Question re council contribution to grass cutting on private estate?

Tom Joad · 22-07-2014 10:48AM #1

Would appreciate any advice on this.

I live in a private housing estate in which the local authority bought some of the houses and are now renting these out.

A residents association has recently been set up and I have got involved with this. We have done everything properly with a constitution, bank accounts, elected members etc. We have also received a grant from the local authority towards maintaining the estate so all is going well so far.

We are in the process of collecting monies from residents for the upkeep of the estate and in the course of this we were told that the local authority make a contribution for the houses they own.

My query is if this is accurate and if it is how would I go about getting this contribution from the local authority i.e. which Department, etc?

I have tried the local authorities website and its not great with info.

Would appreciate any assistance.

L1011 · 22-07-2014 10:55AM

I'd check with the Housing Department for that.

Seperately entirely to that, the council will usually make a (derisory) contribution for the entire estate to cover the one cut a year they may do if you've no residents association - this would be their Environmental department that do that.

otwb · 22-07-2014 11:39AM

If it's a private estate is it not in the ownership of a Owners Management Company and houses should be obliged to pay a service charge?

The residents association should see if there is an OMC in place (or if there should be) and it's up to the OMC to pay for upkeep etc...

Tom Joad · 22-07-2014 11:56AM

There is no management company involved - the houses are owned privately (apart from some bought by the local authority).

The_Conductor · 22-07-2014 12:04PM

Tom Joad wrote: »

There is no management company involved - the houses are owned privately (apart from some bought by the local authority).

Who- as in, what entity- are the common areas vested in?

Tom Joad · 22-07-2014 12:06PM

The_Conductor wrote: »

Who- as in, what entity- are the common areas vested in?

The local authority have taken charge of the estate if that is what you meant. First time living in an estate so unsure of all the terminology

The_Conductor · 22-07-2014 12:12PM

Tom Joad wrote: »

The local authority have taken charge of the estate if that is what you meant. First time living in an estate so unsure of all the terminology

In which case- they have a duty of care for the common areas.
This may extend to only cutting the grass every X number of weeks- you need to get onto their Environmental Health Officer- and discuss it with them.

Realistically- any work the council do with be the minimum they can get away with - what normally happens in situations like this is the residents form a committee for the estate and oft3n elicit donations (which are non-obligatory) from other residents- towards upkeep of the common areas. Often a way of getting a higher level of compliance- is to cut the front lawns of those who contribute- so they see they are personally vested in the upkeep of their gardens- though obviously get permission etc- in advance.

Tom Joad · 22-07-2014 12:22PM

The_Conductor wrote: »

In which case- they have a duty of care for the common areas.
This may extend to only cutting the grass every X number of weeks- you need to get onto their Environmental Health Officer- and discuss it with them.

Realistically- any work the council do with be the minimum they can get away with - what normally happens in situations like this is the residents form a committee for the estate and oft3n elicit donations (which are non-obligatory) from other residents- towards upkeep of the common areas. Often a way of getting a higher level of compliance- is to cut the front lawns of those who contribute- so they see they are personally vested in the upkeep of their gardens- though obviously get permission etc- in advance.

Many thanks for the detailed response. The residents are happy enough to organise grass cutting, look after the estate and contribute to same and to be fair we have got a grant off the local authority under one of its schemes.
And compliance rates are high - except for some of the rented houses and in particular the local authority owned houses. Nothing out of the ordinary and not a major issue.

As I understand it there are about 5-6 houses (roughly 10%) owned by the local authority (and all occupied) and have been told that the local authority made a contribution towards grass cutting/ general upkeep of the estate to the resident association so this is the bit I am trying to track down.

Chris Byrne · 27-07-2014 04:47PM

Can a menber of the Owners Manahement Company be also a member of the Resisents Association.

The_Conductor · 27-07-2014 05:32PM

Chris Byrne wrote: »

Can a menber of the Owners Manahement Company be also a member of the Resisents Association.

Only owners can be members of Owner's Management Companies. Anyone at all can be a member of a Resident's Association.

Chris Byrne · 27-07-2014 05:37PM

So does that mean that an owner can become a member of the board of the O M C and also be on the committee of the residents association

The_Conductor · 27-07-2014 05:42PM

Chris Byrne wrote: »

So does that mean that an owner can become a member of the board of yhe O M C and also be on the residents association

Yup.
Absolutely nothing stopping them from doing so.
In development's where there is a Management Company and a number of owner occupiers present- its what normally happens.
The only reason its not more common- is because the residents who aren't owners have a nasty habit of getting in their head that the resident who is on the board of the management company is the person who should unblock their loo at 2AM in the morning- or push their car when it breaks down (etc etc etc).

I was in this position and eventually gave up both posts- because I was having my door bell rung late at night by resident's who were too drunk to put in the code for the gate (and if you put it in wrong 3 times in a row- it goes on lock-down for 6 minutes- to dissuade local kids from playing with it). It was nuts.

Absolutely nothing to stop people holding the two roles- its just not conducive to peaceful enjoyment of your property- being involved in both.

Chris Byrne · 24-08-2014 09:08PM

Hi all, can a sinking fund be spent by the directors of the OMC without the knowledge of the other owners /share holders

athtrasna · 24-08-2014 09:33PM

Chris Byrne wrote: »

Hi all, can a sinking fund be spent by the directors of the OMC without the knowledge of the other owners /share holders

Yes if it's for the development. We spent about 20k of the sinking fund on exterior painting of the entire development. The sinking fund is precisely for such large jobs.

Chris Byrne · 24-08-2014 10:28PM

athtrasna wrote: »

Yes if it's for the development. We spent about 20k of the sinking fund on exterior painting of the entire development. The sinking fund is precisely for such large jobs.

Yes, but can it be done without a vote by all the members?

Rubberchikken · 24-08-2014 10:34PM

We collect a sub each year, small estate of 30 privately owned houses.
We use this money to insure a green area owned by the estate, not the council. But the council cuts the geass once maybe twice a summer.

athtrasna · 24-08-2014 10:40PM

Chris Byrne wrote: »

Yes, but can it be done without a vote by all the members?

Absolutely. The directors are charged with making such decisions, they are also accountable for those decisions, legally and to the members.

The_Morrigan · 24-08-2014 10:40PM

Chris Byrne wrote: »

Yes, but can it be done without a vote by all the members?

Chris all your posts are coming up in multiples, can you be careful of how you post (hitting the submit button more than once, hitting the back button on the app for instance).

The_Conductor · 25-08-2014 10:39AM

Chris Byrne wrote: »

Yes, but can it be done without a vote by all the members?

Absolutely- as items other than the normal day-to-day running of the development occur- the directors and the Management Company address them as they see fit. You can't hold an EGM everytime something out of the ordinary arises- it would be impossible to run the company like this. You elect a board of directors, who work with a Management Company. If you want a say on off-budget items- put yourself forward for the board at the next AGM. Until then, make a working assumption that they are operating in your best interests.

corcaigh1 · 14-06-2022 02:37PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/91889554#Comment_91889554

Can the green spaces be held in ownership of the residents when a "taken in charge" request is put in to the council, i.e council takes in charge estate and looks after the roads, lighting etc but the green spaces are kept in the ownership of the residents of said estate??

Mrs OBumble · 14-06-2022 03:42PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119201477#Comment_119201477

Eight years later, too ....

corcaigh1 · 23-07-2022 12:32PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119201881#Comment_119201881

Is the question I posted on this topic not relevant 8 years later??

Question re council contribution to grass cutting on private estate?

Comments