P. Breathnach wrote: » I presume that up to now you have been paying management charges, and that these have included the cost of refuse disposal. I also take it that there was no reduction given to you because of single occupancy. I suspect that what has happened is that the owners have decided to break these charges out of the general management charge. They are responsible for the charges on the vacant units, and might be using this mechanism to reduce their costs (on the basis that vacant units do not use refuse disposal services). You have signed an agreement, and you are bound by it. There is a reasonable case for them to have to prove to you that what you are being asked to pay is justified.
nothing wrote: » I'll try to keep this brief but factual, having trouble finding information. I rent an apartment, in a complex with 60+ other dwellings. Last year, a company bought the complex and a new management company was put in place. They included in the new leases that waste charges were the tenents' responsibility, though up until now there have been no charges. As expected, they now wish to charge, which I have no issue with in principle. They want €20 a month per dwelling. I'm not sure what the occupancy rate is exactly, but it's certainly over two thirds. What I'm wondering is - How much notice should be given for this new monthly charge (if there are rules and/or guidelines at all)? Am I entitled to see a bill of some kind to verify that my €20 a month is actually paying off a waste charge bill? Can I negotiate the amount given that I am a single occupancy dwelling and the majority of other dwellings have 2 to 4 occupants? I'm not trying to weasel my way out of paying, I just want to be sure that I pay a fair amount since I do not have the option of shopping around. Thanks for any help and advice.
Angel2016 wrote: » All management companies at the start of the year give the owners of the apartment an invoice and along with that a breakdown of the charges that make up the maintenance fee I would suggest you ask for a copy of that and you will see if they are charging seperately for waste disposal this sounds bizarre to me as I own a one bed in a complex of 60 apartments which was bought over last year not my building but all of the other apartments and units around it in D24 and we just pay for the waste disposal in the fee so if they were charging separate I would want to check its not on the breakdown as that would be double charging it if you like.
P. Breathnach wrote: » You're making the same mistake that I did in my earlier response! OP is a tenant, not an owner. Yes, it is an unusual arrangement, and perhaps bizarre is a good word to describe it.
Angel2016 wrote: » I understand he is a tenant but if they want him to pay this extra money then he is entitled to see the breakdown of the charges from the maintenance company so he can see that he is not being ripped off, if I was asking my tenant to pay for the waste disposal because it was being charged extra on my invoice and she asked to see the documentation I would have no problem showing her.
intheclouds wrote: » The tenants only relationship is with the landlord and he isnt entitled to see any detail on the changes the management company set.
P. Breathnach wrote: » If he is directly liable for refuse disposal charges, he has a right to information on that element of the package.
nothing wrote: » To make it a bit clearer (I hope) the management company also acts as agent for the landlord, so they deal with all rent, tenancy issues etc.
intheclouds wrote: » Be careful on the terminology - the management company comprises of the owners of the units. The managing agent is the company they employ to look after the upkeep and maintenance etc.. In this case the managing agent is also the letting agent?
nothing wrote: » Apologies, it is a managing and letting agent. They have informed me of this new charge, it's to be lodged into the landlord's account directly every month on the same date as rent but as a separate transfer marked as refuse.It is in my lease that I'm responsible for waste charges, it's the amount, the twelve day notice and the fact that I've no idea how the amount was calculated that are bugging me (waiting on an email response). Plus the fact it's been included for the last 6 years.
SteM wrote: » Whatever about your concern over cost and the amount of notice that you've gotten - you should be happy that you've received free waste disposal for the last 6 years rather than complain that you had it free and you have to pay it now. If it's in your lease that you're liable for the cost then you could have been charged for the last 6 years. Glass half full.
nothing wrote: » I'm perfectly happy that it's been free up to now, and I have no problem paying for it, I just want to be sure I'm not being screwed over. €240 a year for a single person seems excessive to me.
P. Breathnach wrote: » It's fairly standard that tenants do not receive free waste disposal services. It's included in their lease agreements, and paid for in the rent. The landlord is now breaking this out and charging separately for it. OP has signed a new lease accepting this. Like any consumer of services, he is entitled to evidence that the charge is correctly calculated.
nothing wrote: » Unfortunately the new management do not provide the same level of service as the previous, however I can understand them making cuts to improve their profits.
Angel2016 wrote: » Well I can guarantee you he is paying the management company fee within the amount he pays for rent and that includes all waste disposal its standard and when the invoices are given out to the LL / owners they get the breakdown also so that they can see where the figure they have to pay has come up I never heard a management company charging separate for waste disposal so yes I would insist on seeing proof of this extra charge you he / she is the tenant and they have rights.
QuiteInterestin wrote: » Hi OP I had a similar-ish problem when the apartment block I lived in stopped providing refuse service as a lot of owners were not paying their management fees. I contacted Threshold who confirmed what I had found online, while a landlord does not have to pay for refuse service, they do have to provide you with somewhere to store your rubbish. In my case the landlord eventually agreed to provide me with two wheelie bins with padlocks which were kept in the communal bin area. As a single occupant I had very little rubbish, so I would store the rubbish in the wheelie bins and about every 1/2 months when I have enough to fill a full bag, I would buy the bin bags from one of the local refuse companies (about 7 euro for general waste and 2.50 for a recycling bag). Could you present this to your landlord as a possible alternative? If they're already paying for the refuse collection as part of the management fees and are using it as an excuse to increase the rent, they might back down rather then have to provide separate bins for everyone.
The_Conductor wrote: Very few apartment complexes will countenance wheelie bins for tenants- aside from any other reason- there are storage issues- not to mention a cohort of tenants who will abuse the situation. Best practice is to rent large commercial bins- a couple of general ones, one recycling and one brown- and they're charged on a per-lift basis which is equally split among all units.
