Sky in apartment building with NTL - any work-around?

00112984

Pretty straight-forward.

Own and live in a aptartment in a building that is wired for NTL which we have but I would really love to get Sky (Simpsons in HD- I've seen the future and it's yellow). Satellite dishes etc. are prohibited in the building. We have a patio which is part of a shared courtyard so we couldn't "hide" a dish out there.

Does anyone know of an alternative that would let us have Sky without drawing attention to that fact?

Paulw

Talk to your management agent and the directors of the management company. Many developements now will permit a shared Sky dish, even though you're not permitted a satellite dish.

Other than that, you've no choice but to abide by the contract you signed when you bought the unit.

MysticalSoul

Check out www.skyinyourapartment.ie

Firstly, have you already signed up with NTL? If you have, you may be signed into a 12 month contract, so check that out before you do anything.

athtrasna

Basically you can't. Sky only do dishes and you already said they are prohibited so you want what you can't have.

Shared dishes are not cost-effective for management companies if they haven't been installed at build stage when they could be wired for all apartments without access issues. We looked into it in our development.

In the meantime, I really don't recommend breaking the rules. You would be bringing trouble on yourself and end result would probably be you having a 12 month Sky contract but no Sky as the management company remove your dish, and charge you for it!

axer

How do they make you take down the dish? Have they a right to enter the property and remove it or what is in the contract as remedy for breach of this term?

GerardKeating

axer wrote: »

How do they make you take down the dish? Have they a right to enter the property and remove it or what is in the contract as remedy for breach of this term?

Well, the dish will be on the outside of the apartment, and the common areas are well, common...

pinkypinky

athtrasna wrote: »

Basically you can't. Sky only do dishes and you already said they are prohibited so you want what you can't have.

Shared dishes are not cost-effective for management companies if they haven't been installed at build stage when they could be wired for all apartments without access issues. We looked into it in our development.

I don't agree. I'm involved with the management of my apartment block and I pushed for Sky to install a communal dish. They did so at a cost of €50 to any owner who wanted to sign up and no cost to those who didn't or the management company. I guess they waive the installation fee if they get enough take-up.

Paulw

We're currently looking at the option of a Sky shared dish. However, I had to laugh at the Sky site survey. For a development of 112 units, the proposed 13 dishes, and they would make the place look like it was infested with satellite dishes.

I've told them that unless they can get it down to 3-4 dishes, and are put in much more discreet locations, there is no way it will be approved.

Until now, we have enforced the No Satellite dish in the development rules (yes, by removing dishes). So far though, there have only been 3 written requests for a shared Sky dish.

Does anyone know how many units a shared dish is capable of serving??

axer

GerardKeating wrote: »

Well, the dish will be on the outside of the apartment, and the common areas are well, common...

What if the dish in on the balcony on a speaker tripod stand or something? Then what can they do? So basically it is not in a common area and its not attached to the exterior wall. The balcony is for exclusive use of the owner and I would assume management companies do not have to right to go onto the balcony without the express permission of the owner of the apartment.

Paulw

axer wrote: »

What if the dish in on the balcony on a speaker tripod stand or something? Then what can they do? So basically it is not in a common area and its not attached to the exterior wall. The balcony is for exclusive use of the owner and I would assume management companies do not have to right to go onto the balcony without the express permission of the owner of the apartment.

The balcony area may be for exclusive use of the tenant, but is owned by the management company, so they are within their rights to allow a worker to enter that space.

axer

Paulw wrote: »

The balcony area may be for exclusive use of the tenant, but is owned by the management company, so they are within their rights to allow a worker to enter that space.

But they would have to cross the space of the apartment which they would have no rights to. So I presume they would have to get a cherry picker or something like that?

Paulw

That and/or there is also usually a clause in the Lease Contract that gives the management company the right of access to perform company work.

The_Conductor

You can get a small unobtrusive dish, painted the colour of the builing with signal reflective paint, that isn't visually obtrusive (you can't see anything unless you're specifically looking for it in many cases). The kindly folk in the satellite forum here may be able to give you some guidance on this.