Irish Times Property Clinic 21st of November 2013

 

Publishing Date; Thursday the 21st day of November 2013.

 

Q. I am living in a development where there has been parking issues for years. However, the management company is talking about introducing clamping which I am opposed to. Do I have a say in any of this and does the management company (which is made up of residents) have the right to introduce this without some sort of vote?

 

A. An Owners' Management Company (OMC) is empowered by Section 23 of the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 to draft House Rules for the effective operation and maintenance of the development.
At least 21 days notice for a general meeting must be sent out to each member of the OMC along with a copy of the proposed House Rules.

The proposed House Rules will be considered and approved or rejected only by the members of the OMC at a general meeting.
Assigned parking in a development is where a unit owner has a specific parking space and they are the only person entitled to park their vehicle in that space. Where a lease prescribes that a parking space does not form part of the common areas, written permission will be required from each parking space owner to allow clamping of a vehicle on their space.
If the development has unassigned parking the OMC must have the common areas transferred to their ownership so as to be in a position to draft binding House Rules such as clamping in common areas.

If the common areas have not yet been transferred, the permission of the owner of the common areas will need to be sought before proposing the draft House Rules to the OMC at a meeting. Section 13 (1) of the MUDS Act 2011 arguably will afford an OMC without ownership of the common areas, the right to enforce clamping in say emergency access points subject to Section 23 of the said Act.
If clamping is approved by the members at a meeting, written copies of the House Rules must be sent to each unit owner and to each unit within the development. Adequate signage must also be erected on site warning persons of the parking policies in place.

 

Paul Huberman is a member of the Property & Facilities Management Professional Group of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland www.scsi.ie 

 

Author: Paul Huberman of H&H Property Management Consultants Ltd

Publish Date: 21/11/2013