Suing your Property Management company

Long Sean Silver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120433384#Comment_120433384

no Martin it's the roof of the building ie a common area, not the apartment above me. i'm on the top floor, so there's nobody above me. except JC on his Raleigh Chopper i suppose. LOL

martingriff

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120433590#Comment_120433590

OK thanks for that. Sounds like you have a worthless management company and need to take action in looking for a new one. Needs to be brought up with the apartment owners. Luckily we seem to have a good company where I am in Limerick although we are apartments with a duplex over us so not an apartment building

Count Dracula

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120433589#Comment_120433589

You have had your bit of fun now Sean.

Well done.

Good luck with your leaky roof and all the attention it brings you and your apartment.

2 years?

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120433755#Comment_120433755

What is it about this thread/op that seems to annoy you?

If you own a unit in a MUD, at any one time there are quite a lot of owners annoyed about something, mostly with good reason, sometimes not. If the roof over my apartment was leaking and water was coming into it, I would be annoyed/frustrated with the OMC Board if they were dragging their heals. I certainly wouldn’t consider it fun.

Count Dracula

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120433759#Comment_120433759

Sean Mhor is on here every 2 - 3 months with some new made up scenario concerning private landownership and its' various pitfalls.

That is the sad act / fact of this nonsense.

Pal.

Long Sean Silver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120433676#Comment_120433676

Martin

It looks like we may need to replace our MAs. I will try to work with them, but my patience is not limitless.

Claw Hammer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120426078#Comment_120426078

That is not correct. The OMC is a distinct legal entity from its directors and members. You are mistaking the situation in this case with that of unincorporated associations, such residents associations, and clubs and societies which mostly have no corporate structure.

goingnowhere

Correct the OMC is a CLG it is a legal entity distinct in law.

So you can sue yourself (well as % of you as a member of the OMC) but ultimately the purpose of taking action is the 'encourage' the OMC to get its act together.

AndrewJRenko

Article in todays Irish Times may be helpful

https://www.irishtimes.com/property/residential/2023/04/04/our-management-company-is-not-dealing-with-our-concerns-what-can-we-do/

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120446943#Comment_120446943

It's behind a paywall. Also the OPs OMC isn't the issue, it's the MA that isn't doing their job.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120447058#Comment_120447058

https://archive.ph/5cXo0

Long Sean Silver

Just a quick update.

The MA appears to be doing something about the issue. We have yet to see actual work on the problem, and progress is glacial but at least there appears to be some movement. From the responses I've gotten, the key seems to be, the Directors of the OMC must actively and positively engage with the MAs.

If the MA cannot or will not acquiesce then further steps, like EGM, removal of MAs, etc. will need to be taken. Hopefully we will not need to go down that route and things can be amicably sorted.

markpb

“the key seems to be, the Directors of the OMC must actively and positively engage with the MAs.”

This is always the key to a successful OMC. Managing agents have multiple (often 20+) estates to manage, a finite amount of time each week and zero vested interest in any of them. That’s not to say they don’t do a professional job or a good job but there’s a limit to what they can get done.

Also they are only human. OMCs with disinterested directors will get less attention than noisy or engaged directors.

Dav010

Op, I’d be asking questions of the Board as well as the MA, if this issue has been live for 2 yrs, they also dropped the ball.

Long Sean Silver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120452651#Comment_120452651

they did for sure, but i am guilty also for not "shouting" enough. squeaky wheels and all that ...

the AGM is coming up, so i intend to put myself forward as a Director. Owners throughout the country have a very blaise, hands-off approach to the management of their properties, but it's only when things go wrong will you realise that is not always the best approach.

mvt

You don't need to wait for the AGM to ask to be appointed as a director, hope you get the leak sorted, it must be very disheartening.

Long Sean Silver

i'm a very positive person, so worry not it will get sorted. just a question of time. i am in the fortunate position of being mortgage free with good tenants. i'm away on me hols to the Algarve tomorrow, so it'll have to wait! 😉

Long Sean Silver

just an update ...

the Property Mgt. Co. (PMC) have eventually got a professional roofer to inspect, but i am still awaiting details of their findings. reading between the lines it would seem the PMC are not that interested in sorting out structural repairs, and seem to prefer to "focus" on day to day management issues, like cleaning the stairways, ensuring the bins get collected, planting flowers etc.

can they do this? is this legal? should not the sinking fund be utilised to carryout these repairs?

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120551040#Comment_120551040

Can they do this? Only if you and your fellow owners allow them to.

Is it legal? Seriously? They have organised a roofer to inspect a problem with the roof, surely that counts as progress.

Do you know how much is in the sinking fund?

Long Sean Silver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120551305#Comment_120551305

yes, it is progress. slow but at least it's something. there is a sinking fund. how much, i'm not certain but i intend to find out. the development is quite small, so i imagine cash will be tight. should not the Block Insurance Policy be called upon?

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120551349#Comment_120551349

Sean, that is a question for the Directors of your OMC, surely they are better positioned to answer your questions in relation to insurance and the parameters of the MA’s responsibilities.

Long Sean Silver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120551529#Comment_120551529

i accept that, and that's something i will be pursuing with them.

i was just wondering if there are any statutory regulations/guidelines governing the operation/engagement of PMCs or is it wholly down to the individual terms of engagement? for instance a LL cannot enforce a contract on a tenant that falls outside the relevant tenancy acts.

markpb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120551667#Comment_120551667

A managing agent is an agent of the board of directors, nothing more. Their job is to fulfil the wishes of the board legally, honestly and to the best of their ability.

The MUD act describes how the sinking fund is to be funded and how it can be spent but you’re jumping the gun here. The first job is to get an engineer to find the problem and propose a fix. Then one or more companies need to submit a quote for the repair work. At that stage the board will decide if it can be funded from general funds, if the sibling fund should be used or if an insurance claim is required or desired. But that’s all in the future.

kibblesnbits30

Thanks to the OG poster of this topic, and to all who have responded helpfully.

We have purchased an apartment which also has many issues which we’ve attempted to address with the MA and (the only person we’re aware of who is on) the Board.

In our original lease, the names/contact info of the Board members is not listed anywhere, but because we had a meeting with An Garda Síochána, which we made the MA aware of (and invited him to attend with us), a member of the Board showed up (the MA did not). At the point of the meeting, we didn’t think to ask the Board member herself for all the other board members’ info, but figured the AM would provide it to us.

Unfortunately, since then, the AM won’t respond to our emails asking for the names of Board members, how and when the Board is elected, when the AGM is, etc. Before the meeting with the Guards, we did ask for an EGM because we wanted to make sure all owners were aware of the illegal activity taking place in our complex, to which we were told by the AM, “no, there will be an AGM later in the year”.

We no longer call the AM, but rather email, because we want a record of all communication, considering how serious the nature of the issues are within our apartment complex), and continue to work with AGS to resolve the issue of illegal activity.

However, there are other (less serious from a legal perspective) issues that also need immediate addressing (for example, every day people are dumping many bins of rubbish in our courtyard), and to date, we haven’t revived a response regarding who the board members are, and how to run for the board ourselves. We know for a fact that the emails to where we are sending our enquiries are correct/current, so it is indeed a matter of them being ignored.

From this previous thread, it sounds like sending a letter from our solicitor to the one Board member whose name/info we do have is the next step, but I’d appreciate any information from anyone who has been through something similar. Snarky and presumptuous comments are unhelpful. ;) Cheers!

madbeanman

Really interesting to hear your situation. I'm sorry you have not been able to get any satisfaction. My own management company only really responds to threats. I have been waiting 10 months for a response to a leak in the roof that is badly damaging carpeting and creating mould. It stinks and the carpet is destroyed. I try to clean it but it's very much not my job As I don't know any board members I asked the Management Company for the Register of Members . They said they would provide it. They have not. I threatened to report them to the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA), they said they would try to find a director to talk to me. This never happened.

I have now commenced a letter campaign to all blocks in my development looking to be put in contact with a director and informing them of my situation. Hopefully they can put me in contact with a board member as I believe the Management company is likely conceal

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121222881#Comment_121222881

Did you attend the AGM?

markpb

If you search for the name of your OMC on Core on cro.ie, you should be able to find a B10 form where the details of each new director are listed. That will give you a home or work address for the director where you can send them a registered letter.

madbeanman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121223521#Comment_121223521

I kept asking the property manager when the AGM would be held. They kept saying next week, next week and then one day I emailed the Property Manager saying "When is the AGM?" He said it was yesterday and that the minutes would be posted the following day. That was April :)

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121258975#Comment_121258975

Frustration. Get rid of you can