Dublin People - Locals vote to scrap controversial scheme

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Locals vote to scrap controversial scheme

Thursday, 31 July 2008

DUBLIN 15 residents fed up with the management company structure in their estate have voted to legally dissolve it in a move believed to be the first of its kind in Ireland.
The move could pave the way for countless other housing estates embroiled in management company disputes to dismantle the controversial structure which was designed to put control over estate management into the hands of residents.
Management companies are formed by estate developers on behalf of purchasers who become members of the company on completion of sale contracts.
A management agent is hired on their behalf by the developers to maintain the estate from an annual fee collected from owners. Fees can range from a few hundred to over two thousand euro.
When the estate is completed, company directors put in place by the developers resign and owners then take complete control of the company and become responsible for hiring agents and maintaining their estate.

However, the structure has been slammed by residents who say it leads to mass confusion. Delays in developers handing over control of the company to residents and huge increases in fees are other common complaints.
Last week Castlecurragh residents decided they’d had enough and reached the historic decision to restructure the management company at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) called last week.
Hundreds of households in the Castlecurragh Heath, Vale and Park areas will now receive legal documentation to officially pass the decision.
The decision will only affect house owners and apartment owners will remain members of the management company.
According to Castlecurragh Heath resident and local councillor Ruth Coppinger (SP), the decision is hugely significant.
“We have endured a long and torturous battle against the implementation of a private management company to our houses for three years,” she explained.
“I think this is the first time that residents have democratically voted to resign from their management company.”
Of the 720 households within the estate, only 79 were eligible to cast a vote as they majority of residents have withheld fees from the management company in protest.
“Unfortunately, many residents, including myself, were unable to vote as we haven’t paid up our fees,” she told Northside People.
“Thankfully, 72 people voted in favour of the decision to dissolve the company.
“It is a huge victory for us considering we were told by every authority we went to three years ago that it was impossible to get out of a contract with a management company.”
She added: “We have been getting legal advice on this matter. Nobody wants to do this recklessly.”
Cllr Coppinger explained why so many residents have been so strongly opposed to their contractual obligations with their management company.
“We always thought that management companies should never be imposed for houses,” she said.
“This is an affordable housing estate so people are not exactly rolling in money and the fees for the company were ever increasing.
“Also, Fingal County Council agreed that it would provide the maintenance services which we were paying the management company to provide.”
According to Helen Redwood, chairperson of the Castlecurragh Residents’ Association, there is still a long way to go before the management company is scrapped for good.
“This is just the first step and the process of getting all 720 residents to sign the documents will be a difficult one,” she explained.
“We have been told that we must get 100 per cent of householders to sign the agreement.”
She added: “But it’s a victory that we reversed the privatisation of our estate.”
An official from Fingal County Council’s Housing Department attended last week’s meeting as the council is responsible for over 100 houses within the Castlecurragh area.
“The representative from the council who attended the meeting did not use the council’s proxy vote,” a council spokesperson told Northside People.
“This was because the council was happy to facilitate a majority decision of the other members of the company.
“The vote to restructure the management company to allow houses out of the company is just the first step.
“Following on from this decision to restructure, the council and the management company are now in the process of drafting the legal documents to implement the proposed change.
“Members will be sent the legal documents to sign in the near future.”
The council spokesperson emphasised that the successful outcome of the restructuring is fully dependent on 100 per cent of the members returning the signed documents within a specified time period and paying all outstanding fees.
“All members are encouraged to seek independent legal advice prior to signing their documents,” the spokesperson concluded.

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