a simple contract debt in a court of competent jurisdiction, i.e normally the District Court.