Management Companies and Agents

All apartment owner or owners of a unit in a privately managed development become a member of the Management Company upon purchase of the property.  Each owner forms the Management Company, which is a fully registered Company.  The Management Company owns all common areas of the development, i.e. hallways, gardens and grounds, outdoor lighting, roofs, lifts etc. and as owners of the common areas; it is the Management Company’s responsibility to maintain these areas.  These areas are maintained from funds collected from each owner, known as service charges, these service charges are used to pay for insurance, maintenance contracts on the lifts and fire alarm systems, cleaning, landscaping etc and to form a sinking fund for long term expenses such as lift or roof replacement or re-decoration.  Each member is obliged to pay the service charges under the terms of the Management Company Lease Agreement that each owner signs with their solicitor upon purchase. 

Most Management Companies employ Managing Agents to manage the day to day running of the company and a Board of Directors is elected each year at the AGM.  It is important for all apartment Landlords to be aware of who their Managing Agents and Board of Directors are as it can effect the sale of the property if the Company returns are not up to date or if the Company has been disqualified.

For more information regarding buying and living in a Multi-Unit Development Property in Ireland, please click on the link below to download the National Consumer Agency publication.

http://www.consumerproperty.ie/PDFs/multi-unit.pdf

For further information regarding Management Companies, please click on the link below to download the National Consumer Agency publication.

 
www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Hot_Topics/Our-booklets/NCA-Management-companies.pdf