Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will intervene to regulate property management companies and to standardise fees, particularly in Dublin, to prevent unfair or exploitative charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6385/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The primary purpose of the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 is to reform the law relating to the ownership and management of common areas of multi-unit developments and to facilitate the fair, efficient and effective management of owners' management companies (OMCs). These are bodies established for the management of such areas, the membership of which comprise the owners of residential units within the development.

As regards service charges, the position is that section 18 of the 2011 Act requires each OMC to establish and maintain a scheme of annual service charges to fund the costs of insurance, maintenance and other common or shared services. These service charges must be calculated on a transparent basis, be apportioned on an equitable basis between residential unit owners and be approved by the owners at a meeting of the OMC. In summary, the Act gives residential unit owners a direct role in determining the level of annual service charge, the level of services to be funded and the manner in which such services are to be provided.

I should add that section 18 also provides that each owner is under an obligation to pay annual service charges and that section 22 provides that unpaid service charges may be recovered by the OMC concerned as a simple contract debt in a court of competent jurisdiction, i.e normally the District Court.