[Dr Pepper]

Hi Folks,

I've just ordered a Sky+ installation which will be happening Saturday week. I moved into a new apartment building a couple of weeks ago and one of the conditions/rules of the management company is that satellite dishes are not allowed to be erected on the exterior of the building. This rule has been reiterated and stressed in documentation I have received since moving in. There are, however, satellite dishes on I'd say more than half of the occupied apartments at the moment.

- Anybody know how serious management companies are about this rule?
- Is there any chance we will all be forced to remove the dishes?
- Are there any reasonable alternatives available? If so, is there any extra cost or performance implications and do Sky provide them?

From what I understand, the Management Company is there to serve the apartment owners, not necessarily tell them what to do (although keep a certain level of control - noise, rubbish, etc). If none of the owners object strongly to dishes, is there any reason the management company should make a fuss about it?

Thanks,
Brian

[machiavellianme]

Maybe you could get a digiglobe?

http://www.ddelec.com/digiglobe.htm

[Dr Pepper]

That looks great thanks machiavellianme, but I've just found it on another site with the price quoted - £250 GBP - Gasp!

Just found it for £149 GBP on 2 other websites. Still though, not really interested in spending that kinda money!

[VERYinterested]

I remember seeing a newspaper ad recently for DID, I think, and they had some alternative to Satellite dishes for Apartment dwellers and it looked like a picnic table. Maybe give DID a bell, I can't even remember how much it was, sorry it's not much help to you!!

[Dr Pepper]

Thanks VERYinterested, I'll check that out if needs be..
Meanwhile, my brother-in-law has just emailed me the following 3 links.. Hmmm:

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleases...guiLanguage=en

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdo...3/617113en.pdf

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdo...1/601591en.pdf

[dade]

Originally Posted by Dr Pepper

- Anybody know how serious management companies are about this rule?
- Is there any chance we will all be forced to remove the dishes?
- Are there any reasonable alternatives available? If so, is there any extra cost or performance implications and do Sky provide them?



Thanks,
Brian

I know of two estates in Dublin that had issues with management over them, one was in the Nothside people. Can't remember the name but management wrote to them about the dishes and also about people having cloths lines erected. these letters where sent to owners in both apartments AND houses. so they where coming down on people with gardens hanging out cloths

In Waterside in swords i believe a similar issue arose about the dishes only someone went to consumer rights or some monopoly crowd and where told it may be a breach of their consumer rights to stop them having dishes as they had a right to choose AND as the developer had entered into a prior agreement with some service provider for TV etc they where creating a monopoly which may be again illegal. personally I'm inclined to agree with this.

I live in Holywell in the Malahide/swords area and apartment owners are also restricted like yourself in relation to dishes but no one takes any notice. Some other residents complain but f them. I think you should be allowed to choose.

from a planning POV my understanding is they can not be erected to the front of a building and must be under 2M in size (which most domestic ones are) anything other than that and you require planning permission.

[Dr Pepper]

Originally Posted by dade

AND as the developer had entered into a prior agreement with some service provider for TV etc they where creating a monopoly which may be again illegal.

Seems to be the same story in my case. I wonder if that is the reasoning behind the dish ban ?? Magnet have the whole place wired with fiber to the home. They have installed 10 network points around the apartment and have a box (which is locked) beside the fuse board where all the cables are terminated. Seems a bit odd, Magnet having a locked box like that in my apartment that I paid for. I'm not that bothered though - Handy enough having the whole place pre-wired for network and a friend of mine working in Magnet has already opened the box for me

[fluppet]

Demand a communal satellite dish installation - we have one in our apartment building. You just need one dish on the roof. Ours uses SMATV, but I believe there are other options. Any satellite dish installer company should be able to set it up.

[Dr Pepper]

Originally Posted by fluppet

Demand a communal satellite dish installation - we have one in our apartment building. You just need one dish on the roof. Ours uses SMATV, but I believe there are other options. Any satellite dish installer company should be able to set it up.

I'm confident enough to go ahead now with the Sky installation with the backup of the above linked EU legislation. If the management company would rather a communal dish, I guess they can organise it themselves!

[wil]

You might like to take a look at the previous discussion that effectively concluded your right to have access to a satellite dish wherever you are living under EU law.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...5124066&page=3
Spocketys template may be of use if the management company get shirty.
Hagar who has a similar problem has indicated he too is likely to fight his management company, if you go same route maybe ye could start a thread on how you go about it and how you get on. Combine your efforts, if enough people do so with common sense intact there is no good reason to lose.

The flat dishes you refer to above from DID were not effective in France and may or may not be adequate in Ireland but are expensive (299 in DID)
Good luck

Adendum - the full 17 page text of the EU commissions publication is at
http://ec.europa.eu/information_soci...antenna_en.pdf
Thanks for the extra German case link.
see http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...p?t=2055128143
for my comments on the Dutchmans case which are similar here

[Dr Pepper]

Thanks again Wil, a mind of information as usual. I just had a good read of that thread.

I will keep you posted on events but I don't imagine much will come of it. It just seems like bullying and, in my cynicism, I believe may have as much to do with keeping a 'deal' with the non-satellite TV provider as anything else. I just wonder if there are genuine concerns among my fellow residents about the appearance.
The dishes in place are all small black Sky ones so the fact that they are all uniform helps a lot in terms of the visual impact.

[property]

i am a property manager and would advice anyone attempting to put up a satellite dish on your apartment not to... it will end up costing you money.. most property managment companies will issue you with a 7 day notice to remove the dish or they will remove them. The normal cost of this could be anything between €70 and €150 depending on the managment company. My advice.... get together with your board of directors, discuss your budget options and decide what funds you have available and what items for your community are of improtance. If the funds are available you can request your managment company to put in a communal dish - this can cost anything from €30000 to €50000 for the complex, again depending on how many apartments there are and how new the complex is... if funds are low, then you need to convince everyone to stick to NTL... or get an NTL box GOOD LUCK

[spockety]

Originally Posted by property

i am a property manager and would advice anyone attempting to put up a satellite dish on your apartment not to... it will end up costing you money.. most property managment companies will issue you with a 7 day notice to remove the dish or they will remove them. The normal cost of this could be anything between €70 and €150 depending on the managment company. My advice.... get together with your board of directors, discuss your budget options and decide what funds you have available and what items for your community are of improtance. If the funds are available you can request your managment company to put in a communal dish - this can cost anything from €30000 to €50000 for the complex, again depending on how many apartments there are and how new the complex is... if funds are low, then you need to convince everyone to stick to NTL... or get an NTL box GOOD LUCK

This is standard Management Company horse ****, no offence.

Did you even read the EU directive linked to above? Management companies are in breach of EU laws on freedom and movement of goods and services if they attempt to restrict a citizens right to receive satellite television. It's as simple as that.

A blanket "no satellite dishes" rule in lease agreements of complex 'house rules' is illegal and should be ignored.

A communal dish install costing 50,000? Is that sheckels or guineas? :|

[Hagar]

Originally Posted by wil

Hagar who has a similar problem has indicated he too is likely to fight his management company...
Adendum - the full 17 page text of the EU commissions publication is at
http://ec.europa.eu/information_soci...antenna_en.pdf
Thanks for the extra German case link.
see http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...p?t=2055128143
for my comments on the Dutchmans case which are similar here

Just an update. the Management Company came back to me with another demand to remove my dish. I sent them back a PFO letter which quotes from the French equivalents of the documents above plus links to the relevant French laws where the above has been enacted. I haven't heard from them in almost a month.

[spockety]

That's cool.. though maybe they are spending time coming up with a knockout punch for you!

I think based on the Dutch guy's case, it seems that the correct procedure when you are asked to remove your dish, is to reply in writing to your Management Company, and request from them in writing what their justification is for making you remove your dish. Only armed with that information can you then fight it.

I think we all already know what the reasons are generally.
It is either to protect a monopoly cable provider in the development, or it is to respect aesthetics. Neither of those are grounds for a blanket ban if my interpretation of the EU's documents on it is correct.