Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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72. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if property management companies are regulated; if not, her plans to do so; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19204/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The position is that the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 has been enacted with the primary purposes of reforming the law relating to the ownership and management of common areas of multi-unit developments and facilitating the fair, efficient and effective management of owners' management companies (OMCs). These are companies registered under the Companies Act, the members of which are the owners of residential units within the development, which are established for the management of such areas. The 2011 Act contains provisions relating to issues such as:

- the transfer of common areas from developers to the OMCs (sections 4 and 5);

- voting rights of members of OMCs (sections 14 and 15);

- the provision of annual reports by OMCs to members (section 17);

- arrangements for the holding of annual meetings to approve service charges (section 18);

- establishment of a sinking fund to cover refurbishment outlays (section 19);

- arrangements for the making of House Rules (section 23); and

- establishment of a court-based dispute resolution process (section 24).

The Act also contains provisions which encourage the resolution of disputes that may arise between parties by means of mediation rather than recourse to court proceedings.