Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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570. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he is satisfied with the effectiveness of the existing arrangement of stipulating by planning condition the setting up of management companies to maintain residential housing estates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42608/15]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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My Department advised planning authorities by way of Circular letter PD 1/ 2008 of 26 February 2008 that they should not include the establishment of a management company as a condition of planning permissions for the development of traditional residential housing estates (that is estates of houses with individual private gardens), except in the most exceptional circumstances, for example, to maintain a specific facility in the estate that is for residents’ use only (such as a private playground) or in the case of a development comprising holiday homes.

The circular further advised that the attaching of conditions to planning permissions relating to the establishment of a management company for the purpose of maintaining and managing a development should generally be confined to multi-unit structures (i.e. apartments and/or apartments and duplex houses) for the purpose of maintaining shared exteriors of buildings such as external walls and roofs; shared internal areas such as stairways, lifts and lobbies; as well as for the maintenance of external private shared facilities that are exclusive to the development (e.g. boiler houses, switch rooms, bin storage areas, communal private gardens/private open spaces or playgrounds) where a management company is considered essential having regard to the nature and scale of such facilities.

I am satisfied that this advice is reasonable and proportionate.